“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” (Luke 2:10)
Many historians believe the first ever radio broadcast of music and speech was heard by radio operators on US Navy and other ships in the Atlantic on Christmas Eve, 1906. Instead of the usual beeps and pulses to transmit codes, they listened to Reginald Fessenden play a violin solo of the Christmas carol “O, Holy Night.” Fessenden closed his broadcast by echoing the angels’ praise: “Glory to God in the highest heaven!” The listeners must have been startled by the evocative music and statement of praise over the birth of Jesus.
The first people surprised by Jesus’ birth were the shepherds who’d been keeping to their usual business of watching their sheep at night. Then an angel appeared, singing with the glory of God and giving the shepherds a fright. The angel urged them not to be afraid and declared: “I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord”. The shepherds left their sheep to investigate the angel’s words and found the baby lying in a manger, just as they had been told.
The shepherds accepted this good news of great joy. May we too rejoice and share the wonders of Jesus’ birth and life.
Daily Questions
- How do you think you would have reacted to the news the angel proclaimed?
- Why do you think God chose to reveal His Son’s birth to them?
Daily Prayer
Dear Jesus, Your birth was revealed to the shepherds, for You don’t despise anyone, and You came to earth to love and save us all.
Amen.
Luke 2:8-14
“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you; You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.'”
Reflection
In Luke 1, we read Mary’s song in which she “glorifies…God my Savior”. She includes herself by referring to “the humble state of God’s servant” and notes how God “has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble”. In Luke 2, God lifts up the humble when the angel appears first to shepherds with the good news of Jesus’ birth. Shepherds lived “on the margins,” rendered ceremonially unclean by a job whose requirements kept them outside the city limits and outside civic norms. Shepherds found it difficult even to participate in the religious festivals and sacrifices. Yet they were the chosen eyewitnesses for the angelic celebration on a Bethlehem hillside. The angel spoke of “great joy for all the people”-shepherds included. We’re included too. May we celebrate the wonder of Christ’s birth with wide open hearts.
No Thought Police 