Bellbrook United Methodist Church – Our Vision is to know God and to serve others.

Sunday Worship (December 22nd)

This week, we hear the old, familiar story of the shepherds being visited by a heavenly host of angels.

This is one of my favorite parts of the Christmas story because it tells us that God's love is for everyone. You see, the shepherds in the Christmas story often get a bad rap. They are presented as outcasts - a dirty, unruly group that is at the bottom rung of society. And while they held a lower place in society, not all theologians believe they were so unrespectable. In fact, shepherds had, at one point, held a very high position in Israel's history. Faithful Jews would have known the stories of the patriarchs of their faith who were shepherds: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even King David - of whom Jesus was a direct descendant. But whether or not shepherds of Jesus' day were poor, dirty outcasts, the profession had undeniably fallen in esteem since the days of the patriarchs.

Shepherds were considered to be lower in class. They held a menial vocation that involved hard labor in the elements and physical work with animals that often was dangerous, as they saved their flocks from predators. It's safe to say that most mothers dreamed for a better life for their sons.

At the other end of the spectrum in Israel, were the religious leaders of the day. Smug in their moral goodness and high positions of power, they made sure everyone else knew their place in the caste system - Pharisees, Sadducees, and the like were at the top with everyone else in descending order. They believed they were the ones with a direct line to God. But then God shows up and shakes things up by notifying the lowly Shepherds of the birth of God's Son, instead of sending the Heavenly Host of Angels to the religious leaders. Imagine the surprise of the Shepherds when the angels showed up and counted them worthy to hear the Good News of their Savior's birth.

Come and join in worship this Sunday as we visit Bethlehem - a place surrounded by Shepherd's Fields where God chose for God's Son to make His humble entrance.

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Message From The Tandana Foundation