The shepherds remind us that God invites ordinary people in the great unfolding drama of His grace.

My two-year-old daughter has spent the last month memorising the characters of the nativity scene and play-acting the first Christmas night with her stuffed toys.

“I’m Mary,” she explains, bed blankets pulled over her head.

“Come and see,” the play continues, as she voices the shell-shocked shepherds who can hardly keep the good news of Jesus’ birth bottled up (Luke 2:17).

“Gold, frankincense and myrrh,” she recounts, listing the haul of goods brought by the wise men.

The whole routine is very adorable, even if it’s been on constant replay.

But it’s those words — “come and see” — that I’ve been pondering in recent days, perhaps because that’s also been our church’s preaching theme this Advent. Or maybe it’s because I’ve always found it easy viewing Christmas through the eyes of the shepherds, having grown up on a farm myself.

Whatever the reason, these shepherds deserve a closer look. So, come and see what Luke’s gospel says about these unlikely extras in the drama of Christ’s birth.

Good News of Great Joy

In the immediate aftermath of Jesus’ arrival in that Bethlehem manger, here is what we’re told by Luke — and it deserves quoting in full:

And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom He is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. (Luke 2:8-17)

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Invitation

Today, Christmas messages often come with a political edge, where liberationist or Marxist framings measure the various characters by their proximity to power.

In this reading, Herod’s villainy serves as a critique on established power, the Magi are religious outsiders who perceive what religious insiders have missed, and Mary and Joseph are cast — rather dubiously — as refugees.

In this pecking order, the shepherds supposedly play the part of the powerless, the socially marginalised, or the dispossessed.

Yet, in truth, the shepherds resist such neat categorisation. They are not powerful, to be sure, but nor are they paupers. More accurately, they were just ordinary men — humble rural folk working hard to provide for their families in tough times.

If the shepherds represent anyone today, they represent the majority — you and me.

But here’s the key: they were included, and without any merit on their part.

Everyone else was drawn into the drama of that first Christmas for highly specific reasons. Mary carried Christ in her womb for nine months. Joseph faithfully stepped in as his adoptive father. The wise men traced an ancient mystery across distant lands. Herod intervened to protect his throne.

But the shepherds? The shepherds were simply out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And yet God chose to sweep them — even them — into a glorious event we still celebrate two thousand years later.

Listen again to the words the angel spoke to these unsuspecting shepherds: “Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.” Not unto Mary and Joseph, or unto the Jewish people, or even unto the nations, true though all of that may be (see Luke 2:10). No — unto you.

We don’t even know if these shepherds had anything beyond a nominal faith. Yet God’s message to them was as clear as the starry sky that night: Jesus was given for them, too. He is the Saviour of all — from the greatest to the least. Ordinary or extraordinary, we are all invited into the story of Christmas.

Heaven Opened for the Humble

In fact, it was to the shepherds that the most vivid and unforgettable announcement of Christ’s birth was first made. Even today, no verse of Scripture or lyric of carol captures the wonder of that night more perfectly than the words uttered to these quiet sheep-herders:

Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

What’s more, it was the shepherds alone who saw heaven opened that night — not the kings of Orient, or the townsfolk of Bethlehem, or even the Holy Family. It was the shepherds who looked up to witness this resplendent scene:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

So, if you’ve ever wondered if Christmas has any real relevance for you — even you — wonder no longer.

This Christmas, pause to remember the shepherds. Recall that God sent His Saviour into the world for everyday people. Yes, even the most ordinary among us have been welcomed into the greatest story ever told.

With that said, from my family to yours, have a very blessed and holy Christmas, and a Happy New Year.