The last verse of the Christmas story is found in Luke 2:20 –
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen…
To me, there is great significance in the fact that the shepherds “returned.” From every mountain-top experience there is a road that leads back to the humdrum of everyday activity and life. So it was with the shepherds..
It is what they did after Christmas that captures my attention. They could have become self-exalted and lifted up in pride. After all, they had just witnessed the grand spectacle of the coming of the Messiah into the world. But they returned once again to those same fields from whence they had started their journey.
It meant returning to the ordinary life…to the normalcy of everyday activities – tending the flocks, guarding the sheep, and caring for the lambs.
True, life would never be the same again. After all, think about what they had just experienced. But here is the key that should not be overlooked – they took the divine glory of the manger back to the daily grind of the shepherding.
Isn’t that what we are called to do?
Perhaps the shepherds entertained thoughts of staying in Bethlehem and enshrining themselves as a memorial to the manger. They could have felt somewhat like Peter, James and John, on the Mount of Transfiguration, who had an idea after that glorious experience of building a tabernacle and just staying on the mountain-top. But evidently that was not the purpose of God. The will of God was for them to return to the valley to do the work that they had been called to do.
How do you come down from those Christmas highs?
For most people today, it is a time of feeling blue and let down. The Malls will be crowded with people standing in long lines to take back things they don’t want, and clothes that don’t fit. And then there is the chore of taking down all the decorations. Somehow it is never quite as much fun to take it all down as it is to put it all up.
Actually, if you let your mind dwell on it, there’s plenty to be depressed about when you think about the excesses and the indulgences – a little too much fun, a little too much food, a little too much money spent. Somebody said, “Last week it was jingle bells; this week it is juggle bills.”
It’s no wonder that psychologists tell us that more people suffer from depression around Christmas time than any other time of the year.
But does it have to be that way? Not if we follow the example of the shepherds, who somehow kept everything in perspective.
The return trip is never quite as exciting.
It can be a long and difficult journey. But not so with the shepherds. Notice again what they are doing as they return home from the manger. They are “glorifying and praising God for all that they have seen and heard.”
This week, it’s back to work and the real world. It’s facing the challenges and uncertainties of an unknown future. Yes, the glitter and the glamour must give way to regular living.
And so…how should be prepare ourselves for life after Christmas? By returning to our fields of labor as ambassadors of the King, worshipping and praising God!
Let’s go forward, fleshing out in the normalcy of life what has been revealed to us at the manger!
The story doesn’t end at the manger – it just begins there.
When we experience the true joy of Christmas, it carries over into the day after, and the day after that, and on into the future, impacting our lives forever.
Happy New Year!
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