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The early morning Mass on Christmas Day used to be called the Shepherds ‘Mass, because the Gospel reading narrates the shepherds’ visit to the newborn Jesus (Luke 2: 15-20). These shepherds symbolize from the beginning people who have become believers and who in the midst of life’s difficulties proclaim glory to God.
Let’s go and see
Your livelihood isn’t everything; This is something different and truly extraordinary, the shepherds must have thought after hearing the angel’s announcement of the good news that the Messiah and Lord had been born that day in the city of David. In a timely manner, the angel told them the particular sign by which they would recognize the newborn savior: a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The Lord one like them, also in need of diapers and among them among the animals to be fed and cared for! The shepherds did not hesitate; they hurried to see what the angel had made known to them. Invited to the event of great joy for all the people, the shepherds responded with faith with alacrity.
The shepherds were the poor from the outskirts of Bethlehem and on the fringes of society. Their livelihood required that they stay with the herds in the hills, caring for and protecting them. Seen as irreligious or untrustworthy, they could not be part of the normal community, whether in worship or socialization. But they ran the risk of leaving their herds in search of a newborn baby. It would be a great loss, or the ire of the owners, if something happened to the herds while they were gone. But such considerations did not deter them. They felt that they should go to see what the Lord had made known to them; they responded to divine revelation and fulfilled the heavenly directive explicitly given to them.
Glorifying God, reflecting
And the shepherds found Mary, Joseph and the child lying in the manger. Their openness to God and their willingness to listen and follow what is proclaimed to them enabled them with the eyes of faith to see beyond appearances, recognizing their Messiah and Lord even in the unlikely situation, and enabling them to detect and find the divine in the ordinariness of life. They were convinced of the arrival of the long-awaited Messiah, and in their simplicity of heart and in the frenzy of their faith they proclaimed to all who knew the message of the child that had been told to them. The shepherds became the first evangelizers, bearers of the good news of the Messiah lying in a manger. And people were in awe of the strange narration of the shepherds, who not only jeopardized their responsibilities, but now also risked their future with their incredible claims.
The shepherds returned to their flocks praising God. They had a rare religious experience; their lives would never be the same again, even if they had resumed the normal pattern of their existence. These humble, poor and probably uneducated pastors took the divine invitation seriously and sought their Lord. And they became believers and partakers of their faith, overflowing with joy and glorifying God. His belief seemed unaffected by the reactions of others.
Alálaong bagá, the shepherds hurrying in search of the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger were the first to respond to God’s invitation to connect with the newborn Savior. They were willing to give up everything for the good of the child. They found what they were told to seek and became bearers of the good news and partakers of the faith. And in the midst of this extraordinary display of what could be called the first public Christmas celebration of the mystery of the birth of Jesus Christ (as it is dramatized in passing in the Spanish and Philippine folklore “Los Pastores”), the figure of Mary the mother of Jesus is silently inserted by the evangelist in his narrative. Reflecting in her heart on all that the shepherds said about the child, Mary, who was the first to experience the power of God, reminds us that respectful contemplation of the mystery of what God has done is essential for us to truly celebrate the Christmas, whatever. circumstances.
Join me in meditating on the Word of God every Sunday from 5-6 AM. M. DWIZ 882, or by streaming audio on www.dwiz882.com.
