Living in the Image of God M06S05
An angel’s interactions with night-shift shepherds regarding the birth of Jesus conveys a message of the individual responsibility regarding the communal purpose of individual blessing. The shepherds were each given information that is of great communal value but were not told what to do with the information. The angel promised to deliver to them “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” delivered the news as promised, but did not tell them what they should do with the news. Based on the interactions, we learn that God may choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value; provides the recipient sufficient understanding of the communal value; and assigns to the recipient the authority to determine how to interact with others regarding the blessing he or she received: that is, regarding “what the Lord has given us” that is under the recipient’s control.
God chose a group of night-shift shepherds to receive a blessing that is of great individual and communal value to all people, revealed to them the blessing and its great value, but did not tell them what to do with the blessing or how to propagate its value. The shepherds were visited by an angel while they were tending their flocks at night at about the birth time of Jesus. The glory of God that presented with the angel confirmed to them that he was a messenger of God. They were terrified. The angel calmed their fear and explained he brought them good news for all people: “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.”
The angel was there to provide the shepherds with information that will be of great value to them, others, and the community (good news that will cause great joy for all the people). The angel proceeded to deliver the information and left thereafter. He did not tell the shepherds what to do with the information. After the encounter, the shepherds, on their own decision, went to Bethlehem to verify the information and shared what they were told with as many people as they could reach.
This bible account conveys a great message regarding the communal value of individual blessing. First, God can choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value. He chose the night-shift shepherds as custodians of “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” This kind of information would have been expected only from “high-caliber and high-influence people of God” but was instead provided to ordinary night-shift shepherds. Second, God will choose a way to reveal to you the value of any blessing that he has given you: value to you as a person, to other individuals around you, and to your community. Third, he will grant you full authority and freedom to decide how you interact with others regarding your individual blessing—“what the Lord has given us” that is under your control. You have full ownership, authority, and God mandate to determine when, where, and how to apply your individual blessing towards the needs of self, others, and community.
Individual Custodians of The Good News
This is the Good News that God delivered to ordinary people—shepherds on a night shift: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night” [Luke 2:8]. An angel appeared to the shepherds. They recognized the angel clearly as a messenger of God: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified” [Luke 2:9]. Then the angel reassured them that he came in peace and had great news for them that is of great value to every person [Luke 2:10]: “But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.’” Then the angel proceeded to tell them about the birth of Jesus [Luke 2:11–12]: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
The Good News was delivered by an angel accompanied by a team of other angels—a great company of the heavenly host [Luke 2:13–14]: “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.’” Each of the shepherds received the Good News as an individual. They were each a custodian of the Good News—owned the information and full authority and freedom to decide what to do with the information.
Communal Purpose
The angel delivered to the shepherds a message regarding an event that had occurred and will cause great joy for all people. That is, the angel informed the shepherds that the message was of great value to all people—the shepherds, other people individually, and the community. Therefore, the shepherds were informed that the message had a communal purpose.
Individual Ownership and Authority
The angel did not tell the shepherds what to do with the Good News. He simply delivered the information after telling them about the communal value. Then, he left. Therefore, each shepherd had full ownership of the information and full authority to determine when, where, and how to use the information.
Sharing the Good News
The shepherds decided by themselves to share the information with as many people as they could reach. First, they went to Bethlehem and verified the information: “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’” [Luke 2:15]. Thereafter, they spread the news to everybody they could reach [Luke 2:17–18]: “When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Message of the Angel-Shepherd Interactions
The angel-shepherd interactions regarding the birth of Jesus conveys a great message regarding the communal value of individual blessing.
First, God can choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value. He chose the night-shift shepherds as custodians of “good news that will cause great joy for all the people.” This kind of information would have been expected only from “high-caliber and high-influence people of God” but was instead provided to ordinary night-shift shepherds.
Second, God will choose a way to reveal to you the value of any blessing that he has given you: value to you as a person, to other individuals around you, and to your community.
Third, he will grant you full authority and freedom to decide how you interact with others regarding your individual blessing—“what the Lord has given us” that is under your control. You have full ownership, authority, and God mandate to determine when, where, and how to apply your individual blessing towards the needs of self, others, and community.
Summary of What We Learned
The study discusses an angel’s interactions with night-shift shepherds regarding the birth of Jesus: to understand the individual responsibility regarding the communal purpose of individual blessing. The shepherds were each given information that is of great communal value but were not told what to do with the information. The angel promised to deliver to them “good news that will cause great joy for all the people,” delivered the news as promised, but did not tell them what they should do with the news.
Based on the interactions, we learn that God may choose any person to receive individual blessing of any communal value; provides the recipient sufficient understanding of the communal value; and assigns to the recipient the authority to determine how to interact with others regarding the blessing he or she received: that is, regarding “what the Lord has given us” that is under the recipient’s control.