The
Gospel account from Luke speaks here of the visit of the shepherds.
Commentators of Luke would tell us that Luke’s mention of the shepherds is in
line with Luke’s emphasis on the place of the lowly in the plan of God. The
six-verse gospel reading tells us of a happy story about the birth of the
Messiah: it tells us about the shepherds’ eagerness to go to Bethlehem to
witness the announcement of the angels about the birth of the Messiah (Lk.
2:15); it tells us about the amazement of those who heard the proclamation of
the shepherds about angels’ announcement (Lk. 2:18); and it tells us about the
shepherds who praise and glorify God for all the things that had heard and seen
(Lk 2:20). Such was the first story of Christmas relayed by Luke. It was full
of hope; it allows the witnesses to expect for something glorious to come
because the savior has already been born.
Reading
the passage again during this Christmas time, I wonder if we could still behave
like those shepherds.
How
many among us (even among Catholics like me) who still have the heart that
could openly believe and embrace what the angels have said to them. Does our
world today not tell us that it is more rational to first verify what has been said. Will we immediately respond with “Let us
go to Bethlehem”? Or, will we rather reserve a reasonable space of doubt; will
we not instead choose to become indifferent first and wait for others to first
verify for us the purported event. Often in our time, people learn about the
Good news. There still remain to be fragments of good news in our often
fragmented world, but they become less and less meaningful because many of us
become more and more cynical about them. Perhaps, this is the first invitation
of the reading for today. We are invited to be open to the good news. Let our hearts be touched by the good news
of salvation, and let us be moved to also respond with “Let us go to Bethlehem.”
Secondly,
the gospel reading tells about the amazement of those who heard the shepherds’
pronouncement about the angels’ message. But, I also wonder if there are still
many of us who are still amazed of others’ proclamation of the good news. If we
have become cynical about what we have heard, other people have also oftentimes
become cynical about our own proclamation. But, we may ask: why is this so? Then,
perhaps, the gospel reading also invites us to look at ourselves? If we are
people of faith, and if we are people of the good news, how credible are we
still for the task of proclaiming the good news for others? Do we still have
the authority to speak of the love of God for the people? Do we still sound
credible for our hearers to receive our words with amazement? Or have we rather
fed the culture of cynicism because of our lack of power to witness in our
lives the good news that we speak?
Thirdly,
the gospel reading tells us about the praise and glory that the shepherds have
offered to God because of what they have heard and seen. I again wonder: How
many of us are still willing to find the hands of God in the many things that
we receive? Do we still have the courage to recognize our giftedness, that is,
to understand that we are not solely responsible for most of the things that we
possess? Do we still have the humility to recognize that what we have, even
those things that we have acquired through out hard work, are with us because
of the contribution of numerous others whom we worked with and encountered each
day? It takes a humble heart to still have the courage to praise and glorify
God for the things that we have heard and seen.
Looking
at the current standards of the world, the shepherds’ gesture may have become
less and less popular in our time. It’s perhaps no wonder why those people who
still manage to behave in our time like these shepherds are still thought of as
‘less rational’ and more of like fanatics and superstitious people. Faith
oftentimes is identified with irrationality. But, for those who truly believe,
reason never becomes a hindrance for the exercise of their faith.
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