I was invited to give a talk on Luke 2 this past weekend for the local People of Praise branch's Christmas celebration. I was one of four speakers. I grew up in the People of Praise, but I am not a member anymore; I thought it was nice of them to ask someone "outside" the community to give one of the talks. My cousin Andrew led the music 🕺🎤.

I got good feedback on the talk, and several people have encouraged me to share it. So in spite of my trepidation to share my faith so publicly, here the passage I was assigned, followed by the reflection I read aloud 🙂

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Luke 2:8-19

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

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What does it mean to be childlike?

This is a question of consequence for Christians - in Matthew 18:2, Jesus tells us that unless we become like little children, we will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

This is serious stuff. An unequivocal challenge. Yet the answer, to me, is unintuitive. The world around me doesn’t feel built to foster childlikeness. I’m not even sure I know what childlikeness is. 

Jesus is our teacher, and he is our primary moral example. If we want to look for beacons of how to be childlike, then, perhaps it becomes useful for us to examine the experience and action of Jesus, as a child.

There are three stories of young Jesus to examine. They’re all in Luke 2. One of them is the reading I just gave.

The thing I want to examine today within this story is the infant Jesus’ interaction and relationship with the shepherds.

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Here’s a different bible shepherd story - the parable of the Good Shepherd, from John 10:

These are Jesus’ words:

“The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. He opens the gate and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.

“I am the Good Shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me.

“I am the Good Shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (End quote)

I love this bible passage. In meditating on Jesus as the Good Shepherd, I find him as a tender, gentle, compassionate protector and leader. This image is one that helps define my personal relationship with Jesus.

Here are some excerpts from Ezekiel 34:

“This is what the Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered, and I will bring them together. I will tend them in a good pasture. There they will lie down in good grazing land. I myself will tend my sheep, declares the Sovereign Lord.”

I know Christ, the Good Shepherd, as a loving protector. He cares for me and he ensures that I am wrapped in the warm embrace of his love and security.

But, in order to fully understand Christ as my Good Shepherd, I need to understand myself as a sheep. A sheep in need of protecting. 

“I need to be protected”. This is a phrase I am not trained to say, and certainly not a sentiment that I am trained to feel. In fact, the older I get, and the more responsibility I’m given, admitting my own need to be protected feels more and more like a vulnerability. But that’s exactly what what I am called to do - accept this vulnerability.

Having the vulnerability to accept my need of protection… takes courage. Courage to open my heart, take the risk of exposure. It’s like a trust fall, into the open arms of the Good Shepherd. He is there to catch you… but you still have to close your eyes and tip back.

It’s unintuitive. But I think having this courage, and vulnerability, points towards what it means to be childlike.

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Let’s return to Luke. 2:16 “[The Shepherds] hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”

As a literal infant, it’s safe to assume that Jesus was rather unpretentious about accepting his role as the beloved, as someone in need of protecting. 

And, we can imagine these shepherds as the perfect folks to greet the infant Christ. Shepherds, after all, are used to taking care of small, fragile creatures. We can imagine this expertise factored in to why the angel chose them to go to Bethlehem. These shepherds are a message from God, to the newborn Jesus, and to us — a message of love, and excitement, and tenderness.

What an honor and a blessing that must have been. To love on and give care to the baby Jesus!

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Interpreted thusly, this passage provides us a two-for-one example of how we can emulate Christ. We are given the dual calling to be both child (slash sheep), and shepherd.

Dear God,

Thank you for the opportunity to pray together in preparation for the birth of your son. 

I ask that you give me grace to emulate your infant son in my striving to become like a child. 

Help me find comfort in vulnerability, and gratitude when I am in need of other’s help.

Give me courage to accept affection from others openly without pride or reservation.

If it is your will, grace me with the privilege to act as a shepherd - as your messenger of love to someone vulnerable, in need of protection.

Thank you for the example of your son, and for honoring me with the challenge to do as he did.

Amen.

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Thanks for reading - Merry Christmas! 🎄🎅👨‍🍼