Guarding His Flock Ministries

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6, KJV

One of my favorite Christmas carols, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, contains the same line in all five stanzas; that being the sweet refrain, "peace on earth, good-will to men."[1] Yet lurking ominously in the midst of this song lies this reckoning which contradicts reality:

And in despair I bowed my head: "There is no peace on earth," I said, "For hate is strong, and mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men."[2]

With the exception of a few decades, the history of the world is the history of war. Even now, civilization is under attack. World War III may be around the corner. Throughout the world, terrorists have interrupted the normal flow of life, especially where western interests are at stake. From Bali to New York, bombs have exploded and planes have been flown into tall buildings. The possible detonation of a dirty bomb by terrorists in a public place gravely concerns security officials. Dirty bombs not only do extensive damage in the vicinity of the explosion, but they will also emit low levels of radiation throughout an extended area several miles in diameter from the center of the blast. Just how severe a health hazard the radioactive materials pose over a long period of time is unknown.

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As reenacted in nativity scenes and Christmas pageants down through the history of western civilization, in various ways this story, whether in part or whole, is told:

God promised Israel a coming Messiah. God chose a teenage virgin to be the mother of Israel’s promised Messiah. The virgin was engaged to a young and moral carpenter. A crisis pregnancy occurred. An angel of the Lord alerted Joseph that Mary’s child was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Angels announced Messiah’s birth to shepherds on a night vigil near a little Judean town of Bethlehem. Magi from the East visited the infant. To preserve the rights of his royal family to reign, paranoid King Herod ordered infanticide.

On the very night of our Savior’s birth, Luke, a physician turned historian, records that, "there were some shepherds out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night" (Luke 2:8). Possessing gnarled and scared hands and countenancing  weather-beaten faces, these ordinary men worked the grave-yard shift protecting their sheep, some of which were probably marked to be eventually sacrificed at the temple six miles distant. With slings, crooked staffs, and studded clubs, these men risked their lives to protect their sheep from predatory animals and criminal rustlers. Unbeknownst to them, one particular night was a holy night. The sheep were resting comfortably. The only sound that penetrated the quiet night was an occasional "baaaa!" of a sheep. Whether standing or sitting, these nameless shepherds breathed in the crisp night air as they fought off sleep’s beckoning call. It was a night like many others until . . . .

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