There are two parts of the story about the birth of Jesus in Luke’s gospel that always get my attention. The first is how the presence of God dispels darkness and especially the fear of the shepherds once they hear the good news of the birth of our messiah. The second is the reaction of the shepherds after they have been in the presence of Jesus.
“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.” (Luke 2:20).
Did you catch that? After they offered worship to Jesus, they went back through town telling everyone who could hear them what they have experienced. Today we call that “radical hospitality.” Granted the shepherds did this late at night when many people may have been sleeping, so we’re not sure of the effect or how receptive sleepy people were to their proclamation. But the pattern remains true to this day.
If our worship is given to God with care, honesty, and passion, what other reaction could we have? Such is our mission to go out and share both the good news of Jesus, and the value and relevance of our worship experience with everyone we met.
If you’re looking for a resolution for 2016, this would be a good one for you to follow.
Merry Christmas.
Happy New Year.
God bless our ministry,
Rev, Clifton D. Eshbach,
Pastor