4th Sunday of Advent, Dec 2012
Christmas Sunday
Christmas Sunday
The collar of a man has nothing to do with the importance of his work.
Blue Collar.
Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, Larry the Cable Guy.
Just a few of the names that might come to mind when you hear that word.
"You might be a redneck if..."
"I don't care who you are, that funny right there."
"Heeeeeeere's Your Sign."
Blue Collar.
It's a title given to folks who work hard for a living.
They get their hands dirty. They get down in the mud and the trenches of life.
They work in factories or hardware stores or even in open fields.
The men that get referenced today do just that.
They are shepherds. A life chosen by trade.
Many shepherds had fathers and grandfathers who were also shepherds.
Like most blue collar jobs, this profession is not one looked upon with favor.
Most of the time it is a job to be avoided rather than sought. The hours are long. The work is dirty and backbreaking.
When our family spent a week at Disney World last year I came home with black callouses on my feet. It took me a week to recover.
Callouses and scars and chasing off wild animals to protect the flock is just part of the daily life of a man whose work it is to care for the defenseless.
Sheep can't protect themselves. They are not predators.
The work of a shepherd is to care. All day, all night.
The only 'break room' they have is sitting on the cliff on a hillside.
"If you sit on hillside all day and take care of sheep, you might be a shepherd."
"O Lord, forgive me, and please save the starving shepherds in the Holy Land. Amen."
Even the simplest humor kind of loses it's luster in light of the circumstances.
So, why in the world would God reveal his awesome message to a bunch of blue collar, dirty bunch of nobodies on a hill side?
Lets take a look at exactly what that message was...
Luke 2:8-20
New International Version (NIV)
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 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.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.Ok, so first thing I notice is that the scripture says they were "living out in the fields nearby".
They don't have homes back in town and then walk their flocks outside of town each day.
They live out there. Where they live defines them as much as what they do.
I think it is a natural thing to assume that the message of God's Glory would come to people with more stature.
More pomp and flare. More money and prestige.
But, look at who the message came to already.
A couple senior citizens, well beyond the time of child rearing, told they would receive a boy.
A young maiden, a virgin actually, told she would conceive by none other than the power of the Holy Spirit?
A Jewish man who upholds the law, a carpenter by trade, who wanted to divorce his wife quietly.
And now, a group of shepherds.
Quietly sitting on a hillside in the night, huddled around a fire.
Sheep quietly bleating in the distance.
13 Suddenly...
When God seems to move in the scriptures, many times, there is no warning.
Oh, there are moments.
God speaks to Moses and then Moses speaks to the people.
God comes to Abraham and tells him what will unfold ahead, down the road.
This is not one of those moments.
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,And, just that quick, it's over.
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
They have to be sitting there looking at each other.
Did we just see what we thought we saw?
A child was born? The Savior? A Messiah?
These are not scholarly men. They haven't been taught by the scribes.
They have lived a life of labor in the fields.
But, the lore of a Messiah coming is one that would have been remembered by anyone who grew up in Israel.
From their earliest ages they would have heard the word read in the synagogues.
Maybe they heard it from a scroll read by one of their elders.
Isaiah 7:14-16
New International Version (NIV)
"What's it going to hurt? Lets go see if it's true."
Imagine the lump in their throats when these men wander into town and find everything exactly like the angel said it would be.
"Shouldn't there be a whole lot of people here? Shouldn't there be really important people here? Why is it just....us?"
Maybe God didn't need the whole world to pay attention.
Maybe He didn't want everybody to know.
Maybe God knew exactly who would appreciate the message the most.
Other people would have had to much on their plates at that moment.
It's hard to get people's attention when they are distracted with life's troubles.
These guys were sitting on a hill.
"Heeeeeeeeeeere's your sign!!"
They got their sign. They got the message.
And, it was just for them. The blue collar guys. The hard workin' men.
Instead of the rich and important, God chose them.
A break time delight they would never forget.
A story they could share with their children and children's children for years to come.
"If you've ever seen angels appearing in the sky in the middle of the night while watching sheep on a hillside, you might be a believer in the Messiah."
God Bless the blue collar man.
