Joy

JOY Luke 2:8-20 December 13, 2020 The symbol for the third week of Advent is the shepherd, and the theme is joy. And, so far throughout Advent, the common element has been the angel Gabriel, and the different reactions people have to his appearances. He appeared to the prophet Daniel, and his response was absolute terror. He appeared to Jesus' mother Mary, and her response was confused and disturbed. Last week, he appeared to the old priest Zechariah. His response to Gabriel's message was doubt. Today, an angel appears to a new crowd and receives a new response. I'll give you ten seconds to look at the title of this sermon, and then take a wild guess about the response. We have jumped nine months forward in our story. Elizabeth has given birth to John the Baptist. Her cousin Mary has traveled 90 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem with her fiancé Joseph. They are housed in an animal shed. She has gone into labor, and has given birth to Jesus. Our text today tells us it is nighttime, and there are shepherds in a nearby field watching over their sheep. Now, you may not catch it at first, but that sentence is packed with information. First, is the fact that shepherds is plural.1 Typically, a large sheep pen was set up. And, every night the local shepherds would bring their sheep to the pen. All of the sheep were mixed together. And, only one shepherd was necessary to watch over them. The next morning the shepherds went to the pen, their sheep recognized their voice, came out to them, and they went about their day. But, the sheep that were sacrificed at the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, were required to be free range.2 They were not permitted to be penned up at any time, even at night. Which meant there had to be multiple shepherds on duty to guard them from predators and thieves during the night. Combine that with the fact that the only nearby field, as the text says, was for the Temple sheep - and you realize the angel has appeared to the most special holy sheep in Israel. These are the sheep that pilgrims purchase from the priests when they come for Passover. It's the priests own special flocks. Here's the irony. While those sheep are considered special and holy, the men who watch over them are despised. Shepherds aren't allowed to take the Sabbath off. They have to stay with the sheep. So, since they don't observe the Sabbath, they are ritually unclean. The citizens of Jerusalem were divided into very specific social classes.3 At the top were the wealthy. They traveled from party to party, never did manual labor, and were allowed to practice polygamy (one of the perks of being rich). Next was the middle class. This included the priests who worked at the Holy Temple. They did no manual labor, enjoyed public recognition, and lived longer than the normal life expectancy. Next were slaves and day laborers. You can imagine what their lives were like. The life of a slave is a bad, bad deal. Below the slaves were beggars, cripples, widows, and orphans. People who depended entirely on the generosity of others to survive. Then, below that class, were the despised trades; dung collectors, hide tanners, and shepherds. If David had come during Jesus' life, he would never have been allowed to become king. Shepherds were so despised.4 So, while these sheep are considered special and wonderful, the men who watched over them were particularly disrespected. So, the beloved sheep and the hated shepherds are out in the Temple fields after dark. When, an angel appears. The angel is not specifically named. But, German theologians have made a very strong case this is also Gabriel.5 If you read this story in German, this is the fourth appearance by Gabriel in the nativity story. It's nighttime, but the angel glows. He glows almost as bright as the Sun. And, the text is quite clear - he glows because he is reflecting the holiness of God Almighty. Gabriel told Zechariah last week that he stands in the presence of God Almighty. This angel glows with the holiness which comes from being in the presence of the Father. Not surprisingly, the shepherds are shaken up. They are quite frightened. So, they receive the standard angelic greeting - fear not. And, apparently, that works. All indications are the shepherds calm down. They are going to receive some important information, and they do appear to be calm enough to absorb the message. The message is - I am giving you information for the entire nation of Israel. And, it is really, really, good news. Two miles from here, in the city of Bethlehem, a baby has been born. This baby is the Savior, the Messiah, of the world. You know, you and I call Jesus our Lord and Savior all the time. And, we are right to do that. But, in the Bible, the title Savior only appears twice.6 Here when Gabriel announces Jesus' birth. And, in the Gospel of John, when the woman at the well tells the rest of the Samaritans about Jesus. Here's why that's important. The word the angel uses means a protector and rescuer.7 It is the word shepherds use to describe themselves. It's what a shepherd calls another shepherd - Savior. The rest of the world despises us. They mock us, and insult us, and reject us. And, we don't know why - because we are protectors and rescuers. In effect, the angel calls the Messiah, a shepherd. He's one of