Luke 2:1–20
The Birth of Jesus Christ
2:1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
(ESV)
The Calm Before the Christ
Have you ever experienced the calm before a storm? On February 1, 2011, my former workplace emailed all staff to go home early because a blizzard was approaching Chicago. Yet downtown felt strangely calm. No snowflakes in the sky, no gusts of wind. Everything was quiet. Only hours later, the blizzard hit with full force, stranding cars on Lake Shore Drive, delaying commuters for hours. By morning, twenty-one inches had fallen. The snow was breathtaking in its beauty, yet destructive in the chaos it caused. In our passage today, we encounter another kind of silence. For more than four hundred years, the Word of the Lord had been still. Into that void, leaders created their own rules—laws piled on top of Moses’ law, heavy burdens that distorted God’s holiness and turned obedience into performance. Like the Israelites who couldn’t wait for Moses to return and fashioned their own idol, people filled God’s silence with their own inventions. Then, breaking through the quiet, an angel appeared to ordinary shepherds. Before their fear could overwhelm them, they heard these words: “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” Suddenly a multitude of angels erupted in praise: “Glory to God in the highest . . .” The shepherds rushed to see the child and found everything exactly as they had been told. The silence gave way to a storm of glory—and the beauty of the Savior exposed and dismantled everything man-made that had grown during the quiet. Do you feel God has been silent in your life? Do you feel bound by rules or striving to earn His favor? The same Christ who broke centuries of silence and shattered the burden of performance came first to lowly shepherds—people the world overlooked. He sees you too. On this Christmas Eve, may the coming of the Christ Child bring you peace, rest, and the joy of knowing He is enough.
Christian Park