Angels

This morning I wanted to take a second to admire this nativity set. I’m sure many of you had these in your homes or in your churches growing up - but if you’re not familiar, a nativity set is a little frozen moment in time with little figures for each of the characters in the Christmas story. I like this one because it’s for little kids. When I was growing up we had a very delicate wooden set that my dad got when he went to Israel - very precious, and probably very expensive. Some churches have glass or ceramic figures, porcelain or whatever. But with four boys in the house plus our little girl - this is the set for our house. We also have a Noah’s ark set, which is really cute and sometimes the animals get a little mixed up - I’m not sure if there were giraffe’s at the birth of our lord and savior, but we’ll go with it. But what’s fun about a nativity set is that every piece of it tells a story, every character has a vantage point for one of the most significant moments in history. We’ve talked about Mary and Joseph, and the virgin birth miracle. The star in the sky - this set even has a little place on top of the stable to stick the angel who represents the star - the tree wise men who follow the star, they’re all holding little gifts and they come with a donkey pulling a cart and a camel. It’s hilarious, in our house, with my daughter Maggie, her favorite animal noise to make is “Moo” and so the cow says moo, and the horse says moo, and the camel says moo. We’re working on it. And we’ve got our barn animals, plus the giraffes, and the sheep. Every piece has a place. But today I want to talk about this guy. [hold up the shepherd]. If you can’t see it, I’m holding the shepherd. This might be the most important piece in the entire picture. 

But before I can tell you that story, I need to tell you this story. A lot of times when we get into the bible, in order for us to understand it in the modern world, we need a little bit of context. We need to understand the background of the story. And so this is what I want you to keep in your mind as I tell you the story of the shepherds. This is the picture of the temple, similar to the layout they would have had right before Jesus was born. It’s kind of cool, but a little busy - so let’s switch to the diagram. I really want to simplify this so you can catch what I’m going after. The temple had levels of permission. First you have the outer courts, sometimes called the “court of the gentiles” - that was open to everybody for prayer and commerce. There were shops, money changers, lots of that sort of thing. Then inside that was the women’s court -  and the only people allowed in there were Jewish men and women. If you were gentile, if you were not Jewish - get out of here, you’re not allowed in. Then there’s a court of the Israelites - for ritually pure Jewish men, where they could bring offerings - no ladies allowed, you go back to the women’s court. Then there’s the court of the Priests - where only the priests could enter, where they performed the sacrifices. If you’re just a regular jewish man, sorry buddy - you’re not getting past the bouncer. You’ve got to be a priest Then there was something called the “Holy Place” - where the priests did their daily rituals - this place had the menorah - which is like that candle thing, the altar of incense, all that stuff. And then there was one more level - called the “most holy place” also known as the Holy of Holies. There was a veil that covered this chamber, it housed the ark of the covenant - and only the high priest could enter ONCE a year on the day of atonement, aka Yom Kippur. And the Holy of Holies was understood as God’s dwelling place. We’ve talked about this before - that’s where God hangs out. What they believed was that the most holy place was where the power of God was the most potent. And so what we see is that the Jewish temple system had all these levels, and the group of people allowed into each level gets smaller and smaller. This is the most exclusive, VIP club. That is the religious backdrop, that is the system that they have had for hundreds of years before the moment of the nativity. And as I tell you the story of the shepherds, let’s put that picture back on the screen, I want you to keep this picture in your mind, and remember the layers that the people had to climb through in order to get to God’s presence. 

If you want to grab your bible, we are going to be in Luke chapter 2 - and we’re going to start down in verse 8. And while you’re looking that up, I’d like to mention that I’m using the New Living translation today, it’s a little different than the version on the back wall - but if you’re looking it up on your phone, make sure you toggle it to NLT. So we get started in verse 8, [read v.8]. Alright, now I’m going to stop right there for a second. As you can probably imagine, Shepherds are not the same as the three wise men, the three kings who visit Jesus. Shepherds are sort of your classic blue collar workers. They’re not royalty. They’re not wealthy. They’re not bringing gifts. They’re basically farmers! Watching the sheep. Not only that, but it says they were “staying in the fields nearby” - so they’re sleeping out there. Now you might call them nomads, but basically - these are homeless people. And I don’t want to paint too colorful a picture for you - but these are not gentlemen who have access to a shower. This little figurine I’ve got here - way to clean cut. Way more biblically accurate if I would let my daughter play with it outside in the mud like she wants to.

