Luke 2:8-11, “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 Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”
Notice how much the word ‘fear’ plays into the early parts of the gospel of Luke. It’s a commonly repeated word, and it has two meanings. Sometimes the command is “Fear not!” because we have worldly fears that get in the way of worshiping the Lord. But other times we find the positive command to “fear the Lord.” We’re replacing fear with fear in that way, and that is appropriate. When we read in Proverbs 1:7 that ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,’ it means that all of our interpretations of the world as we know it are based first on this question: what do you think about God? We can tend to have a kind of passive appreciation for God while not worshiping him. This is the danger of cultural Christianity. We like the morals that are connected to this ancient religion but we stop short of really calling Jesus Lord and Savior, and that’s a mistake. We should fear the Lord! That means that we have what Tim Keller calls “a joyful awe and wonder at the greatness of God and what he’s done for us.” We must become like children in our awesome, reverential fear of the Lord.
The angel declares, “I bring you good news.” This is where we get the term ‘gospel,’ it’s a word that means “good news.” The gospel is proclaimed to these lowly shepherds, who would have been the lowest in the social pecking order of the day. The gospel will go out to surprising places. Imagine who we have recorded in the gospels visiting the baby or infant Jesus: shepherds, some animals, and wise men from a Gentile region. No earthly kings, local leaders, journalists, or wealthy aristocrats. The gospel is for all - but goes to the heart of the humble, those who know they are nothing without him. Check your heart now for if you fear the Lord in the right way and if you are like these shepherds who just want to be near the king, no matter what it costs.
Hymn for Reflection: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence. Here’s a Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wl4u8lnDQs