you. Do you understand the magnitude of the disconnect here? The Messiah is not announced to the Roman elite, or the middle-class priests.8 He isn't announced at the Holy Temple. Gabriel isn't where we expect him to be. And, he isn't talking to the people we expect him to talk to. It's difficult to give this the proper perspective.9 It would be like an angel showing up to a group of homeless people. And, saying to them - God has come, and he's one of you. It would be like showing up in the middle of a County prison and announcing - God has come, and he's one of you. It would be like appearing in a drug house, to a dozen people buying heroin, and saying - God has come, and he's one of you. It would be like showing up on the set of a pornographic move, and telling the actors - God has come, and he's one of you. Now, how do you think that made them feel? What emotion did this message inspire? Joy! We are not the lowest of the low. We are not more terrible than other people. We are not hated, just for doing a job the rest of the world really needs us to do. We are special. God thinks we are special. The Governor, and the priests, and the beggar that sits at the entrance to Jerusalem are wrong. We are special. Imagine the joy that welled up in the hearts of those shepherds. Suddenly, the entire sky fills with glowing angels. An army of angels. The Bible calls them a heavenly host. That word 'host' means an army. It is a military term. And, the Greek is very specific. The army of angels doesn't arrive at that moment. They were already there. Now, they choose to reveal themselves. It's very much like the story of the prophet Elisha.10 He gives an unpopular prophecy. The king sends the army to his front door to encourage him to change his mind. Elisha's servant is terrified - what will we do. Elisha says, don't sweat it. There are more soldiers with us than they have. His servant says - are you on drugs? There's only you and me! Elisha opens the servant's eyes, and suddenly everyone can see an entire host of angels surrounding the house. They were already there, but now they can be seen. The implication for you and me, is that right now - as I am speaking to you, we are surrounded by a host of angels, an army of angels. It may feel like COVID-19 is winning. But, God is here. It may feel like the world has forgotten Jesus. Or, perhaps it feels like Jesus has forgotten you, but God is here. You can't see the wind, but wind is real. You can't see love, but love is real. You can't see the angelic presence of God's protection, but God's protection is real. And, that truth should bring you joy. It's how the shepherds feel. Gabriel sends the shepherds into the city, looking for a baby sleeping in a hay feeder. They find him, exactly as the angel says. And, instead of Joseph and Mary being horrified that these disgusting shepherds are trying to get close to our baby - instead of rejection - the shepherds are accepted. God loves even me. That's cause for celebration. When you are filled with joy you want to shout. Which is exactly what the shepherds do. They roam the streets of Bethlehem in the middle of the night shouting - the Savior is here!11 The protector and rescuer is here! Savior like a shepherd is here! He didn't come to the Roman government. He didn't come to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. He didn't come to the priests and their middle-class buddies. He didn't come to slaves and day laborers. He didn't even come to the beggars, and cripples. The Shepherds shout; he came to us. God loves us. I don't care what kind of person you are. I don't care what you have done. I don't care how lost you are in sin. God loves you. God knows your name, and He loves you. And, 2000 years ago he sent the Messiah to rescue you from the sin you are sinking in, and protect you from going any lower. He did that, because he loves you. You are special. And, I hope when you lay down at night, knowing how special you are - brings you joy. 1 Darrell L. Bock, Luke 1:1-9:50 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008), 213. 2 R. C. Sproul, general editor. New Geneva Study Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1605. 3 Joachim Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus: an investigation into economic and social conditions during the New Testament period, (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969), 93-119. 4 Kenneth L. Barker & John R. Kohlenberger III. Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary: Volume 2 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994), 218. 5 F. Bovon, "Das Evangelium nach Lukas, vol 1 Luke 1:1-9:50," Evangelish-Katolischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament, 3 no. 1 (Zurich: Benzinger/Neukirchen-Vluyn, 1989), 124. 6 Sproul, 1606. 7 Bock, 217. 8 David L. Tiede, "Telling the Prophetic Truth: Advent-Epiphany according to St. Luke," Currents in Theology and Mission, 33 no. 6 (December 2006), 472-480. 9 Joel B. Green, New Interpreter's Study Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003), 1856. 10 Verlin D. Verbrugge, "The Heavenly Army on the Fields of Bethlehem (Luke 2:13-14)," Calvin Theological Journal, 43 no. 2 (November 2008), 301-311. 11 NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016), 219. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ 2