It continues, [read v.9-10]. So an angel shows up, and not casually - but with the RADIANCE of the Lord’s glory surrounding them. You could not get a more opposite scene - glory and radiance over here, dirty, stinky shepherds over here. But I want to zero in on that phrase in verse 10. [Put up one finger] Good news.  That will bring [put up two fingers] great joy. [put up third finger] To all people. And then he clarifies, [read v.11-12]. And I’m sure some of you have heard things like this before, but I don’t want you to miss it. The sign is that the baby will be in a manger, because that’s an absolutely insane place to put a baby. I think, just a little bit, because these stories are so famous and they’re so familiar that we forget the shock value of what’s actually going on. Like if I were to walk around Meijer and ask a stranger, “hey what’s a manger?” they would respond, “oh, it’s the place babies go” - it’s the place baby Jesus was laid on perfectly clean, yellow straw. Like a manger is some sort of ancient version of a crib! No, no, no! This is like putting a baby in a litter box. This is like putting a baby in a garbage can - well, okay, maybe not a garbage can, but the one you use for yard waste, you know what I’m talking about - putting it in there. At my house - it’d be like putting him in the chicken coop. Because it’s cozy in there. It’s gross, but it’s cozy. It’s a sign because putting the baby in the manger is unhinged. Just absolutely wild. And what we see with that is  The method that God uses is part of the message that God has for us. The dirt is a part of the miracle. The angel says, “this will be a sign for you” - because no one else would ever do that to a baby. 

And then, verse 13, [read v.13-15]. Imagine that for a second. A host of angels, the armies of heaven, putting on a Christmas concert for the most unlikely of audiences. Not because they were extra deserving, but because the good news they were bringing was so incredible, heaven was practically bursting to share it with the world. I like to imagine that they were only supposed to send the one angel. But the other angels are up in heaven listening, and as soon as the one angel gives them this incredible news, the whole crowd just breaks through like fans rushing the field after a championship game - there’s just so much joy at what the one angel said that they just can’t hold it in for one more second. And he’s probably looking at them like, “guys, you missed your cue - ah, what the heck, and then he joins in praising God” Glory to God in the highest heaven. And as suddenly as they came, they return to heaven, leaving the shepherds with their dirt and their sheep to figure out what the heck was that. 

[read v.15-17]. Alright, now I’ve got two more things I want you to catch with all of this. First - the shepherds leave the manger, they leave the stable, and they tell EVERYONE about what they just saw. I’ve got to imagine that these guys are just running down the streets of Bethlehem - but think about the timing for a second. We talked about this a couple weeks ago - but there was a census being taken, so the place is PACKED. And not just packed, but packed with people who are from all over the region who have been forced to return to their ancestral home. Now, think about this, if you wanted news of a virgin born baby who laid in a manger to spread - what better time to have Shepherds doing their door to door evangelism than when the city is stuffed full of visitors. And all those visitors are going to return home - spreading the good news about Jesus to literally everywhere! The inconvenience that resulted in Jesus being born in a barn actually came together to spread the news even further. I don’t know guys, sometimes I really get the sense that God knows what he’s doing.

