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“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were terrified. And the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see, I am bringing you Good News of great joy for all the people. To you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is the Messiah, the Lord.’”
The shepherds were the outsiders. They were the ones out on the hillside, looking down into the towns and the villages, while they kept track of the livestock and slept rough in the cold and the caves.
That is where they were, when the child was born, when the angel stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
They were terrified. Of course they were.
The angel comes into their midst and tells them first, “Do not be afraid.” And then the angel talks of good news of great joy. “For to you, to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior.”
Over much of this, my first year as your bishop, we have worked together to develop a shared diocesan mission. That mission is our common call to live as faithful people throughout the Diocese of Southern Ohio and beyond. The mission we’ve developed is to “embody the good news of Jesus and share in God’s transformation of our communities, with the Holy Spirit as our guide.”
This good news, in this holy season, is that this gospel is for shepherds and angels and everybody in between. This gospel is for outsiders as much as it is for those who live in places of comfort and ease. This gospel is for you. The child is born to you.
Those shepherds went in a hurry to Bethlehem to see the thing that the angels had told them. They saw what the angels had promised, they found Mary and Joseph and the baby in the manger. They shared the good news of the miracle they’d seen, and then they went home, praising and giving God glory.
That’s how those shepherds in their time, in their place, embodied the good news of God in Christ. How will you, in your own life?
Blessed Feast of the Nativity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessed Feast of the Nativity, Beloved People of Southern Ohio. It is a gift and an honor to serve as your bishop. I give thanks for you.
