“[The shepherds] went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds” (Lk 2:16-18).
I find it interesting that the narrative of the shepherds after encountering Jesus and His family is very similar to the story about Mary when she hears that she will become the Mother of God. After the Annunciation, we are told that Mary traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah to share her news with Elizabeth. These two women also rejoiced in the news of salvation that they learned. And they went and shared it with others.
This is exactly the same thing that the shepherds did when they listened to the angels and went to see Jesus and the Holy Family in Bethlehem. They encountered the Lord, saw the proof of our salvation, and went forth to tell everyone who would listen to them about that good news. It is as if an encounter with the Lord leads to proclamation, to sharing that good news.
And this is what St. Luke was going for. For him, experiencing Jesus naturally leads to sharing Jesus. Think of all those lepers, blind men, and sick women who are going to be healed by Christ’s divine touch. What do they do after their encounter with the Lord? Even when He tells them to be quiet, they cannot help but go out and tell others about the One who changed their lives in a real and total way.
That was the experience of the shepherds that first Christmas, and it sets the tone for every encounter with the Lord after that. Because of Christmas, because of the fact that God became human, the Word became Flesh, we now have the ability to come into true contact with Jesus – to see His face and feel His touch. Through the Sacraments, Jesus continues to be present among us. Here and now we meet Christ; we see Him, we hear Him, He feeds us. That is good news.
And what this good news brings us is an awareness that God has won a victory for us – not one that we could win ourselves, not even now. That’s what St. Paul means when he writes to Titus that we are saved “because of his mercy, He saved us through the bath of rebirthand renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he richly poured out on us through Jesus Christ our savior, so that we might be justified by his grace and become heirs in hope of eternal life.”
The righteous deeds that we are now called to do is nothing more that what the shepherds did: to go forth and make known the message. This is the response of every disciple, of every person who has a life-changing encounter with Jesus. Has that happened to you? Why are you here, if not to have that encounter yet again? Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, comes to us now in the mystery of this Mass and He heals our brokenness and saves us from sin and death. You and I are heirs in hope of eternal life.
So much of our devotion around Christmas has to do with “coming”: coming to Bethlehem, coming to the manger, “O come, all ye faithful,” “It came upon a midnight clear.” … But the real message of Christmas – the message of any encounter with Jesus – is actually “go.” Go and share the power of what God has done by becoming one of us. The Word made Flesh is the One who now brings healing and meaning to our lives, and through that He gives us peace.
This peace is what the world needs so badly now. I know I need it; I am sure you do too. The peace of the manger is what the shepherds found that first Christmas. And when they found it, they didn’t keep it to themselves. They shared it, made it known all over the countryside. They became some of the first evangelists, sharing the same message that they had received in that glorious vision of angels the night before.
We are experiencing that encounter too – now, through this Word that we hear and in the Body and Blood that will nourish us today. You’ve come here; now, go tell people what you know. Let others be amazed by what you have to share.
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