The Invisible Seen
December 22 - Fourth Sunday of Advent
Light first (Hope) and second (Peace) purple candles, the pink (Joy) candle, and finally the last (Love) purple candle
Have you ever been in a crowd of people, either familiar or not, yet felt invisible? Ever wondered if your work, your contributions, your very existence is noticed and valued? Several of my girlfriends enjoyed high-powered, fulfilling careers before having children. Once babies came along, they found themselves grieving the loss of adult conversation, their beautiful, “dry-clean only” professional wardrobes and verbal praise (as well as monetary bonuses) for a job well-done. They had traded all of this for days on end of nursing, changing diapers, wearing sweatpants while their bodies deflated from pregnancy, and standing on their heads just to receive a possible smile from that precious infant. While they were confident that this gift and work of caring for their baby was the highest calling, it was easy to feel invisible, unvalued, forgotten.
Read Luke 2:1-20
I imagine that the shepherds out in the fields near Bethlehem the night Jesus made His entrance into our world might have felt invisible to the huge crowds who had descended on the Judean region for the Roman census. These flocks were most likely being raised to be sacrifices for the temple in Jerusalem, making their caregivers extra important, yet when it came to purchasing a sacrificial lamb or goat, the Jewish faithful gave no care to these dirty shepherds. Yet if we look back through history, there were a number of important shepherds in Old Testament history. Moses was tending his Father-in-Law’s sheep in Midian when the LORD spoke to him in a burning bush, and then there was David, probably the best-known shepherd of all.
How precious that God chose these caretakers of the Temple sacrifices to announce the birth of His ultimate and final sacrifice. Those who were “keeping watch over their flocks by night” were alert and awake when the angels filled the sky, proclaiming good news of great joy and singing of glory in the highest and peace on earth. They were so amazed that they left their field and flocks and ran to the stable with the lambs, finding Mary and the baby, just as the angel had said. They were quick to share this amazing, holy news with everyone they met, regardless of how they were received or believed. And God made sure that they would forever be seen and valued, as He wrote them specifically into Jesus’ birth story.
Reflect on the privilege and responsibility God entrusted to the shepherds that holy night, sharing the birth announcement of His final sacrifice with them first. Even though this birth would eventually make their work irrelevant, they joyfully hurried to the stable in Bethlehem, carrying the lambs too small to walk in their arms and met God Most High, lying in a manger.
Sing the first verse and chorus of Sing We the Song of Emmanuel:
Sing we the song of Emmanuel
This the Christ who was long foretold
Lo in the shadows of Bethlehem
Promise of dawn now our eyes behold
God Most High in a manger laid
Lift your voices and now proclaim
Great and glorious Love has come to us
Join now with the hosts of heaven
Pray for the Spirit to open our spiritual eyes to see those around us that the world overlooks.
Blessings,
Gay B Brown