Down to Earth: A Christmas Devotional JourneySample

Day 23: Investigation, Contemplation, Celebration

Reflection

Have you ever noticed how few words are devoted to the shepherds’ actual encounter with Jesus? Even the words we do have, "when they had seen Him," are used to set the scene for the shepherds moving on.

This whole account is focused firstly on their absolute resolve to investigate the Angels’ News – it’s hard for English translations to do justice to the level of urgency described here – and secondly on the shepherds leaving to tell others, glorifying and praising God.

It’s sometimes easy for us to picture the Nativity Scene as rather static. In Nativity Plays, each character arrives on stage and often simply stays there – hopefully standing or sitting as motionless as possible. I remember my own son mastering this as a shepherd by falling asleep!

But the reality is much more action-packed. The shepherds don’t just fade into the wings. They return to their work having been changed by their Encounter. They continue to pass on the Angels’ News, and the people who hear them are amazed.

The same is true for Mary. The description of her treasuring and pondering the events in her heart describes the whole of her life, far beyond the moments in the Nativity Scene. And by verse 21, Jesus has also moved on to the next stage in His Journey.

As beautiful as the Nativity Scene is, no one stays there, and neither should we. Our Call, like that of the shepherds, is to go and carry the Good News out from the gathering place, into the world.

Prayer

Lord, please show me what the Unchanging Christmas Truths are for me today. This Christmas, help me to freshly investigate, contemplate, and celebrate You. And when I move on from the Nativity Scene, let me copy the shepherds – telling others about You and living every day in the reality of Your Unchanging Truths.