And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.Luke 2: 8
On March 28, 2008, my friend Jim Jordan and I were near Bethlehem in a place called the Shepherds' Field. What a wonderful place to write about at Christmas time, the place where it all began. There we saw the remains of the shepherds’ tower. At the time of Jesus’ birth, the shepherds would have been manning the tower and watching for lambs to be born. The shepherds would leave the tower and inspect each one at birth to find lambs suitable for sacrifice. Once a lamb was found to be without blemish or spot, the shepherds wrapped the lamb in swaddling clothes and placed it in the manger for protection.
On the night of Jesus’ birth, the angel of the Lord came upon the shepherds in the Shepherds’ field and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were really afraid. But then the angel of the Lord spoke to them in terms only a shepherd could truly understand. The angel of the Lord said (New SW Virginia and East Tennessee paraphrase): “Calm down you guys, I got great and joyful news for you. The perfect Lamb of God has just been born, without blemish and spot in David’s home town just like God said it would happen. Now just to make sure you don’t miss this, you are going to find this Lamb wrapped in swaddling clothes and in a manger. What you shepherds have been doing, finding lambs without blemish or spot, is just foreshadowing, a picture of what this Baby will do for all mankind, once and for all.”
God always uses the unexpected things of this world to reflect His glory and point us to Him. Lowly shepherds were not even allowed to testify in court because they were not trusted. Yet, they were the Savior’s first witnesses. Jesus continued this practice into His ministry when a Samaritan woman, whose testimony before she met Jesus at a well was about as valuable as her empty bucket, became a witness. And He continues this practice today as He calls me and you to be His witnesses.
Are we willing to be His witness? A witness to what Christmas is really all about. The shepherds watching their flocks in the field got it right. They went and worshiped the baby Jesus. Let’s worship Jesus this year on Christmas day and every day. Then, we can be His witnesses to a dark and lost world.
2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
Gordon Lightfoot, a Canadian recording artist, wrote and sang a hit song in the 70’s called “Rainy Day People.” After reading the lyrics of this song, I think we could use more “Rainy Day People” in the church. Look at the characteristics of “Rainy Day People.”
Rainy Day People:
·Always seem to know when it’s time to call
·Don’t talk, they just listen till they’ve heard it all
·Don’t lie when they tell ya they’ve been down like you
·Don’t mind if you’re crying a tear or two
·Always seem to know when you’re feeling blue
·Don’t hide love inside they just pass it on
I would add one more characteristic of a “Rainy Day” person. They have received the comfort of God as Paul described in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. Have you thought about the comfort of God? Paul speaks a great deal about it here at the beginning of his second letter to the Corinthians. God is the source of mercy and comfort. Paul puts this understanding of God into place for the believers at Corinth. After stating this, Paul goes on in verse 4 to write: “who comforts us in all our tribulation.” God seeks to comfort His people whenever and wherever they are hurting.
But this comfort that God gives to us is not an end in itself. Paul continues to write, “So that we will be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted.” In this verse the emphasis falls upon our comforting others based upon God comforting us. These are the “Rainy Day People” we all need in our lives. They don’t come with questions, answers or a lot of talk. They understand how it feels to be down, feel blue, and to cry. They have received God’s comfort and they are not only willing but anxious to share God’s comfort with others.
I am thankful for the “Rainy Day People” who have come along side of me and so many others during difficult days. Do you need “Rainy Day People?” You will find them at church. Remember, “Rainy Day People don’t hide love inside, they just pass it on.”
I always enjoyed reading short stories in high school and college. Maybe it was because of my very short attention span or maybe it was that there are so many really good short stories. The list is long but here are a few of my favorites:
Gift of the Magi ~ O. Henry
The Ransom of Red Chief ~ O. Henry (I could identify with Red Chief)
The Open Boat ~ Stephen Crane
The League of Old Men ~Jack London
The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber ~ Ernest Hemingway
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty ~James Thurber
Short stories have well defined plots and characters. They are suited for oral storytelling and their swiftly sketched situations quickly come to their points. My favorite short story is just like that, as we get to walk right in on the action. This story is found in the Bible in John chapter 9. Jesus and His disciples are walking one day when they come upon a man born blind. His disciples see Jesus looking intently at the man when they ask Him the question we all ask sometimes: “Who sinned, this man or his parents that he was born blind?” or "Why?" Why has this bad thing happened? Jesus provides His disciples and us a different perspective as we break this intriguing story down into four sections.
