CHRISTMAS
Let loose this Christmas
Luke 2:15–20

"As the angel choir withdrew into heaven, the sheepherders talked it over. 'Let's get over to Bethlehem as fast as we can and see for ourselves what God has revealed to us.' They left, running, and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger. Seeing was believing. They told everyone they met what the angels had said about this child. All who heard the sheepherders were impressed. ...The sheepherders returned and let loose, glorifying and praising God for everything they had heard and seen." (Luke 2:15-20, The Message)

As we prepare our hearts for Christmas, let's reflect on the humble shepherds — or as The Message has it, the sheepherders. We imagine them as they are portrayed on the typical Christmas card: a little unkempt, maybe barefoot, looking at the manger with awe. In the parish Christmas pageant, they stand off to the side, wearing nightgowns tied with rope and towels on their heads.

In the time of Christ, shepherds were lower than peasants. they lived on the outskirts of society and were smelly and dirty from sleeping in the fields with their flocks. But the angels came to them, not to the governor or the chief priests, to announce the fulfillment of God's promise. Already Mary's words in the Magnificat are coming true: "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly (Luke 1:52). So the shepherds hurried to see the child for themselves — and they believed. But my favorite part of the story is how the shepherds told everyone they met what the angels announced. They couldn't keep the story to themselves — they had to share it. The shepherds were acting boldly, and the people were amazed.

As we celebrate the good news of Christ's birth, may we be like the shepherds: too full of the story to keep it in, ready to tell everyone we meet about God's amazing grace. May we "let loose" this Christmas, "glorifying and praising God."

Kate Sprutta Elliott is editor of Lutheran Woman Today magazine.