And I keep coming back to who these guys are. These are shepherds, uneducated, poor, homeless, dirty. And God chose them, sent an angel to THEM to share the good news. These guys burst out of the stable, so pumped up - ready to tell everyone. They’re going door to door in the packed streets of Jerusalem, and they’re just shouting - “the messiah is here!” And the Bethlehem villagers, imagine this, they’re sort of waking up, “wah? What are you talking about?” And the shepherds are just gushing with enthusiasm, “savior of the world - he’s here, we saw him!” And imagine they were met with skepticism. Imagine they were met with doubt or mockery. “Shepherds what have you been drinking? Did you get into the fermented goat’s milk again?” And the shepherds respond, “what? No! The savior of the world, he’s over there. It’s the one in the manger! Can you believe he’s in a manger?” And another villager calls out, “why don’t you go back to your hills! The messiah’s not going to show up for you. You’re not ritually pure! You’re not a priest! You’re not a high priest! We have a whole system and you don’t have access!” And shepherd pauses in his running, leans over his knees, trying to catch his breath, and he’s like, “look, I don’t know. The angel showed up and said the messiah was over there, and that it would be a kid in a manger, and we went and everything they said came true and it was amazing.” And now a crowd is gathering, the villagers are a little more awake, maybe one of them recognizes a shepherd, “Hey, I know you. You’re not a good person. You’re an idiot. I can argue circles around you. You’re not worthy to be the messenger for news this important - you should probably sit down.” And finally, exasperated, the shepherd grabs the front of the villagers robe, pulls him in real close and says, “I don’t care about any of that stuff. All I know is that good news that brings great joy, is down in stall three. You should probably go meet him.” 

Theology

This is why I think the shepherds are the most important piece in the nativity. Because the good news that the word of God has for us this morning is that the baby in the manger is there for everyone. The angels, the fancy, wealthy wise men, and the shepherds, the regular people, you, and me, and everyone. Everyone is welcome in the presence of Jesus in the Christmas story. Doesn’t matter who you are, the mistakes you’ve made in the past, your scars, your brokenness - God welcomes us all. Even more than just welcoming us, God came TO us. Think about this. God was in heaven, in paradise, in perfection. He didn’t need us. But he wanted us to know him, to share in his kingdom, and so he came to us. He came to us in a way we could understand. As a person, a human, a baby - the experience everything we experience. To live at our level. He stepped out of his comfort zone, into our world. And not into some sacred holy of holies where barely anybody has access. But into the dirt. The method is a part of the message. The dirt is part of the miracle when heaven breaks through. That’s how much God loves you. To give up heaven, even for just a little bit, to help regular old sinful people like you and me - that’s why this baby is different. 

And I know some of you already know this - but it brings me such joy to bring the puzzle pieces together. [put the temple picture back up] Jesus stepping into our world changed everything. They had a system where God was so far away, only reachable by the best of the best, hidden behind a giant veil in the most holy place. But Jesus came, and he lived, and he died. And the moment he died on the cross, this is what it says in Luke chapter 23, verse 44 [read v.44-46].  The veil was torn. From his birth to his final breath, Jesus rips down the barriers between the Father and his children. Inside the temple, the veil was torn and the presence of the almighty God poured out, unhindered into the entire world, like the angels bursting forth in the night sky all those years ago. 

And there’s two things I want you to pull from this. First, there is room for you in this nativity picture. No matter who you are, the type of life you have lived, what mistakes you have made - the good news that brings great joy is FOR EVERYONE. Maybe you grew up with this stuff, but you left it behind like believing in Santa. That’s kid stuff. And you set off into the great wide world to do it all yourself - and that didn’t work out so well. And now you’re looking back, wondering if there is still a place for you among God’s people. Did you burn the bridge? Is the door locked? Can I still come back to Jesus? Or maybe you’ve never heard all this stuff. I keep saying how familiar these stories are because we tell them every single year, but maybe this is brand new for you. Maybe you didn’t grow up in church, and so this is all new and strange. And you heard some stuff about Christians - like how they’re hateful and judgmental, but then you met a couple of them and what you heard didn’t quite match your experience with the real people - so now you’re poking your head in, sitting in the back, or just checking us out online. What’s this Jesus thing all about? You can sit right here next to the giraffe. Or maybe you have been here for literally years. You’ve called yourself a Christian for decades, but you’re still struggling, still wrestling, still working out your faith with fear and trembling. And there’s still sin present in your life, and it makes you so angry that you’re still struggling, and it’s so embarrassing. And you’re halfway convinced that God’s about to run out of patience with you. There is a place for you in this picture. Good news, which brings great joy, for everyone. The baby in the manger is for you. Jesus wants to be the lord and savior of your life. Forgiveness for all your sins is accessible if you would just reach out and take it. Call out to God. Repent of your sins, and no matter who you are - you will be forgiven. That’s the good news that makes angels burst forth into the night sky.

