Luke 2: 9-10

"An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 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." Imagine a cold winter night. Shepherds are out in the field watching their sheep. I searched the internet to find out about Bethlehem in the time of Jesus. Bethlehem in the time of Jesus was a small humble village. The primary occupation may have been shepherding. Jerusalem may have been the biggest city of that part of the world at that time. The financiers, the scholars, the priestly class, the merchants or the tax collectors may have been in Jerusalem. Jerusalem may be to Israel what New York City is to the US today. But God did not pick the financiers and scholars to tell the good news first to. They would have said, aw right, our saviour is a baby in a manger? And they would not have believed. So God would have picked the humble shepherd of Bethlehem to tell the good news of the birth of Jesus. Because in their simplicity they would believe. I think there are two points here. One the good news was first told to shepherds. Two. God thought it worthwhile and important to let a heavenly angel convey the good news to the shepherd. The birth of Jesus was an important event. And God wanted to share that good news with a few shepherds. And God sent an angel for this purpose. The sheep need to graze and the shepherds have brought them to the fields. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared before the shepherds. The angel said "do not be afraid." Because the angel said he came with good news that caused Joy for all the people. The angel then announced the birth of Jesus. Which is the good news of great joy. What are the things we can pray about as we meditate on this verse. _We can thank God that God sent an angel to tell the shepherds of the birth of Jesus. _We can thank God that God chose shepherds to tell the good news. This tells us what our heart is like matters to God. If we have pure hearts then God will tells us about good news. We can understand about God and know about God. _We can thank God that the angel said to us do not be afraid. _We can thank God that the good news brought by the angel caused Joy for all the people. This means that Jesus is for all of us. Even if we are an investment banker in New York or a sophisticated highly successful person the birth of Jesus gives us joy.