Rebecca Inglis - December 13, 2020
Shepherd
Decades ago, academics, futurists and government agencies cast predictions of what would happen by the year 2020. Would submarines reach historic depths? Who would lead future nations, and which ones would be global superpowers? Would Earth even exist as we know it? It was predicted that humans would have walked on Mars by 2020! Mathematician and scientist D.G. Brennan wrote in 1968, “I shall not be surprised if on my 92nd birthday I am able to go for a ride in an antigravity car.” Most, like Brennan, were overly optimistic. It was also predicted that books would be dead. “Papers books and documents are rarely used or accessed. Most 20th-century paper documents of interest have been scanned and are available through the wireless network,” Futurist Ray Kurzweil predicted. Wrong. While the net revenue of the book publishing industry has been decreasing since 2014, the US industry still sold 675 million print books and brought in nearly $26 billion in 2018. The people of Jesus’ day had made predictions about the coming Messiah. They had made predictions of valour, victory and royalty. But instead, the whole gospel message begins with parents who are poor, a mother in labour with no place to go, and a helpless newborn child with no crib for a bed. The announcement of the birth wasn’t made to a high priest, or a King or a scribe, but given to people who, effectively, were the most unexpected ones to receive it. In that day and generation, the shepherds were a despised group of people. They were considered to be outcasts, socially and religiously, poorly paid and often rightly considered dishonest. They were not even allowed to be a witness in the courts. But when God wanted to testify to the world that His Son had come, he went to the shepherd! We should be careful to make predictions, because God is in the habit of choosing the most unlikely. The best news is that the “Good News” wasn’t just for the shepherds. The invitation that started with the shepherds was not meant to end with them. God’s gift is for everyone - the baby Jesus who was born in Bethlehem was the Saviour of the world intended for all people.
Scripture References: Luke 2:8-15
