(Audio)
Although the shepherds were of low status in society they were privileged to be among the first to hear the announcement of the birth of the savior. But what an announcement it was. It was clearly authentic based on the glory of the angels that appeared. But what kind of Messiah would be found lying in a manager? What sort of Lord would this be, who was to be welcomed by shepherds, and in such a condition as would not seem to befit a savior, Messiah, and Lord?
The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
We can see that the shepherds did not overanalyze what they had been told. They didn't simply assume it was all too strange and stay at home. Perhaps the lowliness of the child in the manager made them sufficiently bold as to visit him. We might imagine that if Jesus was born in palace as the obvious son of a king that shepherds might not dare to approach him. But born to poor parents and lying in a manger he was infinitely approachable. His presence did not drive them away in intimidation or fear but rather was such that they came in haste.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
The shepherds never seemed to stop to consider how implausible what they had experienced had been. They were too certain of the truth of it, and too excited by the prospects for them, their nation, and the world, to keep it to themselves. We wonder if others who heard it from them might have thought them a little crazy. And again, we might wonder at the wisdom of God who chose messengers such as these to announce and explain his incarnation. But this was an example of how, "the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men" (see First Corinthians 1:25).
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
The incarnation was simply so contrary to what anyone would expect that it required an open heart in order to understand it and to not be scandalized by it. This was perfectly demonstrated by Mary. She had to remain open as God revealed more of what her child was and would be. She had to continue to give her fiat as the his mission took shape. And she did so. We might expect a parent who knew her child was the Messiah would severely restrict those who might see him, whether for the sake of his dignity or that of his safety. A palace-born heir to a secular throne would likely never encounter shepherds at such close proximity. But Mary and Joseph did not keep Jesus isolated from questionable characters on the fringes of society. They seemed to see that their child was somehow meant to be for the whole world. They were already flowing with God's plan as they came to understand it. And so they welcomed those who came to him, whether shepherds or wise men.
From his Father Jesus received his divinity. But from Mary his mother he received a complete human nature. She was the one from whom his humanity was derived and so it was fitting that it was in some way her mission to aid in his contact with the full scope of the human race. Already she was in some way a mediator, not because of anything she was of herself, but because of what she had become in virtue of the divine gift of her Son. She helped shepherds, wise men, Simeon, and people at the wedding at Cana among others, to draw near to her Son. And she has continued to be about this business throughout history, such as at Lourdes, Fatima, and Guadalupe. We too are invited to come to her and discover again, as if for the first time, both the warmth and the strangeness of a king born poor and marginalized. We still sense that some of his own followers would have preferred something more obviously glorious and imposing for a Messiah whom they were to worship. But, as we said, Jesus arrived in such a way that accepting him would require open hearts. To open our hearts to Jesus means embracing in him all whom he embraces, the poor, the weak, and those who count for nothing in the eyes of the world. In order to accept Jesus and to keep accepting him and his desire to be present in our lives we need to keep our hearts open as Mary did. And today in particular we can turn to Mary herself to help us to do this. She did it first and knows how it is done, and she, like the shepherds who came to her, delights to make her son known to us.
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