The Shepherds...

Today in the Mozambican church that we go to, we read Luke 2:8-12--

"And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

Well, it was just the Bible reading part of the service, so afterwards I started... digging deeper. :] Last Sunday, when we missionaries had our worship service, the guy who preached talked a little bit about the shepherds. They were raising them for the Passover. Those pure and perfect lambs, that would be put on the altar and sacrificed to cleanse the people from their sins. And then an angel of the Lord came to them and it says

"...and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified."

This angel had been in the presence of God and the glory of the Lord was shining off of this angel. The shepherds were terrified And who wouldn't be if God's glory was shining all around you! But the angel said that he had good news of great joy! Joy, not an emotion that can come or go but that stays through the hardest times, that comes from Christ and His Holy Spirit! The joy had come! A Saviour! They had been waiting for the Messiah and now here he was a little baby boy in a manger. He was their Passover Lamb! The one that would save them forever! Maybe it didn't all click in their heads what was happening right then or maybe it did, but it's cool to see everything that happened! All to some shepherds watching their flocks.