I love the story of the shepherds in the Christmas narrative. To begin with, they find themselves in a very ordinary situation - out on the hillside, while everyone else is in their warm homes asleep. But, then, suddenly, the whole scene is unexpectedly changed. Radiance surrounds them, and they’re seeing angels, receiving messages, and even hearing choirs. No wonder they were afraid. They were terrified not just for their safety, I bet. They must have been frightened for their sanity!
I can’t imagine what they actually saw, or what the experience really felt like for them, but as Luke recounts the story, we find the angel speaking, and it’s an almost ridiculous message. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Saviour - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” So far so good. But, then he goes on: “And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12 NLT). The shepherds must have been looking for the hidden cameras right about now. Someone who is called “Saviour”, “Messiah” and “Lord” is going to be found in a feeding trough? This is not the obvious place to look for a child of significance at all.
But, here’s where I am challenged by the shepherds. They make the choice to open their eyes and see this coming of God’s Messiah into their world. They somehow have the eyes to look beyond their expectations, their stereotypes about wealth, celebrity, status and importance, and see God in this most unexpected of places. They have the humility to believe that someone of significance can appear in a place that feels completely insignificant. They have the capacity to embrace the ridiculousness of the message, and find the glory in it - and as a result, they become the first witnesses to God’s miraculous incarnation.
The Scriptures are always calling us to this kind of seeing, this choice to open our eyes, and, with childlike wonder, find God where God (according to our sensibilities and expectations) shouldn’t be. The incarnation of God in Christ is not really a surprise when you trace God’s presence through human history. In truth, God has always been appearing, coming, incarnating in all sorts of ways. For those who were willing to let their usual way of seeing go, God was happy to speak through donkeys, appear in smoke and fire, and stillness, and be revealed in outcasts, foreigners and ‘sinners’.
God almost seems to take great glee in hiding from us in the most unexpected - and offensive - places. Perhaps this is because until we can find God in the places we believe God has forsaken, we haven’t really known God at all. And when we can see God’s presence in feeding troughs and insignificant villages, in babies and teenage mothers, we can suddenly see God everywhere. The entire world becomes filled with incarnation - with God revealed and present and working in every person and place and moment.
May our celebrations this year teach us to see the world with Christmas eyes, and to recognise God in every one of what Mother Teresa called his “distressing disguises”.
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John van de Laar is a Methodist minister, liturgical consultant and the author of the book Food for the Road – Life Lesson from the Lord’s Table. He holds a Master’s Degree in theology from UNISA, and is the founder of Sacredise.com, an international worship training and resourcing ministry. John is married to Debbie, and they have two sons.
Visit www.sacredise.com for more articles by John, as well as resources for personal and public worship – music, prayers, liturgies, images and drama scripts.