The Night The Angels Came
Luke 2:1-20
December 24, 2005
Rev. Marcia J. Hauer

It was a night like any other night. The sky was clear, and the breeze was warm. It was pleasant to be out doors. The sheep were gathered in small clusters. Most of them were asleep, but some were quietly grazing.

My brothers, Jaacov, Reuven, and Simon, had worked out a system of watches. Jaacov took the first watch, Reuven the second and Simon the third. That way one of them was awake all night and the others could get some sleep. Our master would be upset if he knew about the system since the shepherds were supposed to stay awake and watch so that wild animals wouldn’t kill the sheep and bandits wouldn’t steal them. The sheep were how our master measured his wealth, and he was a very wealthy man. I wasn’t supposed to go along with my brothers, but I went anyway. You see, I was hardly more than a child and a girl besides. My name was Rivkah. I really liked being in the open fields. It felt free to be there. My brothers liked for me to be with them, too. I could go get things that they needed and get help when wild animals did come to kill the new lambs. Ours was a peaceful life. We kept to ourselves and only saw other shepherding families. Occasionally our master came to check on things, to pay us and to bring supplies. We seldom went into any town or even came across other people.

Well, that night, as I said, started like any other. I had been asleep for quite awhile when Simon came and woke me. He told me to go get Jaacov and Reuven. He said that he had something he needed to tell us and that it was very important. I looked around and the sheep seemed fine. Most of them were still sleeping and none of them seemed frightened. So I didn’t know what Simon wanted to say, but I went to find my brothers as he had asked. I brought them back to where Simon was waiting. Of course, Jaacov and Reuven weren’t happy to have their sleep disturbed. They both threatened me in the way older brothers sometimes do. “This had better be good, Rivkah, or you’ll pay.� Reuven told me. When we found Simon he told us that he had seen one of God’s messengers. He said an angel had come out of nowhere and had spoken to him.

None of us believed that! Why would God send a messenger to us? We were shepherds, simple folk and outcasts in our culture. We couldn’t own land or even the sheep we cared for. People in the towns thought we’d steal instead of buying what wee needed. They all thought we were dishonest and not fit to be part of their society. Why would God send an angel to people like us?

Simon insisted that it was true and that we had to go to Bethlehem right then, because something wonderful had happened there. He said the sheep would be fine while we were gone—that the angel had promised before he had gone to tell the news to all the other shepherds.

I must tell you that we all thought that Simon had had some sort of weird dream. We didn’t believe a word of what he had to say, but he was so caught up in what he was saying that we had to go along with it. He wouldn’t go back to she sheep and we couldn’t leave him alone. We were afraid for him. It seemed we had little choice but to start toward Bethlehem.

When we got there, all the houses were dark. It was the middle of the night, after all, and people were asleep. As we passed between the houses of the town, we began to see other shepherds going the same direction that we were. As strange as it all was, we began to feel a peacefulness. It just began to feel like we were going to see something important. Maybe Simon wasn’t crazy after all. We could hear other families telling the same story that Simon had told us. Maybe God had sent an angel to us.

Finally we got to a place where there were many other shepherds—15 or 20 of us. It was a small cave—hardly more than an indentation in the hillside—where travelers left donkeys when they stopped for the night. In this small cave were a man and a young woman and a brand new baby. The midwife had just gotten the baby cleaned and had given him to his mother.

At first I wondered why we had come all this way to see this small family. It didn’t make sense. We had all seen babies before. We had all seen poor people before. But then it happened—a whole crowd of angels appeared out of nowhere. They said not to be afraid—like we could be anything but afraid. Think about it, how would you feel? Then they said that the new baby had been sent from God to bring about God’s reign on earth. They said that he was gong to be the one to do what the prophet Isaiah had written about. This child would bring “good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor…� (Isaiah 61:1-4) This baby, born into a poor family, was going to do all of that? How could that be?

The angel’s proclamation was beyond belief. We didn’t know what to do next, but there was such hope in the promise. We knew then that Simon had told us the truth and that something extraordinary had happened that night. We could hardly contain our joy! Would this child really grow up and bring what the prophet had promised so long ago. There was such hope that night, such joy! We had never really known that God loved us poor, oppressed people so much. Could it really be that we might not be outcast some day? Could it be that this baby could bring in the jubilee when all debts were forgiven and everyone was equal? Could it possibly be?

I lived a long time after that night. I married and had children of my own. I never say that baby again, either as a child or a grown man. I did hear about him, though. I heard that he spent most of his time with people just like us. He told them that God loved them and that the day would come when God’s kindom would come on earth. He preached this message to all who would hear him. Some of them, like us, look great joy in the hope that the message brought them. Others heard the message as a threat to their way of life and their power and position.

In all my long life, I never forgot that night. I told my children and grandchildren all about it. I think they believed me, but I can’t be sure. It is a fantastic tale, after all. The one thing I do know, though, it that Simon, Jaacov, Reuven and I never lost the hope and joy we felt that night. We want you to feel it, too.

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