Christmas Season
Theme: The
Good Shepherd
On Thursday 23rd
December, this week, a headline appeared in the papers:
It said.........
In
The article went on: If an
angel of the Lord were to appear in the sky over
Spending nights and days in
the fields herding sheep has become an almost impossible task for the shepherds
in Bethelehem.
"I miss the freedom of
the wilderness. Everything is different now. We can barely move," says
Adel Alsir, a 35-year-old shepherd who herds his flock less than 100 yards away
from the place in the gospels where the angels appeared, still known as the
shepherds' fields.
"The change has been huge,"
says Adel Alsir. "I once had 300 sheep. I remember how we used to start
our way down to the
Jewish settlements, Israeli
army checkpoints, closed military zones and a great wall built to separate Israel and Palestine have
reduced the fields to such an extent that many
shepherds have been forced to give up their traditional livelihoods. But
some are still there............... in
Just as their compatriots were, that long age ago...........
On Christmas Eve, we heard how
the light, the glory of the Lord shone on the shepherds in the fields outside
In a pen and ink sketch, Rembrandt once painted the scene. In his drawing, the shepherds have arrived in the stable. One has brought his wife, another his little boy. On the faces of the shepherds and their families you can see awe and amazement. One shepherd is taking off his cap, another seems to be raising his hand to pray.
Somewhere in the faces and the
gestures of the shepherds, lit by the steady flame of the lamp behind them, you
see that the truth is taking hold of these men and women. The truth that they
were promised - Today in the town of
The One who by being born as a child, laid in a manger, has entered our human life, taken to Himself our human nature. That we might have life, life in all its fullness.
The shepherds in the stable.
But it’s worthwhile pausing for a moment, to think of something else deeply significant,
and its this...........
how fitting, what deep meaning there is in the shepherds going to the stable !
for they go to see the One who is the Good Shepherd, Himself.
In that stable in
The shepherds, there to gather, round the baby, the Good Shepherd, Jesus Himself.
who would speak of Himself as the Good
Shepherd...........
Long ago, the prophet Ezekiel
had been filled with bitter sorrow at the conduct of the leaders in Israel: You
should have been the shepherds of the people, he said, but instead you take
care only of yourselves, you
never tend the sheep, you have not taken care of the weak ones,
healed those that are sick, bandaged those that are hurt, brought back those
that wandered…… so, says the Lord my sheep wandered over the high hills and
mountains. They were scattered over the face of the earth, and no one looked
for them or tried to find them………. But there is a day coming when the Lord
Himself He will bring them into their own land, the Lord will send a shepherd.
A Good Shepherd who will rescue the flock, He will look after them, take them to green, rich pastures, bind up the injured…
And that’s just what Psalm 23 says:
Psalm 23 tells us that the Lord is our Shepherd, who leads us to green pastures, to fresh water, along true paths, He leads through the dark valleys. He has the power to restore the very depths of our souls, guide us back on to the paths of righteousness.
Even there in the valley of the shadow of death, He is still there with us, as always, He is we find, indeed a loving Shepherd.
How fitting that in that stable in Bethlehem, the shepherds gather round to see in this little baby, the One who will be the shepherd, the Good Shepherd, not of the sheep in the fields, but of men and women, like you and me, and not just in Bethlehem, for but for the whole earth in all its ages, for ourselves throughout the whole of life.
And many times we have heard this, but each time we hear it, it is as fresh and new and wonderful as ever:
The Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came looking
for us when we were far from the Father. As the Good Shepherd, He has come to us,
to those who were wandered…… over the high hills and mountains, scattered over
the face of the earth. God has come into the life of this world, broken
through in His Son, the One in the manger. In that little baby, the Shepherd
has arrived, who will come looking for us... so that suddenly, just as it was long ago for
the shepherds, in our darkness, there is light......... light in our darkness too
! And that’s because the Good Shepherd, the Lord Jesus has crossed from beyond
and has come into our world........... the world of
the lost...... to find us.......
As the Good Shepherd the Son of God has taken upon Himself our human frame and our human life. As the Good Shepherd He has laid down His life for us, His sheep……… when at the Cross, He gave Himself for us, taking our sin and condemnation and death upon Himself ….
Away back in
the 19th. century, Dr. Andrew Bonar, a famous
minister went with his family on holiday to the
Isn’t that the way with us ? it is strange isn’t it ? sometimes we find ourselves in a difficult or desperate situation and
wonder how we can find a way out.............. Andrew Bonar says: If that’s your situation I can
tell you this: the moment you have given up trying to save yourself and are
willing to let Him save you in His own
way - the Good Shepherd will be there, beside you, to bring you up and out
of your situation, out of danger.
Yes, yes, how fitting that in that stable in Bethlehem, the shepherds from the fields, gather round to see in this little baby, the One who will be the shepherd, the Good Shepherd, not of the sheep in the fields, but of men and women, like you and me, and not just in Bethlehem, for but for the whole earth in all its ages, and for ourselves throughout the whole of life, from its beginning to its end.