“The
shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all thing things they had
heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” – Luke 2:20
This month,
our church has been going to “Christmas at the Movies”–taking a look at some of
the most-loved Christmas films of all time, based on a vote from our attenders.
Our second-place vote-getter tells the story of a baby boy named Buddy who is
raised at the North Pole by one of Santa’s elves. That movie, of course, is
“Elf.”
Buddy the
Elf didn’t really fit in. He was twice as tall as all the other elves, so the
chairs he sat in were too small, the doorways and ceilings were too short, and
when it came to making toys … he was A LOT slower than the other elves. Now, Santa’s
elves liked Buddy. They thought he was a nice guy. But at the same time, they
thought he was a lousy elf. He was a round peg in a square hole. Have you ever
felt like Buddy–like you didn’t belong?” Well, you’re not alone.
Take a look at Luke 2:8: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” But everyone else was in town, registering for the big census. What’s up with that? Well, at the time Jesus was born, shepherds had become outcasts in Jewish society. Because they worked with dirty sheep, they were considered ceremonially unclean, and they were banned from entering any Jewish synagogue. They could not testify in a court of law, because the ruling class thought that they were liars who weren’t trustworthy. They were basically considered to be less than human, so why count them in the census?
Take a look at Luke 2:8: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.” But everyone else was in town, registering for the big census. What’s up with that? Well, at the time Jesus was born, shepherds had become outcasts in Jewish society. Because they worked with dirty sheep, they were considered ceremonially unclean, and they were banned from entering any Jewish synagogue. They could not testify in a court of law, because the ruling class thought that they were liars who weren’t trustworthy. They were basically considered to be less than human, so why count them in the census?
Jewish society
looked at the shepherds and decided that they just didn’t measure up. In a
similar way, the North Pole elves looked at Buddy and decided that he didn’t
measure up. And, honestly, many of us have had our families, friends, teachers
bosses look us over and decide WE don’t measure up either.
Finally, at
the age of 30, Buddy learns the truth: He’s a human in an elf world. He decides
to leave and search for acceptance somewhere else. So, he sets out on a bold
adventure to New York City
to find his biological dad. Buddy dreams of being accepted with open arms. He
envisions days filled with sipping hot cocoa, eating spaghetti with syrup, ice
skating and snuggling with his dad. But when he gets to New
York City and find his father’s office in the Empire State Building , Dad has him thrown out of
the building. Poor Buddy! He doesn’t fit in at the North Pole, and he doesn’t
seem to fit in with his dad either.
But instead
of sulking, Buddy takes the security guards up on their snarky suggestion and walks
across the street to Gimbel’s department store. He finds the toy
department—labeled “The North Pole”—and that’s where Buddy the Elf really
stands out. Surrounded by bored, grumpy store employees who have absolutely NO
Christmas spirit, Buddy’s childlike enthusiasm and joy are off the charts. But
when their fake Santa arrives the next day, Buddy confronts him … and ends up
getting assaulted and slapped with a restraining order.
Do you know
who the workers at Gimbel’s remind me of? They remind me of some Christians on
a Sunday morning. The manager, the fake Santa and all the other elves weren’t
really excited about Christmas. They were just going through the motions to get
their paycheck. But for Buddy, Santa’s visit was personal. And in a worship
service, far too often, we aren’t really excited about Jesus, are we? We may go
through the motions with very little enthusiasm for singing to our awesome God,
for communion, prayer or studying God’s word. Imagine if we were as excited for
Jesus as Buddy the Elf is for Santa. Let me encourage you, church, to be a
little bit more like Buddy as you worship and serve Jesus Christ.
In Luke
2:8, the Bethlehem
shepherds were a few miles outside of town watching their smelly, dirty sheep.
It was a normal night. Until suddenly “an angel of the Lord stood before them,
and the glory of the Lord shone around them.” And the angel made those
shepherds the first messengers of the ultimate good news: “Today in the town of
David a Savior
has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (v. 11). Then hundreds of angels
filled the night sky and sang praises to God. The angels announced “good news
of great joy,” and the shepherds embraced that “good news” and that “great joy”
and they ran with it.
They
couldn’t believe it! They were nobodies in society. But evidently, God thought
they were somebodies. No matter what people thought of the shepherds, they
mattered to God. And so do you! What matters most is not whether or not people think
you matter, but whether or not God thinks you matter. And here’s some good
news: God thinks you matter.
Why did God
choose to announce Jesus’ birth to shepherds? Why didn’t he choose priests or
rabbis? Why didn’t he choose some other prominent citizens? I believe God chose
shepherds, in part, because He knew they wouldn’t just get the message right—they
would get the enthusiasm and joy right. Verse 20 tells us, “The shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all thing things they had heard and
seen.”
Let’s take
a lesson from the shepherds, from Buddy the Elf and from our own kids. Let’s
get excited about Christmas! God has brought us good news of great joy. Are you
going to celebrate and share that good news with enthusiasm? God has chosen to
bring this good news of great joy to YOU! Don’t squander it. Don’t keep it to
yourself. Share it with enthusiasm and joy!
Dane Davis is the Pastor of Impact
Christian Church. Join us for church every Sunday at 10 a.m. at the new Dr. Ralph Baker School in Victorville.
For more information, visit www.GreaterImpact.cc.
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