“Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”   I love the enthusiastic response of these ordinary shepherds to God’s announcement of the birth of the Messiah. These passages are one of my favorites for this time of year telling us about the Christmas shepherds. But last night I wondered, “Who watched their sheep?” Did they all take off deserting the poor creatures? Did one abandoned shepherd draw the short straw and  got left behind doing the work of many and missing the birth of the King? Did the angels come back and hover over them with divine protection? Phillip Keller wrote the classic book, A Shepherd Looks aPsalm 23 and described the not so complimentary nature of sheep. Sheep are timid, feeble creatures vulnerable to missteps and attacks. They are easily panicked by loud noises and flashing lights. Duh, a whole host of angels descending suddenly on this midnight pasture with joyous singing and beaming … [Read more...]

Advent is the four weeks preceding Christmas and is a time of waiting and preparation for the arrival of the Christ Child. More and more church traditions are celebrating this special time of year. The next four Thursdays I will be writing about Advent, a time of wait and anticipation.     Waiting is difficult. Most of us are terrible waiters. Waiting is a time of powerlessness where the imagination runs wild with the what if’s and when will this be over. Our inability to control the unknown generates fear and anxiety when we wait. You have heard the statistics. In an average lifetime, we spend five years waiting in lines and six months waiting at traffic lights. We are now waiting for the Christ Child. At least for this time of wait we do know the end date and what will be happening. Yet like kids knowing Christmas gifts are coming, we fidget and fret as time moseys through December. We are impatient people. We fill this time with parties, to do lists, wrapping, … [Read more...]