There’s a place for you in the nativity set. The second big thing I want you to pull from the story of the shepherds and the angels - there’s a place for them too. Whoever “them” is. Think about your life for a second - is there someone you know who thinks that they are not welcome in this place? For all the great churches that we have in this area - there’s also a lot of churches that do damage to people. Is there someone you know who watches the nativity scene from a distance, because they’re afraid if they get close, they’re going to get hurt, again. How many of us know someone who was judged in the church because of their divorce? Or struggles with their sexuality? Or their drinking problem? Sometimes even when the church is right - and someone is doing something terrible and the church tries to hold them accountable, to help them see their sin and repent - it’s so easy for that to go horribly wrong. Or maybe it’s not church hurt or sin - maybe it’s someone who is doing so good on the outside, but is so alone on the inside. West Michigan, Byron Center - we got a lot of people who are so successful. They’ve got so much money, success, recognition. Everything the world can offer you, and they get so confused about why it’s not enough. Why do I still feel like I need? And so they play an incredible game of distractions. Better cars, nicer toys, more extravagant vacations - fill life with accolades and accomplishments, glittery moments that fill our eyes and then, inevitably, fade. There’s a spiritual loneliness in our community for people who don’t want to admit that the world simply does not have enough in it to meet the true desires of their heart. But the nativity has shepherds AND wise men - because good news, which brings great joy, is for everyone.

And so it’s probably pretty obvious what my challenge is going to be for you today. If the good news is for you, and the good news is for them - my challenge to you, get out there and tell them! First, in your own life, have you accepted Jesus as your Lord? Have you knelt before the manger? Have you put yourself into the nativity picture? Come to Jesus - he is waiting with open arms. But then second - who in your life needs to hear good news which brings great joy? Think about it this way - what would change this season if we didn’t just celebrate the light coming, but rather took the light everywhere we went? And I really want you to think about this, let’s take a second. I want you to grab the card that’s on your chair - that’s an invitation card for you to give to a friend. If you’re introverted, i know it’s hard - so I’m only asking you to think of one person, give out one card. But if you’re extroverted - you go ahead and grab a handful of them, we’ve got extras in the back. And so we’re going to actually do this right now. Let’s take a moment to pray. We’re going to give you some time to pray for that person, or maybe it’s multiple people in your life. Or maybe you don’t know who - so then I want you to pray that God would show you who. What name bubbles to the surface, who is God nudging your heart towards? Is it a co-worker or boss from work? A neighbor? Favorite barista at Starbucks? Your kid’s teacher? A family member? Who does not believe that they belong in this picture - and how can you invite them in? Let me tell you who it is in my life - it’s my physical neighbors. I have great neighbors on both sides of my house. And I’m pretty sure they don’t know Jesus. And it’s hard - because I invited them to Easter, and they didn’t come. And I felt embarrassed. Aw, man! I got rejected. But if we have a God who stepped into the dark night of a broken world, into the embarrassing and awkward moments of virgin birth conversations, no room at the inn, simple shepherds - how can I turn to a God who did all of that for me and say, “well, I was too embarrassed to invite them.” Or maybe you think - I’m not the right messenger. I think a lot of us hesitate to share our faith because we’re afraid we don’t know enough. We think our sin disqualifies us, or we think we won’t have answers to all their questions, or we’re afraid they’ll find out that we’re not perfect, we still have moments of doubt, seasons of depression, imperfections in our life - dirt on our face. But that’s exactly why God chose shepherds to receive the angel’s message. Because if God can trust the message of Angels about the birth of the savior to a bunch of dirty uneducated hicks - he can probably do something with your stumble bumble efforts as well.  Let’s take a moment, think about that person for you - take some time. Let’s pray.