Reflecting on the Shepherds and the Angels
Indianapolis First Friends Quaker Meeting
Pastor Bob Henry
Dec. 18, 2022
Luke 2:8-15 NRSV
In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.”
Having so many new people in our growing choir, I am missing them this morning, but I have often over the last several Sundays recalled the passage we just heard read from Luke as they have sung – a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and singing.
This morning, I am simply bringing a devotional thought for us to ponder on a bit of history behind this biblical story of angels and shepherds. With the help of James Cooper, the Pathos website, and church history, I want to give you some insights that I have found rather fascinating regarding this story.
Let’s begin with the shepherds.
One of the themes I will be sharing this morning and, in a bit, more detail on Christmas Eve is how in Jesus’ day, shepherds were generally seen as having low or little value by other people. They were the fringe of society and not allowed in the temple because they were never able to be “ceremonially clean.” Sadly, this left them both ostracized by society and the religious establishment.
And how about the sheep that they took care of…
The type of sheep the shepherds would have been raising were 'fat tailed' (or broad tailed) sheep. They often had lambs in the autumn and winter, rather than in the spring like most sheep in western countries these days.
The shepherds were quietly attending to their business when the scriptures say an angel appears to them. I'm not surprised they were afraid because they spent a great deal of time alone out in the pasture not interacting socially with anyone other than the sheep.
The angel's words to them spoke of the amazing birth of a child and how they could recognize him in a very crowded town. I find it interesting that the words of the host of angels are very similar to the words sung during a Jewish Sacrifice Service in the temple, and it would have been accompanied by three blasts of the temple trumpets.
Interestingly, this is only the second time in the whole Bible that a group of angels rather than one angel appeared to people, which is an indicator that this was an important message.
Even as a child, I was so curious about the events taking place around Christmas, I asked for a book by Dr. Paul Maier, a professor of ancient history at Western Michigan University, about his perspectives of the First Christmas when I was still in grade school. (Yes, you could say I was a nerd).
Ironically, the material in that book ended up being key in helping me write my very first sermon, which I delivered at the age of 13 on Christmas Eve in my eighth-grade year.
Since those days, I have read many theories about the events of the Christmas story. One that has intrigued me is that Jesus might have been born a couple of miles outside of Bethlehem - and may have actually been born in the company of the shepherds.
Just outside of Bethlehem there was a special watch tower called the Migdal Eder, which means 'The Tower of the Flock'. It's thought that sheep born there were used as sacrificial animals in the Jewish Temple in near-by Jerusalem. Unlike typical shepherds, these were very special and were thought of more highly by the religious establishment and society.
According to some sources, the lambs at Migdal Eder had their health checked by resting them in a 'manger' (or a hewn-out rock) to stop them from escaping. They were even wrapped in swaddling clothes to show they were special!
I’m not convinced about Jesus actually ‘being born’ at 'Migdal Eder’ but having those shepherds being the first to be told about Jesus makes a lot of sense.
Having seen the new baby, the Bible says "...they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them." If they were typical shepherds – no one would have paid attention.
But if they were shepherds from Migdal Eder, they could have told the people what they saw on the way back to the hills, friends and relatives in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the 'middle class' people they sold sheep to and also the people and priests in the Jewish Temple when they took their best sheep and lambs to be sold there for sacrifices.
Ironically, even one ancient prophesy from the Bible also said that the Jewish messiah would come to the 'tower of the flock'.
We may never know the exact history of the First Christmas, but when we hear good news proclaimed to us, my hope is that we would take it into all the world (share it with our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers), and do it without instilling fear, but instead with great joy.
To bring peace and bear good news is our call as we enter this final week leading to Christmas. May we take that message as the shepherds did in Bethlehem into our communities and homes this weeks!
Now, as we enter waiting worship, take a moment to ponder the following queries:
How are you bringing peace and bearing “good news” as you enter this holiday season?
Who do you know that needs hope in our world, today?