Each worship service during our season of Advent has begun and does begin with something a little different. Where we would normally have a Call to Worship (a text of Scripture designed to prepare our hearts for the worship that is to come), we have recited a litany of purpose that corresponds with the lighting of a candle on the Advent wreath. This is not a new tradition for this church or a tradition that is by any means exclusive to this particular congregation. Why, I would be willing to bet that most, if not all, Christian churches have some sort of Advent wreath lighting tradition within their congregation. However, there is a difference that exists amongst many Christians congregations as to what they call the candles and the different Sunday’s during Advent. Some churches just refer to them as the first, second, third, and fourth Sunday’s in Advent followed by the Christmas Eve service. Some have different names for each and every service which all have to do with the birth of Jesus Christ. Now, none of these titles or names are any more or less correct than any other method, they are just differences in worship. It’s the same as there not being a correct form of music (traditional, contemporary, or blended), but there are preferences. You may have noticed that we have referred to the three candles thus far as the Prophecy Candle, the Bethlehem Candle, and the Shepherd’s Candle. The final two are the Angel’s Candle and the Christ Candle. Each of these names celebrates a particular aspect of Christ’s birth as it is recorded for us in God’s word.
The first candle that we lit, the Prophecy Candle, also called the Hope Candle, celebrates the fulfillment of the words of the prophet Isaiah. Our text for that Sunday even looked at those very words of the prophet Isaiah that foretold of Christ’s being born of a virgin. We have a great sense of hope because of this fulfilling of prophecy because it lets us know that God is faithful and will keep the promises that He has made to us. The second candle, the Bethlehem Candle, also called the Candle of Preparation, is a celebration of God’s keeping of His promise that He made through the prophet Malachi when He told His people that the Savior would be born in Bethlehem. The people of Bethlehem are to prepare and to get ready because they are to welcome God Himself in the person of the Messiah. We looked last week at the events of the magi going to Herod and Herod sending them to Bethlehem to find the child. We saw that once the magi arrived that they presented the newborn baby Jesus with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. We saw that their reaction to coming into the presence of Christ was not one of doubt, but one of worship and adoration. They fell down and worshipped him. You see, we too are to get ready and prepare to welcome and to receive God. We don’t receive Him the exact same way as the people of Bethlehem did, but it isn’t as if God is any more or less active in our world today as He was back then.
This brings us to our third candle, the Shepherd’s Candle, or the Candle of Joy. The first thing that people always want to ask about this candle is, “Why is that candle pink when the other candles lit prior to Christmas Eve are all purple?” Well, you’re in luck today if that is your question because I’m in somewhat of a trivia mood; what all of y’all down here call lagniappe. You see, it was once a tradition for the pope to give someone a rose on the fourth Sunday of Lent before Easter to “liven up” the somber tone of the season. Prior to the commercialization of Christmas as we know it today, Advent was also a solemn time, as people fasted to prepare for the holiday. The rose custom became part of the third Sunday of Advent, and eventually the third candle turned pink as well. We call this the Candle of Joy as well because of the joyful message that the angels have for the shepherds. Now, some have argued that perhaps we should have this be the Angel’s Candle, but I want us to look at our text for today and see why it is a celebration of the shepherd’s, as receivers of the good news, just as much or more so than the angels as givers of the good news.
Let’s look at our text for today and see the joy that we have because of the good news received by the shepherds. Our text begins by telling us that somewhere near the area where Jesus had been born, there are these shepherds out in the field keeping watch over their flock during the night. An angel appears to them and tells them of the good news of the birth of the long-awaited Messiah. Now, we won’t look at the words that the angel spoke to the shepherds today. We will do that next Sunday when we look at this same text once again from the perspective of the angel and the multitude of heavenly hosts. What I want to do today is to look at the reaction of the shepherds after hearing from the angel beginning in verse 15.
We see that the immediate reaction of the shepherds is to want to go to Bethlehem. It seems like this group of shepherds simultaneously have the same thought, and that is to go to Bethlehem. I equate this to whenever Amy and I are sitting at home during the afternoon trying to figure out what to eat for dinner and then all of a sudden a commercial comes on with a great looking pizza in it. Two people who think so very differently are for a brief moment completely linked and are on the same page. We don’t even really have to tell the other one what we are thinking to get the message across. I imagine that this is similar to how the shepherds felt after hearing about Jesus from the angel. So, they go to Bethlehem to find Jesus. Much like the magi last week, they arrive and find Jesus, his father Joseph, and his mother Mary all there in the manger. They take one look at the child and they know that every word that the angel has said to them is true. Of course, you would think that they would have known that already since it came from an angel of the Lord, but that’s another matter entirely. They tell Mary and Joseph all that the angel told them. They leave out no detail and all those who are present to hear this are awestruck at the words of the shepherds.
Verse 19 tells us that Mary “treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart.” My first thought is wondering what this might mean, but think about it. This is really the first account of someone other than her family openly admitting, at least publicly, that this is indeed a virgin birth. I’m sure that even though Joseph knew that she was carrying the son of God, there had to be many in the land who thought that she was crazy. At best, they probably considered her to be a liar. They said that there was no way that this woman could have conceived a child without having ever knowing her husband or any other man. How Mary’s heart must have raced and fluttered as each and every word escaped the mouths of the shepherds. It’s not as if she needed that vindication, but I’m sure it was not unwelcome when it finally came.
After spending time in Bethlehem at the manger where Christ was born, “the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told to them.” Very similar to the magi last week, the shepherds are completely overwhelmed by what they have just seen. They know without a doubt that this child is the fulfillment of all the prophecies of God that have been given about the Savior that was to come. There is one question, however, that I want to explore before leaving this text today. That question is, “why shepherds?” Why were these shepherds among the first to hear about this child? Why were these shepherds among the first to see this child? You see, the shepherd was thought of as being an average person. There was nothing really special about the vocation of shepherd. He was an average, every day, blue-collar worker. And I think that that is the very reason why these shepherds were given the privilege of being among the first to experience Jesus Christ. The announcement of this child to these men shows that God is committed to all of humanity and not just a select or chosen few. Those “on whom God’s favor rests” include those whose claim-to-fame may be nothing more than that they wake up each day and pursue a living in service to God.
Friends, the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all mankind. It isn’t for those of us in nice, clean church buildings. It isn’t just for people who are generally good-at-heart or who usually do the right thing. No, the Gospel isn’t just for one class, one ethnicity, one status, or one type of people. The Gospel is for all who have ears to hear and eyes to see. We celebrate this day a Savior who is for everyone. We celebrate that we have a God who cares for all of us no matter who we are or what we have done. Shouldn’t our response to this wonderful news be the same as the shepherds? Shouldn’t we go about our day “glorifying and praising God for all” that we have heard and seen and are experiencing this day? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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