Friday, December 23, 2011

Countdown to Christmas: Day Four

The Message
Don't you love knowing that the shepherds were the first to receive the message that Jesus had been born?

Jesus, who would teach us much about shepherding, Jesus who would call himself the "Good Shepherd," who would teach us how to feed his lambs, to find the lost sheep, to come into the fold; Jesus, who would remind us that "my sheep know my voice, they hear me and follow me."

It seems so appropriate that shepherds would be the ones to get the news that the Lamb of God had come. Who were these humble shepherds? It was they who cared for the temple sheep from which the sacrificial lambs would be chosen. These lambs, like Jesus, would be sacrificed for the sins of the people.

We picture the shepherds bringing a lamb as a gift for the baby Jesus. The symbolism is flawless. Shepherds worshipping the Good shepherd...bringing a lamb as a gift for the lamb of God.

Choose Your Favorite:
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks (Hymns p. 211)
Far Far Away On Judea’s Plains (Hymns p. 212)
The First Noel (Hymns p.213)

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