The Shepherd, December 2006
GOOD TIDINGS OF GREAT JOY, 3
The announcement having been made, the whole heavenly host, or army of Angels, joined in praising God, with a portion of it visible to the shepherds. As the “sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 38:7) when the foundations of the universe, the first creation, were laid, now the heavens were ringing with joy at the beginning of the New Creation in Christ.
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” The two parts of the angelic hymn balance each other. The highest heavens, among the highest beings, in the highest and most exalted degree, where perfect harmony reigns, contrasts with the lowness and discord of earth, where men are in a constant state of enmity and hostility with heaven and with each other and the rest of the earthly creation. The Angels’ song is unselfish. Their praise of God for what He does for man balances their rejoicing with men for what God is doing in manifesting His goodwill by sending a Saviour to break down the barrier between God and man. Peace with God, with our consciences, with our neighbours, with all men, with all the earthly creation, with the Angels, is possible only because of God’s goodwill in sending His Son, the Prince of Peace, to open the way of reconciliation through His Passion. In the Book of Revelation, the Angels praise “the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Rev. 13:8), although He was not slain for them, but for us.
As the glorious, celestial vision faded, the shepherds unanimously agreed that as a matter of urgency they must go to Bethlehem, not indeed to verify the truth of the Angel’s message, but to see with their own eyes the event that they undoubtedly believed had come to pass, and which God had seen fit to reveal to them. And so they “came with haste” to Bethlehem.
It is possible that they had received more specific directions than St Luke actually records. Perhaps the Angel directed them to that particular cave-stable, where they found “Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.” Contrary to the age-old custom, Mary is mentioned first, before Joseph. St Luke may be emphasizing that the Child’s only earthly parent is Mary, the Mother of God. No doubt the shepherds’ own circumstances were simple and lacking in any kind of luxury, and they found nothing in the poverty and humility of the cave to shake their faith. The sign agreed with what they had been told and they were completely satisfied. They knew with certainty in their hearts that they had found Him Whom they sought. Presumably they shared the details of their vision with Joseph and the Child’s Mother. We do not know how much the Virgin Mother and St Joseph felt able to tell the shepherds in return about their own Divine visions and experiences, but opening their hearts to each other as far as was possible would surely have strengthened the faith of all those gathered round the manger.
On leaving the lowly cave, the shepherds became the first men to preach the Gospel. They “made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this Child.” They told everyone they met, the inhabitants of Bethlehem, the visitors, and doubtless many subsequent hearers. And everyone “wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.” They no doubt considered the shepherds to be plain, matter of fact men, unlikely to have any ulterior motive in spreading such a tale. Some of the listeners may have visited the cave in the hope that the story might be true, others out of idle curiosity, seeing nothing out of the ordinary in a swaddled baby, the child of unfortunate travellers forced to seek shelter in a stable. A few, like the magi, may in varying degrees have sensed something beyond the outward poverty and commonplace scene. Most people probably thought it highly unlikely that the Messiah would be born in a stable instead of a palace, or that a Divine revelation would be to shepherds rather than to the religious leaders. The manger, like the Cross, was to most “foolishness” and a “stumbling-block” (1 Cor. 1:23). They may have briefly “wondered,” but like the chief priests who heard the news of the Messiah’s Birth from the Magi, they do not appear to have stirred themselves to make any real effort, and probably regarded the whole things as a nine-days wonder. But one or two doubtless believed what the shepherds said and, like Simeon, waited and watched for the “consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25).
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