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I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
--Luke 2:10b
Religiously Incorrect
The comforting fact
that the Good News of Jesus is truly good news for all people, is enhanced
by the Bible's account that the message was first announced to shepherds.
In their time, they were among the most likely candidates to be considered
religiously incorrect.
Shepherds' work required that they spend much of their time in remote places. So their participation in the religious activities of their communities was limited. In general, they would not have had the same advantages of education and culture as those who lived in towns and villages. Shepherding also prohibited them from consistently observing the daily ritual hand and foot washings required of practicing Jews. Not surprisingly, shepherds were looked down upon by many religious people.
Yet shepherds were the first people to hear about Jesus, actually see him, and spread the word to others. It might seem like poor marketing strategy on His part. Why did Jesus choose to have himself introduced to the world in this way? I'm convinced that God was thinking about more than idyllic pastoral Christmas card scenes and cute children's Christmas program dress-ups when he sent Gabriel on that nighttime mission to the shepherds of Bethlehem.
In the worship messages this month, we plan to uncover the significance of Jesus' association with shepherds in his birth. We will back away from the Christmas story a bit, in order to see the larger context of Scripture in which the story appears. I believe this perspective will help us know Jesus better and feel God's unconditional acceptance more fully in our Christmas celebration this year.
After all, how many of us really feel down deep that we are very far ahead of the shepherds? Hard as we may try, we all fail in some way, possibly many ways, to live up to the expectations we set for ourselves or that we may feel others set for us. Gratefully, God's message to them is His message to all. Good news! Great joy! Even for the religiously incorrect.
-- Steve Wilson, Pastor
For more information, contact
Evangel Baptist Church, Dr.
Steve Wilson, Pastor
1114 College Avenue, Houghton, MI 49931
906/482-6626, evangel@up.net
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