The Sign

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger” (Luke 2:8,9).

The angels bypassed Jerusalem, where the scholars and the clergy were ensconced. They passed up Herod’s summer palace, Herodium, his villa near Bethlehem, and appeared instead to shepherds out in the fields, tending their flocks, minding their business, doing what shepherds do.

Few, back then, would have thought that shepherds would care about spiritual things. They were a hard bunch, more like Owyhee County buckeroos than the sanctified shepherds we associate with the story these days. 

But truth be known, we’re all religious. Incurably so, looking for that elusive something or other that haunts our souls. “You don’t know what it is you want,” Mark Twain once said in a reflective mood, “but it almost breaks your heart with longing.” 

The angel’s words were simple and direct: "This day in Bethlehem, a Savior has been born for you. This is how you will know him: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a feed trough."

And so the shepherds went off to search for the child. They didn’t bother to look in Herod’s summer palace though it was nearby; there were no feed troughs up there. They skirted the resorts, the spas and the lodges of the rich and famous and went looking for a stock yard, or a feed lot, or a cattle pen, or a corral, or one of the small caves into which shepherds drove their flocks at night. 

They found the child near their field—they had no idea how near he was—in a dank and filthy stable, where Joseph and Mary, having been turned away from the inn, found shelter from the cold. 

Who is this child? He is “Christ the LORD; the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and end of history. The one who created the universe and holds it together. The Creator became a creature of time; the one who fills all space was contracted to a span; the Infinite become infinitesimally small. The one whose hands created the universe put himself in our hands, made himself incredibly small, weak and vulnerable—to bring us salvation. 

Salvation! That’s the word that got the shepherd’s attention and should get ours. Here’s a savior for the likes of us. Here’s a God who wanted to save so badly that he got down and dirty. The only God for you and me. 

The shepherds looked until they found him. I hope you’ve found him too. If you’ve not yet found him, I hope you’re looking for him. Wise men and women do. 

If you’re looking for the child, I can tell you where to find him: “You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”

David Roper

Christmas 2018