December 25, 2025 at Saint Peter, Saint William &Saint Agnes Parishes in Naples, FL
Isaiah 9: 1-6 + Psalm 98 + Titus 3: 4-7 + Luke 2: 1-20
Shepherds get Center Stage in these verses from Luke’s Gospel that we have heard countless times. I’m not sure about you, but I remember very clearly jumping at the chance to play one of the shepherd roles in those Christmas pageants so much a part of Advent in our parish school. Most of us guys wanted that role because you did not have to sing or remember any lines. There were no feathers, wings, or haloes to mess with because all you had to do was wear dad’s bathrobe. Most importantly of all, you did not have to stand close to and look admiringly at the girl playing Mary because she was “Sister’s favorite.” Romantic as the scene has become at the hands of artists over the centuries, there is something about these shepherds that gets lost in all the Carols, Manger Scenes, and paintings. Luke is not entertaining us with this story. He is revealing something to us to ignite our imaginations and move us to act.
The birth of Christ was a rude interruption for everyone in these scripture stories that have been passed on to us. They start with an aging priest named, Zacharias and his childless wife, Elizabeth. Just when they thought it was time to settle down and quietly retire, they hear news that changes everything. Then it is Joseph whose sleep is interrupted with troubling news about the woman he was to marry, forcing him to decide to do what is right or do what customs required, leaving her alone in disgrace. The young woman herself has had her own life plan interrupted. They just only ordinary people who find their lives and plans suddenly overturned. Just like us.
Today the story of shepherds is told to us. We ought not miss the fact that they were at work, doing what they always do, tending the flocks entrusted to them when they are interrupted in the night. The most dangerous of time when predators are about is the night. Yet, they have heard something, good news it seems, and they take off wanting to see this thing that has taken place. With that, we know what Luke is up to with this story, and what may happen to us when we really want to see and understand Christmas.
Wanting to see is the first movement of faith. Remember the Apostle Thomas? In order to believe, he wanted to see what the others had already seen. It was the same with the shepherds. They went to see what they had heard about. While Jesus may praise those who believe without seeing, there is no ignoring what seeing can do when it comes to faith. What Thomas and those Shepherds saw was Christ the Lord. Faith, my friends is not some ideology, creed, or collection of rules. Faith is Jesus Christ.
I believe that most of us have faith because we saw someone whose life made the Gospel credible. Their life, values, and joy let us see Christ the Lord. I also believe that there people everywhere in this world longing for something beautiful that they cannot or have not yet seen. We need to hope and pray that when they see us, they may come to faith because they have seen Christ the Lord. We cannot simply celebrate the Son of God coming into human life unless it is our life and our flesh that he assumes as well, so that in us they may see Christ the Lord.
In a day or two most of us will return to our fields and flocks like the shepherds, back to our normal routines and responsibilities. All of that will be the same, but we cannot be the same people. We ought to leave here humbly like the shepherds, forever changed by Christ Jesus, letting people know about Christ through the way we live our lives. We need to make real and celebrate something far more wonderful that a birth in Bethlehem. What we must truly celebrate is the birth of Christ in all our hearts, souls, and lives. When that begins to happen, God will be praised and glorified, and God’s people will live with hope, Joy, and Peace.