Why would the starry heavens open

to reveal glory

 

to someone

such as me?

 

I tell you,

I know not why

 

But that is what happened

one unforgettable night

 

just outside of Bethlehem

 

It was a beautiful, clear night

as we watched our flocks closely

 

We live out in the wilderness

away from the town and the people

 

It was just us

and it was just the sheep

 

But God

noticed

us

 

Believe me when I tell you,

He sent angels

 

lit with His glory and light!

 

They were as prisms

radiating pure white color

 

We were overwhelmed

and terrified

and humbled

and awestruck

 

One of them spoke,

“Do not be afraid!”

 

This angel of the Lord

spoke to us!

 

He was bringing us great news

and he said it would bring great joy

 

for ALL PEOPLE!

 

Humble shepherds

told this important news

 

for all the world…

it was more than we could take in

 

But then I thought…

 

about how the Scriptures said

that the Lord is the good Shepherd

 

…The LORD

is the good Shepherd….

 

and I thought that just maybe

He truly cared about lowly shepherds

 

and small sheep….

 

The angel then revealed news

that we could hardly believe

 

He told us that in David’s home town

of Bethlehem

 

the Messiah had actually been born!

The Lord!

 

And he told us how to find Him

 

Imagine,

the Messiah Lord

being born…

 

and he was wrapped in swaddling,

just as a baby should be

 

or a person ready for burial…

 

But just as we wanted to jump up

and find this small King…

 

the entire sky lit up

with the glory of many angels!!

 

So many

we couldn’t count!

 

We shielded our eyes

but we couldn’t look away

 

The most beautiful sight

we had ever seen!

 

They were praising God,

of course they were!

 

And we bowed low

as we struggled to take it all in

 

“Glory to God in the highest heaven,

and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.”

 

The most inspiring, true words

I had ever heard

 

When they left we took a breath,

stunned to our very core

 

and we got up and ran into David’s town

to see what the Lord had told us

 

There we found Him,

the infant King just born

 

and the God of promise

solidified His oath

 

to bring us the One to save us,

the people of frail earth

 

And we had to tell all,

for everyone needed to know

 

about love Divine

Messiah small

 

Hope for all the world

 

– Susie Stewart

 

 

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize Him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing Him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

– Luke 2:8-20 (NLT)

 

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

– John 20:11 (NIV)

 

I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

– John 10:14 (NLT)