Right Place, Right Time

The message given in the Sunday night service in the Gettysburg United Methodist church.  The Bible verses used are Luke 2:8-20.

            You know, we’ve gotten so used to the Christmas story as it is that we sometimes forget all the really strange things that went into making it happen.  God actually went to a lot of trouble to make sure the birth of Jesus was no ordinary, common place event.  He was born to a virgin–that, in and of itself, made it unique.  Further, the virgin was, as far as we can tell, just a common, ordinary person, although clearly a person of great faith.  With a soon-to-be husband who was also just a common, ordinary person, although also a person of great faith.  And then, having Jesus is born when this couple is a long way from home, apparently with no one around to help them.  And of course, Jesus is born in a stable, again with no family around, no friends around, just a bunch of animals.

            But none of these unusual circumstances would’ve meant much if nobody knew about them, right?  So, God had to make sure that someone did know about it, and that they would spread the story far and wide.  Enter the shepherds.  The shepherds were the ones who were going to make sure everyone knew about the strange, unusual birth of the Savior, Jesus Christ.

So the question is, why shepherds?  And why these shepherds?  Why would God choose them as the messengers, as the ones who were going to spread the word about the coming of the Messiah?

            We’ve talked about this before, but shepherds were not exactly among the most respected people in society.  It was a tough job.  You were out in the elements all the time, from the heat of the summer to the cold of the winter, and even though they were in a desert area it still got cold.  You had to be on the lookout constantly, to protect the sheep from wild animals.  You also had to be on the lookout to protect them from thieves and robbers. 

            Being a shepherd was not a highly sought-after position.  Very few kids grew up wanting to be a shepherd.  It was basically a job you took if you could not find a better job.  It was better than being a beggar, but that’s about it.  And these are the people God chose to be the ones who would make sure the story of the birth of Jesus Christ was remembered.

            And the thing is, the Bible gives no indication that these particular shepherds were at all special or unusual in any way.  They do not appear to have been any better than any other shepherds.  They don’t seem to have been any smarter, or any more virtuous, or any more faithful.  In fact, we’re really told nothing about them.  The Bible gives no indication that they were chosen for any specific reason at all, other than the fact that they happened to be close to Bethlehem, close enough that they could get to the stable to see Jesus while he was still lying in the manger.

            So again the question is, why shepherds?  And why these shepherds?  Why were they the ones that were chosen to spread the word about the birth of the Messiah?

           One reason might be their very ordinariness.  They may have been chosen partly because of their low status.  Now, I don’t think it’s true to say, as some do, that Jesus came specifically for the poor and downtrodden.  Jesus came for everybody, from the poorest of the poor to the richest of the rich.  But I do think God may have wanted to emphasize that “everybody” includes people of low status.

            In the society of Jesus’ time, class and status were incredibly important.  They still have meaning now, too, of course.  But back then it was even more so.  The religious leaders, the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests and the teachers of the law--most of them clearly thought that they were better than everyone else, that they were a little closer to God than the rest of the people were.  Shepherds may well have been chosen to be God’s messengers specifically because they had low status.  God may have wanted to make it clear that the Messiah had come to save everyone, not just the wealthy and the religious leaders and the other “respectable” people of the time.

            Another reason shepherds may have been chosen is that they might be more believable, simply because they had nothing to gain by lying about it.  I mean, think about this story they were telling.  “We were out in the field one night, and all of a sudden this angel came and told us the Savior of the world had been born in a barn and was lying in a manger in Bethlehem.  And then a whole host of angels came and sang praises to God.  So we went to Bethlehem and there the Savior was.  He was a baby, and you know what?  He was lying in a manger.  That’s how we saw the Savior of the world”

            I mean, that’s a pretty unbelievable story, right?  How was it going to help the shepherds any to make up a story like that?  What possible motive could they have? 

Now, if one of the Pharisees or the chief priests had told a story like that, you could see where he might have made it up.  He might be trying to gain status, telling people that an angel had talked to him.  He might be trying to get people to think of him as a prophet or something.  It would seem like having something like this happen to a Pharisee or a chief priest would definitely help advance their career.

But shepherds?  How was it going to help shepherds to make up a story like this?  It was not going to make people think better of them.  It was not going to help them get better jobs or more money.  In fact, they were risking ridicule by telling this story.  “An angel came to you?  The heavenly host appeared to you?  Have you been getting into the wineskins or something?”  The shepherds had absolutely nothing to gain by making a story like this up.  The only reason they would tell it is if it was true.

            Another reason why shepherds may have been chosen is that shepherds, by the nature of their work, traveled a lot.  They were constantly on the move, looking for green pastures.  After all, again, a lot of this was desert country.  There was not a lot of good grass around.  So, because shepherds traveled, they would go to different towns and see different people.  And that would give them more chances to tell their story, to spread the word about the birth of the divine Savior, Jesus Christ.

            Those are all reasons God might have chosen shepherds.  But as for why these particular shepherds, I really don’t think we can even speculate.  Again, we are told nothing about them.  We don’t even know their names. 

As far as we can tell, there is no specific reason these shepherds were chosen.  There may have been, but if there was, the Bible gives us no indication of it.  As far as we can tell, they were simply in the right place at the right time.

I wonder if the shepherds ever thought about it.  It seems like they must have.  Surely they must have thought, “Why us?  Why would God choose us to be the ones to be the first ones, other than his parents, to see the Savior of the World on earth?”

If they did, I don’t suppose they ever came up with much of an answer.  But even so, they did not let that stop them.  The one thing we know about those shepherds is that they did what God wanted them to do.  They went to Bethlehem and saw the baby.  Then they went and spread the word.  They spread the word so well that we still know the story over two thousand years later.  For whatever reason, God had chosen them to do this, and they did not let God down.

God has chosen you to do something, too.  Maybe you know what it is.  Maybe you don’t, yet.  Maybe you know what it is, but you’re hesitant to do it.  Maybe you’re thinking, “But I’m nobody special.  I’m just a common, ordinary person.  There’s no reason for God to choose me.  I’m not smarter than anyone else.  I’m not more virtuous than anyone else.  I’m not more faithful than anyone else.  Why would God choose me?  Why me?”

Maybe, at some point, you’ll come up with an answer.  Or, maybe you won’t.  Maybe there isn’t a good answer.  Maybe, like the shepherds, you just happen to be in the right place at the right time.  But the thing is, that’s not the question.  The question is not “Why you?”  The question is, “What are you going to do about it?”  And of course, I need to ask that question of myself, too.  What am I going to do about it?

Are we going to shirk our responsibility?  Are we going to come up with excuses?  Or are we going to do what God wants us to do?  Are we going to follow God, and trust God, even if we don’t understand “Why me?”

The shepherds, as far as we can tell, never did understand why they were chosen.  But they did not let that stop them.  They did what God wanted them to do.  They did not let God down.

Will you?  Will I?