I love the shepherds in the Christmas story (Luke 2:8-20). The angel of the Lord appears to them (to them!), telling them that a Saviour has been born for them (for them!) in Bethlehem, and an army of angels appears praising God.
And once the angels leave and the dust settles, they don't just go back to hanging out with their sheep, marvelling at what they've seen and heard. No, they decide to go and see for themselves what happened. So they hurry to Bethlehem to see Jesus and then return, glorifying and praising God.
My favorite picture of this scene comes from the Thai Christian artist Sawai Chinnawong. (You can see the picture here.) Sawai re-imagines the scene in a Thai setting, with Thai rice farmers playing the part of the shepherds, riding their water buffaloes to see Jesus.
I appreciate this picture because it brings the Christmas story into the reality of the Thai farmer, and it invites me to consider what it means to bring ourselves... all of ourselves... to worship and adore Jesus. What would it look like for me to bring all my work, all my possessions, all my passions, all my culture to him?
Over Christmas, we've read the story and heard the songs. So do we just go back to our lives as if nothing has happened? Or will we hurry to see Jesus for ourselves, bringing all of ourselves to him, to worship and adore him (and then go on changed)?
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