They Told Who?

*Since the Prince of Wales Hotel is closed during the actual Christmas season, we celebrated it July 25th; this is the inspiration for this post*

We all know the story.

Mary and Joseph travel to Bethlehem. There is no room in the inn. Jesus is born. The angels tell the shepherds. The shepherds come and find the baby. A little while later (if you're watching a Christmas production version) the wise men show up...

Wait.

The angels told shepherds?!

This is something that we easily read over. For us shepherds are either Joe Farmer from down the street or it is the little kids wearing their dad's bathrobe - both options aren't bad. However, this is not what a shepherd was - back then shepherds were the lowest of the low. They were known for letting their sheep graze on land they weren't supposed to, they were thieves, they were not religious. They were the outcasts of society. Yet God told them first? This would be like the Queen of England rushing out of the hospital to tell a prostitute, or a junkie, or a homeless man that #royalbaby was born. This just wouldn't happen! Yet it is to these people that God chose to let them know that His son was born.

We are all shepherds. Due to sin, we are all outcasts when it comes to God's holiness - none of us are worthy of this. We are all the lowest of the low - it was for us, shepherds, that God came to bring peace.

Peace from trying to earn our way to salvation. Peace from doubt. Peace from fear. Peace from comparison. Peace from degradation. Peace from judgement. Peace with God. The shepherds marveled at this as they looked at Jesus - here was God's plan to bring them peace, a peace they could already begin to feel. This is what they had been waiting for. This peace was seen when they looked at the face of the baby Jesus in the manger; we can see this peace when we see Jesus hanging on the cross.

The words the angels told the Shepherds told the shepherds still ring true for us - A Savior has been born, He is Christ the Lord - and he came to bring you peace because he loves you.