Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries on Christmas Day, 25 December 2023, by Major Michael Ramsay
Last night, like every night, our staff were working all night at the Bread of Life. We are open all day everyday and all night every night. Last night, today and tonight are no different. Our staff all has to take their turn working. Those who had last night, today, or tomorrow off, will need to work New Year’s Eve, night, or day – and they will need to be sober.
This is not entirely dissimilar
to the shepherds in our text today. They are working the night shift. They have
the important job of protecting the lives of the sheep from predators just like
our staff have the responsibility to protect the lives of the homeless under
their care from predators. Without our shelter, many of our friends would not
have a safe warm place to sleep. The shepherds in our text were not in a safe
warm place.
The text says that an Angel appeared
and stood before them. The word angel just means ‘messenger’ but the appearance
of this messenger certainly alludes to something more, something much more. It
says the Glory of the Lord shone all around him and the shepherds were
terrified. Now, I don’t know what the Glory of the Lord looks like, but if a
messenger appeared before me in the middle of the night (or anytime) with
anything shining about him, I would probably be a little terrified myself.
I can only imagine how my
overnight staff would feel if the doors were locked for the night, our friends
were all tucked into their beds – it is set up for communal sleeping at our
shelter, there are rows of bunkbeds – and all of a sudden someone showed up shining
or with something shining all around them. I imagine our staff would be quite
startled. I can actually picture them telling me about it the next day. The
words that would come out of their mouth when they were surprised may not be
pulpit-ready words!
2:10
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for see--I am bringing you
good news of great joy for all the people: 2:11 to you is born this day in the
city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 2:12 This will be a sign
for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a
manger."
Again, I can picture my staff
telling me this. They would be half laughing in incredulity as they expressed
the nervousness or uncertainly of this experience to me and whoever else would
be there. And then, they would tell me that they were still processing the
person with shining all around them…
2:13
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God and saying, 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on
earth peace among those whom He favours!"
Can you imagine? What if you
were working the night shift at your work and all these people, angels, hosts
showed up and they were praising God all around you and proclaiming peace for
all those who are on God’s side: all those who find favour with God. Put
yourself then in the place of my staff in my story or the shepherds in Luke’s
story. It would make you want to be peaceful, I am sure.
2:15
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, "Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken
place, which the Lord has made known to us." 2:16 So they went with haste
and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 2:17 When they
saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 2:18 and
all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them.
If it was the staff at the
shelter, I can see them waking up the people who are staying the night with
them – I think there was only a half dozen last night - and heading out for a
little walk. I don’t think they needed to go that far – maybe the distance to
Boomerangs or something like that. They would then walk that distance with all
those in their care. Can you imagine the excitement? They must be just buzzing
retelling each other what they had just seen and joking about one another’s
reaction – and then I imagine, as they got close to where the child was, they
would all of a sudden become deadly serious, very sober in thought and deed. I
imagine they would come into the place very humbly. As they find the child and
his parents, the shelter workers, the shepherds themselves become angels in the
sense that they are messengers; they tell them and everyone else around what
the angels, the heavenly host has told them.
Then Verse 2:20: “The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and
seen, as it had been told them.” Again I can just picture our staff if this
happened to them – they would be telling the next shift, they would be telling
their bosses, they would be telling their families, they would be telling all
the clients. I am sure the shepherds must have even told the sheep whom I
imagine were right there with them when they took the trip into town in the
middle of the night.
Now we know what happens in
this child’s life. He is God for starters but also he becomes quite famous and
then he dies, and then he is raised to life again before he goes off to heaven
where he is waiting even now to return someday soon.
Can you imagine what it would
be like for the shepherds? Every time they hear of another miracle he performs
or a controversy he is in the middle of, they would tell their story about how
they saw him when he was a baby and everything that happened that night. I
imagine a lot of people probably became interested in Jesus or more interested
in Jesus because of the testimony of these shepherds. I imagine that when they
heard the news years later of his death and resurrection, if any of them were
still alive, they would say, ‘huh… I guess that all makes sense now.’
So we know from the rest of
the story that this baby is going to be killed and raised from the dead 30 or
so years later. And we know that after he was raised from the dead he went to
be with his Father and that he is coming back and we know that when he comes
back, all upon who his favour rests will be at peace. He is the Prince of
Peace. The title by which we call the baby Jesus is of course, ‘Christ’, and
people who purport to follow him self-identify as Christians. One of the ways
that we can tell followers of the Prince of Peace is that they are peaceful.
On this Christmas Day 2000
years closer to the return of the Prince of Peace, I encourage you to be and to
act like his followers by being peaceful. Forgive those who harm you. Disarm
your attackers with kindness. Turn the other cheek to people who strike you
rather than striking them back. This world can be a very non-peaceful place.
There are many wars around the world. There is much violence even in this country,
this province, and this town. There is much violence down among our friends that
we walk with everyday. People doing violence to them and even doing violence to
ourselves. My encouragement to us is this: that when our lives and the lives of
our friends, families, and co-workers are filled with strife that we may let
the peace of God shine through us. May people see the Glory of God’s peace all
around us. May we be a calming presence for all those around us, offering them
the love of God and an amazingly powerful peace that can get them through all
of life’s troubles: the peace that surpasses all understanding.
Let us pray.
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