"Bethlehem: A Shepherd's Trip"
St.Luke 2:8-14
IN 1865 PHILIP BROOKS, the great Episcopal preacher was visiting the Holy Land over the Christmas Holidays. On Christmas Eve he borrowed a horse and rode six miles from Jerusalem over to Bethlehem. There he tells he visited the hillside cave reported to be the one where the shepherds heard the angels sing, and saw the star. That evening he participated in a worship service as he headed home he looked back over the city and was inspired to write these words:
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie
above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by,
Yet, in they dark streets shineth, the everlasting light:
The hope and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
In 1921 Dr. Lem Stokes visited the Holy City and in 1956 preached a sermon in Pfeiffer College Chapel where he stated he saw: dirty winding streets, a city very ill kept --unclean; commercialization had taken over the Inn Keepers were up to their basic trade. There was no star.
Nothing of the mystical significance:
No over powering act of almighty God.
The point I want to make is that two great men of the church visited the same place basically at the same time of the year. They saw the same sights at the same time of the day. Both had worshipped God. Yet, two totally different responses.
Two thousand years ago the same phenomena was present.
In that same town that same night were thousands who heard no Angel sing, or saw no Christ Child ... newly born. Or to go a step farther really cared whether there was a Christ being born.
Some were busy entertaining relatives in town for the Census.
Others were making a fast buck over this same crowd taking advantage of the whole occassion to raise prices and milk the crowds.
The Shepherds heard the Angels sing, participated in a very mystical experience and went over to Bethlehem, and declared they had seen the Saviour.
The Shepherds had always been a strange group, and had produced some strange people.
They were of the laboring class. They lived life in the high risk lane. Oftimes they had to defend their flocks from wild animals or rustlers who would come in the night. Sometimes they would be off in the mountains with the sheep for weeks without seeing another human being.
One of them saw a burning bush.
One wrestled with an angel all night. Near dawn the Angel gave him a new name and told him a whole nation of people would come from his family.
Another was anointed king, wrote poetry, and was an acomplished muscian. He grew up to be the greatest king his people ever knew. You know one of his poems I'm sure.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pasture.
He lead me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul, He leads me in the
paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death I will fear no evil; for thou
art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me...
It was not unusual for these simple men to see angels, and hear them sing. It was not so difficult for them to see in the night sky some peculiar star they had never seen before.
They saw and heard the angels sing. They were terrified! They could not comprehend what was happening. Yet, they participated in it fully. They trusted what they saw and heard. They did what they were told to do. The trip to Jesus for them was relatively short ... down a hillside, over a brook, and they were there ... no questions, the impossible was reality for them.
During Christmas our problem is the same as the two preachers, and the people of Bethlehem, and the Shepherds. Christ is here, it is only an issue of perception, and accepting in FAITH that He is.
For some people this is a simple trip of Confessing their sins, going to church, and living an ethical and moral life. They take their scriptures without interpretation. Their Christ is to them a real friend, helper, and saviour.
I grew up in this world. Went to college and seminary and for years turned my back upon these people thinking them somewhat spiritually dense. I had joined a tribe of wonderers following an idea, questioning everything on my trip ...believing very little of what I saw and heard. In my maturing years I've grown to appreciate the shepherds, and can now understand how God can raise up from among the people of the earth leaders for his kingdom.
I now understand the truth of Dr. Ray Petry, revered expert in Church History, who once told his class of young preachers studying for the ministry. If you never hear the words, ..." pull off your shoes, you're only Holy Ground" ... You'll never be a preacher. In short, if you can't handle the mystery of the faith you will never be able to convey it to other people.
There is mystery in Faith. Out of this mystery comes beauty. Sometimes it is harmony within the soul which expresses itself in a song you hum under your breath. At another time it is a sudden awareness of special beauty around you. Some times a land scape ..some times a person, or something a person has done. Sometimes it is watching a person emerge from frustration, self doubt, and self humiliation and accept themselves and fly. Mystery! Some people can see it, some can not.
Two men ...both preachers ...oustanding leaders in the church,
Both dedicated Christians.
One saw only dirt, humanity at its worst.
The other experienced the mysterious presence of the almighty, and he wrote a poem which has stirred the hearts of Billions of people.
What kind of person are you?
What kind of person would you like to be?
Which one do you think knows the reality of Christmas?