Message by Reverend Rowan, Vicar of All Saints Anglican Church Jakarta
Many years ago, I was given a plastic nativity scene. As a young child, I thought it was perfect – Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus were all there, along with some shepherds and a few sheep, as well as three kings and their camels.
I still think the nativity scene is great, but as an adult, I think that there are a few things that don’t seem quite right about it. For one thing, the trees in the nativity scene are all pine trees… and they have snow on their branches. And there is also a lot of snow on the ground as well… so I am not quite sure how those poor sheep were able to find anything to eat.
When I looked at the nativity scene again recently, it got me thinking about whether God’s favourite animal might be sheep. You might not have noticed this, but there are an awful lot of sheep in the Bible, and a lot of shepherds, too.
There are stories about lambs and sheep, and shepherds, all through the Bible. The people of ancient Israel were shepherds. King David, the most famous king in the Old Testament, was once a shepherd.
But over time, shepherds went from having a good reputation to a bad reputation. Because of the demands of their job, shepherds couldn’t worship God in the Temple. Shepherds weren’t trusted to be witnesses in a court of law. Shepherds got a reputation for being dishonest thieves.
So, it was pretty amazing that the first people angels announced the birth of Jesus to were shepherds! That’s right – the very people who couldn’t worship God in the Temple and who were thought to be untrustworthy as eyewitnesses were actually the very people who heard the angel sent by God announce that Jesus, the long-promised rescuer and saviour of the world, had been born in an obscure town called Bethlehem.
And, you might be surprised that later on, when Jesus began to preach and teach and heal people, the shepherds and the sheep were not forgotten.
In Jesus’ day, shepherds had small flocks of sheep. The shepherd knew all about each sheep he was responsible for – their personalities and their habits. The shepherds even gave each one of their sheep a name.
Sheep are not smart. They go off and get lost in bad places. That doesn’t just affect them; it leads to hurt and heartache for everyone involved.
In God’s eyes, we humans are the lost sheep. But the good news is that he sent someone to guide us home: Jesus, the Lamb of God, who also called himself the ‘good shepherd.’ God sent Jesus to find the lost sheep, the missing sheep, the sick and struggling sheep. Like any good shepherd, Jesus knows his sheep by name, and they, too, hear his voice.
This Christmas, it’s not really important what your nativity scene looks like. The important thing is what you think about the baby, the Lamb of God, the good shepherd.
While shepherds kept their watching
Over silent flocks by night,
Behold throughout the heavens,
There shone a holy light:
Go, tell it on the mountain,
over the hills and everywhere;
go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born.
(Go, tell it on the mountain)
Join All Saints Anglican Church Jakarta’s Christmas and Christmas Eve services, available in both Menteng and Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.
All Saints Anglican Church Jakarta
Jl. Arief Rachman Hakim No.5, Kebon Sirih, Menteng, Central Jakarta 10340
@allsaintsjakarta
allsaintsjakarta.org
