What came into existence was Life,
and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness;
the darkness couldn’t put it out. (John 1:5)
The angels came first to shepherds—common folk, not considered worthy of big news. They came first to shepherds fighting sleep to protect their flocks from predators that delighted in the darkness. The shepherds were waiting for light’s arrival. The angels came to the ones who knew each sheep by the curl of its wool or the markings on its face or the sound of its bleat. The angels came first to the shepherds to announce the birth of a liberator, a savior, a king. The greatest event of all time was first announced in the smallest of ways to those who were simply awake, believing light would most certainly come.
He didn’t come to a king.
He didn’t come to a government leader.
He didn’t come to a church.
He didn’t come to a crowd.
He came while the world was sleeping. And He came to those who were keeping watch in the darkness, expectant of the light.
The angels say He came for everyone. All people. The whole world. And they said that was exceptionally good news.
And the first words they said were this: “Don’t be afraid.”
The shepherds journeyed by the light of a star to honor the One who slept in a manger. The invitation was a perfect one, the setting divinely designed. Those who labor to guard life would understand the one who labored long to give it. Those who wear the scent of caring for the vulnerable would recognize the fragrance of kin and kind. Those with grit in their nails would feel at home in a birthplace marked with dirt and dung.
The stable was the perfect destination for a King, the shepherds the perfect guests at His table.
The moment good news for us who labor long and wear the scent and feel the grit.
The Word became flesh and blood,
and moved into the neighborhood.
We saw the glory with our own eyes,
the one-of-a-kind glory,
like Father, like Son,
Generous inside and out,
true from start to finish. (John 1:14)