13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. Luke 2:13-20
Every year we hear this scripture read and I imagine that most of us don’t really see it work in the context of our everyday world. This morning while reading this again, I suddenly saw it in the sporting world.
Jesus is the Messiah and his arrival is heralded by a great company of the heavenly host. We see players come to our teams like they were messiah’s arriving to deliver the team, the program and the community into a new era. These messianic players are usually welcomed by the heralding of a great company of sportswriters and electronic media members.
Joseph and Mary wisely and dutifully care for the baby Jesus and were amazed at what the shepherds were saying. Mary, in particular, is thoughtful about all this, pondering all these things and keeping them as treasure in her heart. We see scores of parents each year who wisely and dutifully care for their young players and they’re often amazed at what the shepherds and angels (sports fans and sports media) are saying about them. The wisest among them both treasure these comments and ponder them in their hearts. They’re wise enough to not buy all the writers are selling, but hopeful enough to think some of it could be true.
The shepherds were informed by angels and personally witnessed Jesus’ first days. They spread the word about both the angels’ words and their first hand experiences with the Lord. They even went home glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. The angels had not overstated the case at all. We are all surrounded by sports fans who read the blogs, the message boards, the scouting services, sport periodicals and some even see the games of the blue chip prospects they hope will play for their teams. They repeat the reports from scouts and the media and when they see the player first-hand, their lips flow with praise for the player, his coaches, parents and everyone else associated with him or her. Sometimes the media has not overhyped the player and he is exactly as reported. Sometimes….
Joseph, Mary, the shepherds, the angels and certainly Jesus lived in a real world. We live in the sporting world. It’s a real world with real people, real parents, real media, real angels, real fans and a real Messiah. Let’s see the media, fans, players, parents, coaches and our colleagues in ministry as significantly as we do the characters in the Christmas story. Let’s help each other to see the significance of each life, each one’s role in the story and how each one relates to the Messiah. Ponder your own role in this story and treasure the wonder of Jesus’ presence in your life.
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