Sometimes when we look at the big picture of our lives, it can feel
purposeless, or at least mundane and ordinary. Other times, there are
moments—spontaneous times with friends and family; instances of peace and joy
in the midst of stress; images of beauty against a dark city—that remind us
that God created our lives to made up of small moments. We are too much a
“movie” culture, expecting to see a beautiful story arc, when in reality our
lives are messy, disjointed, distracted, and less than picture-perfect. Today
begins the third week of Advent. It is the Shepherds candle, or the candle of Joy.
I think we can learn a lot from the shepherds in the Nativity story. They teach
us the value of these small things.
In my first post this Advent season, I mentioned the influence of
Lilias Trotter, the missionary and artist. I also used the quote seen below on
December 2, when talking about the pivotal moment of Jesus’ birth announcement.
But I want to share the whole entry Miriam Rockness wrote on December 14, 2012
about Trotter’s writings and the Third Sunday of Advent (I received permission
and welcome from Miriam). It is a perfect introduction to the third Advent
candle, and reflects on what we can learn from those Bethlehem shepherds.
Light of Joy
“The first impression of Palestine
was of the strangely small scale of everything. But before nightfall one
came to realize that this is an intrinsic part – that God wants to show us that
nothing is great or small to Him who inhabited eternity in its dimensions of
space as well as of time. It is a pivot land – and pivots are apt to be
small things in the eyes of those who do not understand their meaning.”- 26
March 1924
Lilias’ dream of a lifetime was
fulfilled in Spring, 1924, with a trip to Israel – “wonder of
wonders!” – the holy land where Christ was born and lived and
died. Her initial response was surprise at the “strangely small scale” of
everything. Yet, upon reflection, she observed the significance of
“smallness” both on a cosmic and personal scale.
Cosmic. The long-awaited
Messiah: a baby – The Baby – was born in a simple stable in an obscure
part of town. Who received the birth announcement?
Kings? Governors? Religious leaders? People of high rank
with “contacts” who could spread the word around? No. Simply
shepherds who were keeping watch over their flocks.
It shouldn’t be a surprise,
really, that the same God who placed His promised Redeemer in the womb of
a peasant, prepared a straw-filled manger for the birth, would choose humble
shepherds to first hear the good news.
And what an announcement! As
if heaven could not contain its ecstasy, an angel of the Lord broke into the
stillness of the night, shining with God’s glory. Reassuring the
terrified shepherds, this angel declared the long-awaited message: “A
Savior has been born to you.” And as if the heavens could not contain
their joy, a great company of angels joined the angelic messenger and literally
filled the fields with their song of praise.
Little is known about the shepherds
but one thing stands out about God’s choice: He chose individuals simply
doing their jobs. Without press or fanfare. Job promotion or raises
unlikely. Just keeping vigil over their flocks – night after night, week
after week, year after year.
Personal. The application is
profound. To those of us who seek a “vocation” – a calling, a purpose
– it is likely to manifest itself to us when we least expect it. When we
are fully engaged in doing what we are supposed to be doing in the here and
now.
And it does make sense. God
is most likely to assign His special ministrations to those people already
proving faithful in their given task, in the small uneventful circumstances of
each day.
For Lilias, it was a vocation – an
adult lifetime – of “small things” peopled with street
urchins, cast-off wives, irresponsible young men, individuals
marginalized by illness and/or poverty. It was start-up programs
only to be shut down by government unrest. . . dangerous travel –
carriage, train, camel – to people untouched by the light of Christ . .
. coming alongside families, living with them through death, divorce,
set-backs. . . spending her life and love lavishly amongst people for whom her
station, education, and talent had no currency.
What is it for you? For me? What
are the “small things” that God has assigned us? The endless daily tasks,
finishing only to begin again… the job which occupies hours of each day without
apparent appreciation or reward… people draining us with their needs. . .
responsibilities that clutter our minds and hours without ever being resolved.
. . tending trivialities which obscure the larger scheme. . . .
The Shepherds’
Candle represents the Light of Joy that unexpectedly brightens the hearts
of a humble band of shepherds. The question is: Am I faithful in the
“small things” when no one is looking or, for that matter, caring?
Am I, like the shepherds of old, faithfully carrying out the tasks appointed
me? Am I waiting and watching, ready to receive glimpses of grace,
glimmers of glory that might unexpectedly brighten my humble heart?
“Nothing
is great or small to Him who inhabited eternity.”
