The angels had watched as Adam and Eve defied God and as centuries of humans repeated their rebellion. All the while, God sat patiently by. Why wasn’t he punishing them? What did he mean by the prophecies of a child? Then, one night, it became clear.
Seeing Shepherds
copyright Daniel Bonnell, 2010, used with permission, www.BonnellArt.com
Luke, the physician-historian, tells the story like this:
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Luke 2:8-14, NET)
Sometimes, the Christmas story feels worn-out and plastic, like the nativity sets that creep onto front lawns each December, but paintings like Seeing Shepherds (above) break through the monotony and pull us back in—back into the shock of Christmas. God broke through time, squeezed into space, and wrapped himself up in skin.
God the Son came onto our turf. He came to be with us, to fix things, and to show us the way back home.
Will we, like the shepherds and the angels, step into the shock of it? Will see see? Or will we just wrap another gift and down another glass of eggnog?
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* This post has been adapted from Advent Meditations. These meditations run through January 2nd and are FREE, but are only available via email. Click here to subscribe.
Have you read “The Birth” by Gene Edwards, it tells the nativity story from the angels perspective, I really enjoyed reading it this month. My plan was to read it to the kids (it has 30 very short chapters, I thought 1-2 chapters per day, almost like scenes in a play), but maybe in a few years
I haven’t, but thanks for the tip!
Love this painting!
An awesome painting
God broke through time, squeezed into space, and wrapped himself into skin…beautifully written Shannon, and a great thought.