Shepherds were day laborers. They were part of the lowest 15 percent of ancient Palestine's class structure. If we read Luke, the Gospel is Good News to the poor. God takes sides and always with the poor. Shepherds were probably the poorest, so they receive the gospel first!
My friends, lest we forget, women make up more than half of the world's shepherds. Rebekah, Rachel, Miriam, Zipporah and her sisters were shepherds. The shepherds in our lection were probably all women. Most importantly, many faith communities celebrate Mary--the mother of the Lamb of God--as a shepherd! (Unfortunately, more often than not, all the characters in our Chrismas art, pageants, and tableaux are male, except for Mary!).
Unless we understand that Jesus came for those whose only hope is God, for those who need God the most, then we don't really understand what Christmas is all about.
This Christmas, will our hearts, our homes, our hands, our doors, our tables, our churches be open to welcome shepherds? How about Lumads, refugees, orphans, widows, and strangers? More often than not, they are the ones who come glorifying and praising God.
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