Michael Card
First we find The Diagnosis. It appears to be very straightforward, after all, the man was born blind. No biopsy, CT Scan, blood test, or exploratory surgery required. But while the physical diagnosis is clear, there is always another part of any diagnosis and it is the most difficult part. Why? Why was this man born blind? I don’t know about you, but I have asked this question more than a few times. It is interesting here that Jesus does not entertain their attempt to attribute blame to someone or something. Michael Card wrote in his book, A Parable of Joy: “Jesus’ disciples had something else to learn and it is a lesson we need to learn. We do not have a God who strikes down a baby with blindness because his parents did something wrong.” Jesus answer is direct: “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but his blindness is for God’s glory.” As hard as this lesson is to understand and accept, our suffering can be for our good and God’s glory.
The next part of the story we will call The Treatment. Jesus reaches down and takes dust and makes an eye pack for the man, then sends him to the pool of Siloam to wash. In our story, it says the man came back seeing. I thought this was the climax when I first read this story. The man had been healed .......or had he? Technically, the man was not healed because he never had physical sight. His sight had to be created and only God can create. Jesus, as God incarnate, gives us another creation story of physical sight. Secondly, it is only a treatment because this man’s eyes one day closed in physical death. I was born blind in my right eye. If I had the same experience as the man born blind, it would just be a treatment. One day my eyes will close in physical death. This man was still in need of healing as we will see later in our story.
With any treatment, there may be Side Effects. Medicines, chemotherapy, and surgeries all have side effects. In our short story, the man born blind has side effects to his eye treatment. First, his neighbors didn’t recognize him. They were not sure it was him and they took him to the Pharisees. The Pharisees questioned him and didn’t believe his story another side effect. The blind man’s parents were summoned by the Pharisees and instead of being happy over their son’s sight became afraid, yet another side effect. Finally, the Pharisees summoned the blind man one more time and demanded that he say Jesus was sinner because after all Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath. Sounds a little silly doesn’t it? (Aren’t you glad we never have silly traditions that get in the way of people gaining spiritual sight?) Then the man born blind who had no formal education, shows more wisdom than the astute of his day. He was streetwise and said: “I don’t know if He was a sinner or saint, but this one thing I know, I once was blind but now I see.”
Recently I had a long conversation with a friend. He kept digging into the foundations of my faith and kept trying to dismantle what I believe. I have to admit, I tried too hard to appear to be intellectual (always a mistake for me). Instead, I should have simply told him my story. We may not have all the theological or scientific answers but this one thing we know: We were once spiritual blind but now we see.
Now, we get to the end of the story. The Pharisees had just thrown the man born blind out of the temple when Jesus shows up again. Here we will see in the final section of our story the real climax and it can be called The Cure. When Jesus first saw the man, He saw more than just his temporary condition. More importantly, Jesus saw his spiritual blindness. Jesus seeks the man out and asks him a simple question, “Do you believe in the Son of God?” The man answers: "Who is He that I may believe in Him?" Jesus answer, “It is He who is talking to you.” Then the man born blinds simply says: "I believe", worshiped Him, and gained eternal sight. No longer just a treatment, the man has The Cure. Michael Card calls this “the miracle behind the miracle.” Jesus always sees the unseen conditions of our lives that may not be physically threatening but are eternally threatening.
Seven years ago, our family received a very difficult physical diagnosis. My wife Betty, at the age of 46, had stage 4 colon cancer. The diagnosis was followed by several days of asking why. Then came the treatments including surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and drugs. They did very little to extend her physical life and what we thought would be a long life became a relatively short story. The side effects were painful but before her journey with cancer started, she had received The Cure by faith in Christ Jesus. We don't know if our lives will be short stories or an epic novels. While I hope you have good health and a long life, I pray you have The Cure. After all, at the end of our days, it is The Cure to spiritual blindness that is the most important.
