Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Week Five, Day Three

Who came to visit Jesus and celebrate his birth?  Luke has one answer: shepherds.  Matthew has another: Wise Men.  

Christmas pageants usually combine shepherds and Wise Men into one Christmas script. This tradition has the benefit of including more parts for people in costumes and the convenience of sharing the whole story in a single production. After all, who would want to wait for - or come back later to meet - travelers arriving from far to the east of Bethlehem.  They came on camels, not in space ships!

A risk in our “one script includes all” design is: we may miss the unique vision and message each Gospel conveys. What we see and learn and value as our priority will shape our decisions as individuals and our witness as congregations.

 In Luke, the first people to hear the Good News of Jesus’ birth and run to celebrate it are shepherds. People hearing his Gospel would view their place of honor as - at best - unexpected. More likely, it would be truly shocking; - and, quite likely, unacceptable. Even to Christians!

In economic terms, shepherds were “the poorest of the poor.” In social terms, they were the “lowest of the low;” though their work was essential for the owner’s income and well-being, all shepherds were seen as actual - or potential - thieves.  In spiritual terms, they were by definition “sinners;” since their work was far from the Temple or synagogue, they could not participate in the required rituals. One more thing led people to “keep their distance” from  shepherds: being with sheep day and night meant they had odors no “de-oderant” could disguise!

What persons do we view today in ways similar to how people saw shepherds then?  If Luke is right, such persons might help us and our congregations  hear and understand Jesus and his “good news for the poor.”   (See Luke 4: 16-21 and Luke 6:20; also the remainder of Luke 6.)

 Matthew’s “travelers from the east” are everything the shepherds are not: they are Gentiles, not Jews; they are wealthy, not poor; they are educated, not illiterate; they are respected, not despised; they are “kings,” not workers. Their gifts signal a recognition of Jesus by persons beyond God’s chosen people, the Jews. Their coming to see this new king is an enormous threat to Herod’s power and ego and role in a society which was dominated by a powerful empire.

In Matthew’s vision, there is room for all of us who are not like shepherds then or people they remind us of today.

However, if we want to see and follow Jesus, we will face changes in our self-understanding and conflicts in our churches and roles in society. Read what happened in Bethlehem when Herod’s fear-filled wrath came down upon them: Matt. 2:16-18.