December 10th, 2021

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#UnexpectedNews#Surprise!

Friday, December 10th, 2021

I’m guessing we have all been the recipients of unexpected news.  Good and bad. If there was anyone who had to be surprised by unexpected news it would have to be the shepherds.

In his book, The Christmas We Didn’t Expect, David Mathis wrote the following:

“It may have been the greatest choral presentation in the history of the world. One nameless angel had the honor of singing the lead, with a veritable angelic multitude behind him. But no tickets were sold, and the show was not announced ahead of time. The audience was simply a flock of unresponsive sheep and a lowly band of unsuspecting shepherds. But it was too good to keep quiet about. Word got out, and ‘all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.’ The Gospel of Luke records the story for us to wonder at too.”

The shepherds are part and parcel of every Christmas celebration. But they are much more than children in a play dressed up in bathrobes. You know how that works. You find someone to play Mary and Joseph and look around for a baby Jesus-real or a doll. The rest of the children want to be in the play so you dress them up in bathrobes, tie a towel around their head and they become a great multitude.

Of course, the real shepherds’ involvement was more than that. My sermon this week is about the shepherds and the Unexpected News they received. Join me if you would like.

{NOTE: I apologize for failing to post last weekend. Jo and I went to Ohio from Thursday through Sunday. Pastor Ryan preached for me. I’m eager to be back with the people I love}.