Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Why them?

I guess the biggest question is why. Why them? Why then? Why?

They still prowl the rocky hills of Palestine, grubby, smelly and out there among the unknown. They are shepherds, with a bunch of really dumb  sheep, in a really, really dumb  occupation. And out there among themselves, and little else, they still lead their sheep by the still water.

I still have trouble believing, and understanding, exactly what God had in mind when he came to them first with the announcement of the birth of a baby. Why them? Why then?

Imagine that.

An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord was shining around them. And the shepherds were very afraid. "Don't be afraid. I have some very good news for you — news that will make everyone happy. Today your Savior was born in David's town. He is Christ, the Lord" (Luke 2:9-11 ERV).
Why was heaven's glory revealed to a bunch of nobodies in the middle of nowhere?
While shepherds had once been held in high esteem among God's people, they had become unwanted, left out, and pushed to the side. They smelled like sheep. They slept on the ground. They didn't live in major cities. Their jobs made them little or no money. They came from the lower rung of society. Abraham, Moses, and David were heroes larger than life that were remembered for greater things than shepherding. Shepherds were so yesterday and so not today in Jesus' world.
So why was heaven's glory revealed to a bunch of unwanted and forgotten shepherds? Of all the people to whom God could have revealed this startling birth, why choose shepherds? With all the power brokers in Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome, why choose the countryside outside of the insignificant and tiny village of Bethlehem?
Why?
Is in in the asking that we begin to seek the answers that can change lives? Why? Why not now? Why? That's the question I offer as we ponder the few days we have left till we meet the child. 
Why them? 
What a strange way to save the world.

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