As we reflect upon the first Christmas—the coming to earth of the child Jesus—we cannot help but anticipate that it will not be long before our Savior returns to this earth much differently than he did 2000 years ago. It will not be, as before, as a humble babe in a manger, or a life lived out as a humble carpenter, or as a humble itinerant preacher and healer, or even as the humble and infinite Atoner for mankind.
Instead, his next appearance to the world will eclipse even the “good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people,” or the exclamations of the “multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” It will be, instead, His coming in glory with the hosts of heaven, in great power, as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords. It will be then that many of our great Christmas hymns will become a reality. And we will be in awe.
But we should also remember His first appearance. A little over two thousand years ago the archangel Gabriel appeared from the Heavenly realms and made a startling announcement to some faithful shepherds who were attending to their task in the dark of the night. Additional heralds, a multitude of what we suppose were singing angels, joined Gabriel praising God. They, too, left their message with the astonished shepherds. The shepherds responded with haste to this glorious outpouring to find this child, this long-prophesied Messiah—to gain a personal testimony of the things they were told. After they had seen for themselves, they enthusiastically told all they encountered of what they had heard and experienced.
What can we learn from this? What does God want us to learn from this? The scriptural record here shows that God will make known even to the lowliest of His children messages of transcendent importance. There is no indication in the record that the shepherds were aged or highly-educated sages; nothing is said about them holding position or priesthood. Nothing is said of their gender. The likelihood, instead, was that these were probably poor and uneducated young men and/or young women who knew how to care for God’s creatures, who were in the line of their duty, and who were not asleep.
Can you see the pattern? Though the wise men came later bearing gifts, the response desired by God of those who were in a position to immediately respond to this Holy day, this Birthday of Birthdays, was for them to listen to His messengers, to gain a personal testimony themselves, to worship God’s Son, and to proclaim to others what they knew to be true.
Could this not be the proper response for us to emulate during this Christmas season?
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