SCRIPTURE:
Luke 2:8-12
COMFORT
It’s interesting how today’s reflection word is “comfort.” If you read the scripture of the day you’ll find that God went out of the way to comfort the shepherds. All of the shepherds got a special visit from an angel who proclaimed the same message to them all, “do not be afraid.”
Why did God go out of the way to comfort the shepherds? What were they afraid of?
Viewing this scripture from the lens of liberation theology will be helpful. Now the following interpretation is not historically accurate, but I am fairly certain that I am on the right track…One can make the case the reason why the shepherds needed comfort was because they were afraid of King Herod.
In Reza Aslan’s book “Zealot,” he reminds us that Jesus came to empower the poorest of the poor. Jesus was a revolutionary who wanted the farmers, and the poor land owners to rise up against Herod’s regime. Herod was taking away land from the poor for his “cause.” In a famous verse we all know where Jesus says “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s,” Reza argues that Jesus was telling Caesar to give back to the people of God what belonged to them, and that was their land. It reminds me of many of the refugees who came from Venezuela during Hugo Chavez’s early presidency.
Hugo Chavez was taking people’s land and saying that he was giving it to the poor. I recall the many stories of regular people who worked hard to purchase land to then have the government take it away in the name of “socialism.” We all know that Venezuela’s socialism quickly turned into an exploitation of the poor and a dictatorship that ruined a prosperous nation. Just ask my family.
Side Note: I have nothing against socialism, but socialism may be good on paper but in the hands of the wrong leaders it quickly turns into corruption. Ask Cuba and Venezuela.
So maybe the shepherds were afraid that King Herod was going to take away their land. Maybe they were afraid that they were going to lose the little bit that they had worked so hard for. They needed a message of comfort. They were under a regime that lead with fear, that abused it’s power, and that only made the richer richer and the poorer poorer.
But the prophecy of Jesus comforted the poor by telling them that the government would be powerless over the new Kingdom. The new Kingdom will not be fueled with hate, power and fear, but the new King will bring healing and comfort to the oppressed.The message of Jesus has always been good news to the poor. And today’s scripture is another example of that. The shepherds needed comforting, but they represented all who were oppressed under King Herod. The oppressed, working on the fields, needed to believe that God was on their side in an era where those who they were supposed to believe failed them.
How is the message of Christmas this season (and every season) good news to the poor?
I pray that this Christmas the poor would especially feel the comfort of God because of the messages we preach and because of generosity they experience from the church.One simple way that you can help the poor is by donating socks to your local shelter. Or by calling a local shelter and seeing that they need.You can also tip a little more when you go out to eat during this season. Or you can think about who needs a little extra love in your circles and go out of your way to show them God’s love. Think about the people of Wesley who could use a little extra love this season. May those who need comfort during this season experience an abundance of gifts and love from the people of God.
Let’s do our part.