The Announcement to the Shepherds
After the quiet intimacy of the birth, the story bursts into light and sound. The first announcement of Christ’s arrival didn't go to the priests in the Temple, the Roman governor, or the wealthy in the city. It went to the shepherds out in the field.
These were common, working-class men, often marginalized and viewed as spiritually suspect because their job made it hard to keep all the ceremonial laws. Yet, God chose them.
The angel appeared and told them (Luke 2:10-12, KJV): "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
Why the shepherds?
It seems God delights in choosing the overlooked and the unlikely. The shepherds were not expecting a glorious audience with heaven, but they were faithfully doing their job, watching their flocks by night. They were present, attentive, and close to the earth.
This choice of audience confirms one of the most encouraging truths of the Gospel: God seeks the humble heart. He doesn't prioritize based on status or wealth; He prioritizes based on availability and humility.
The message given to them was "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." Not just to the religious elite, not just to the scholarly, but to all. The shepherds represented the common man, the busy worker, the person who doesn’t feel qualified for a high calling.
Their sign was perfect, too: "Ye shall find the babe... lying in a manger." If the sign had been a gilded cradle in a palace, the shepherds, being humble men, would never have dared to approach. But a baby in a feed trough? They knew exactly where to find that! The sign matched their reality.
If you ever feel unqualified, unnoticed, or too ordinary for God to use you, remember the shepherds. They weren't sought out for their prestige; they were sought out for their need and their proximity to the fields where God was about to sow the greatest news.
Our mission today is simple: be attentive where you are. God can break into the ordinary, even boring, parts of your routine with a burst of heavenly light. He has already brought great joy to all people, and He wants to use you—the humble, ordinary, working person—to spread the tidings.