Luke 2:15-20
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A Sign in the Sky that Demands Our Reply
“Hark! the herald angels sing…”, for like the shepherds who attentively kept the night watch, we have traversed December’s dreary drawn-out darkness in Advent anticipation for the coming of better days. And indeed, a better day has come; for today, Hope has arrived! And because of the birth of this Bethlehem Babe, our Hope has a name; we call him Wonder Counselor, God Hero, Prince of Peace, Morning Star, King of the nations, Key of David, Root of Jesse’s stem. Truly he is Emmanuel, for God is with us.
The shepherds, so assured by the angel’s message of the birth of the Savior, “with haste” went to witness in wonder; to experience the coming salvation firsthand. Setting aside their fear, they left behind their entire flock, their livelihood, because of a holy longing to experience God’s anointed one. After their encounter with the Holy Family, “[t]he shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”
Some questions we may ask ourselves include: How quickly do I respond to the urgings of angels unaware? Am I willing to set aside that which seems “so important,” to spend time in silent adoration, wonder, and awe? How will I “return” to my daily life after experiencing so glorious a gift as Jesus Christ in my life; will I talk about the Messiah for months to come, or put him away with the Christmas decorations until next year?
Having experienced the birth of our Savior, the Messiah in our midst, let us respond with alacrity as joyful heralds of the Good News to the world. No longer shall our faith be kept a private matter, but shall be proclaimed along with the angels to every man, woman, and child, “Glory to the newborn king!”
—Fr. Aaron Malnick, SJ, is a Vocation Promoter for the Midwest Jesuits and author of Poems to Retreat By: Praying with the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola. Learn more about Jesuit life at beajesuit.org.
Prayer
In these damp, dark, dreary days,
a star so brilliant beacons
beckons believers forth
from fallow fields and faraway fiefdoms
to a manger most mundane…
we who have walked in darkness,
have seen a great light.
—Excerpt from Simple Savior Born in a Manger by Fr. Aaron Malnick from Poems to Retreat By
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