It never occurred to
me that memoirists have something in common with shepherds watching over their
flocks by night— that is, not until I heard my son-in-law Brian’s Christmas
sermon. That morning it became clear that we memoirists are more like those
shepherds than we might have realized.
Yes, shepherds—those
behind-the-scenes guys we sing about in Christmas carols, the ones we read
about in the Bible in Luke 2.
They were simply,
quietly doing their daily chores when—bam!
“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 of great joy
that will be for all
the people.
Today in the town of
David a Savior has been born to you;
he is Christ the
Lord. This will be a sign to you:
You will find a baby
wrapped in cloths
and lying in a
manger.’”
(Luke 2:9-12)
An angel is a
messenger sent by God—did you know? The Bible refers to angels a lot.
That night the angel
of the Lord gave a stunning message to the shepherds—something about good news.
Something about a Savior. And about a baby—a baby lying in a manger, of all
things!
That must have
sounded wacky to them, don’t you think?
But God was offering
them a moment of clarity:
Somehow, they knew
this was a divine encounter,
that they stood on
holy ground,
and that they had to
take the angel’s message seriously.
So they said, “Let’s
go to Bethlehem and check it out!” (verse 16).
I picture them:
Wild-eyed. Breathless.
“They hurried to the
village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the
angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story
were astonished. . . . [and] they went back to their flocks, glorifying and
praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:16-20, NLT).
They were never the
same after that encounter, after the night God gave them a moment of clarity.
Similarly, “God gives
us moments of clarity,” son-in-law Brian said, “in the same way the angel of
the Lord gave clarity to those shepherds.”
Think about moments
of clarity God has sprung on you—pivotal points in your life, defining moments.
They can occur while
you’re carrying out everyday duties. “Pay attention to God,” Brian said. “He
can speak to you in even routine events.”
Think back to a time
when you, like the shepherds, were carrying out your normal routines—maybe a
little bored, or maybe wondering if your life had any significance at all—when your
life took an unexpected turn. And the result: a moment of clarity.
Let’s look at the
shepherds:
- Because God sent an angel,
- and because the shepherds paid attention to the angel’s message,
- and because they followed up and verified the message,
- and because this resulted in a moment of clarity for the shepherds,
- they “told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished” (Luke 2:17-18),
- they praised God for what He told and showed them,
- and the shepherds’ story has lived on long after they died, blessing many generations.
The shepherds shared
their story. That’s what memoirists do:
- We tell others our stories of what happened.
- And when we see how our all-powerful, all-loving God showed Himself to us in our circumstances, we can’t help but praise and worship Him!
- And our stories can live on long after we die, blessing many generations.
That reminds me of the
following Bible verses:
“Tell everyone about
the amazing things God does. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise”
(1 Chronicles 16:24-25).
Jesus said, “Go tell
your family everything God has done for you” (Luke 8:39).
“Always remember
what you’ve seen God do and be sure to tell your children and grandchildren”
(Deuteronomy 4:9).
“We will tell the
next generation about the Lord’s power and his great deeds and the wonderful
things he has done. He . . . instructed our ancestors to teach his laws to
their children, so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should
tell their children. In this way they will also put their trust in God and not
forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments” (Psalm 78:4b, 6-7,
Good News Translation).
“Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his
greatness. Let
the whole world know what he has done” (Psalm 105:1).
“Sing praises to the Lord, proclaim what He has done” (Psalm
9:11).
“Declare [God’s]
glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples” (Psalm 96:3).
“The Lord has done
glorious things; let this be known to all the world” (Isaiah 12:5).
Jesus said, “What I
tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear,
proclaim from the roofs” (Matthew 10:27).
When God gives us
moments of clarity
and changes our
lives,
He urges us to tell
others our stories
in the same way the
shepherds told theirs.
Brian concluded his
sermon with this encouragement:
“Those shepherds were
just regular guys
who shared the
message of light and hope and peace.
We should do the
same.”
