The National tribune., 1890-01-16
SUNDAY MEDITATION.

ANNOUNCED TO THE SHEPHERDS BY GA
BRIEL.
1. Data.
The only Scriptural account of the angels
and shepherds on the first Christmas night is
furnished by st. Luke We see our great i'm
debtedness to the Gospel of the Beloved Ply
stefan. This would have been almost n differ
ent religious world without the beautiful story
which we now study. Many delightful Christ
mas carol would DO robbed of its inspiration if
st. Luke had failed to tell the story of the
shepherds. He wrote in the year 81, and prob
ably ut Rome.
2. Time
For all practical purposes we may put the
date of Chrst's birth on Dec. 25, b. q. g. The
matter has been subjected to much study, and
no month of the IL of the year has lacked claim
ants that Christ was born therein. Able critics
have united in the opinion the great event oc-
Cured in August. Pope Julius / lis credited
with tho act of authoritatively designating the
25th of December as the day on which TO cele-
brate tho birth of our Savior. 1t is a beautiful
fact and one of sufficient force to warrant the
appointment of December the 25th, to wit, the
fact that on said day the sun begins to return
north, Winter begins to end, the days COM
menco TO lengthen, Spring is looked for as not
far off. All these are beautifully emblematic
of the coming of the Sun of Righteousness
the Day.spring from on high-our Savior Jesus
Christ
The shepherds received the visit of the angels
on the Same day which witnessed the birth of
Christ (V. III
st. Luke writing A. ID. 81, wrote of what hap
pened 63 years before no penned tho account.
1t is possible some record was made ut the very
time of tho event and preserved. st. Luke
utilized all data he could secure. 1t is plain,
however, that he must have had some degree
of supernatural guidance as protection against
recording an Erroneous history of such impor-
tant facts
3. Place
Christ was born in Bethlehem. w. It
was called the "City of David" from the fact
he too was born there. 1t was styled Betbe-
hem Ephratah, to distinguish it from Bethe-
hem in the tribe of Zebulon. Christs birth
place was about six miles south of Jerusalem.
The shepherds were out in a field not far
from the city when the angels appeared and
told them of Christs birth. In Fdrrar's Life of
Christ we read:
One mile from Bethlehem Is a little plain In
which, under grove OF olives. stands the bare and
neglected chapel known by the name of The An
gel To- the Shepherds 1t is built over the trad-
uonal site of the fields where, in the beautiful
language of sc. Luke-more exquisite than any
idyi to Christian ears there were shepherds keep
ing watch over their flock by night, when, 10, the
Angel OF the Lord came upon them, aud the glory
of the Lord shone round about them,' and to their
happy ears were uttered the good tidings of great
Joy, that unto them was born that day In the City
kitto says: "In the plain to the eastward a
little less than mile from the Convent (of the
Nativity, is what is asserted 10 be the field
whore the shepherds received the glad tidings
of the Savor's BIRTH"
4. Hearers
The Angels appeared TO some shepherds We
do not know the number of said shepherds.
Bede supposed there were three. Tho word
shepherd is from the Anglo Saxon-sheep and
herd-herd of sheep. Shepherds are persons
who feed, tend and guard sheep in pastures or
folds. We now generally use the word herd of
cattle and speak of iiocks when we refer to
sheep. Only one flock (V. s. is spoken of and
hence there may not have bee II many shepherds.
Bloomfield thinks they were Bethsehemites
DR.. James Strong believes they were nomads
wandering about, and at that time from some
distance. He thinks st. Lukes language im-
plies as much We think they must have had
some knowledge of the prophecies relating to
the advent OF the Messiah. They take in tho
situation Mt once. They have some clear idea
of the news. We notice the class Of persons to
whom the joyful tidngs were first announced.
The news was broken to a humble class Of men.
and not TO the great, the wealthy, the royal.
Shepherds are used to being out of doors, of
being much occupied of nights, more or less
familiar with the general appearance of the
heavens by day and night Reclining perhaps
on the grassy fields, with eyes looking up 10 the
skies, that must have been n strange sight
when way of in tho heavens they beheld a
host of illuminated, winged beings nearing
them. No wonder they were excited and
afraid. The mysterious always carries with il
something of apprehension.
8. The Angels
The announcement was made by a certain
angel. We may well suppose be was Gabriel.
Q:li, 10. 26l Then, no had grand retnue of
angels with him, "a multitude OF the Heavenly
host" We do not know the number. Some
havo imagined Heaven emptisd as 10 angels,
that all angels were recalled from other locali-
ties and that the entire body of angels was in
attendance and joined in the chorus OF verse IL.
Ii We see humbleness of circumstances on the
part of the shepherds. we see magnificeuce aud
muniilconee and benehcence on the part of the
messengers vino tell them OF the manger and
its Heavenly occupant. The angels visited the
shepherds by divine command. lt WAS impor-
taut 10 usher jesus into our world with super
natural manifestations, SO As to establish his
claims and magnify his mission.
d. The 7fdiHgs.
That must be very significant event which
called for announcement by an Angel sent from
Heaven by jehovah. The shepherds felt con-
WINGED that the occasion was no ordinary one.
They could not understand the event. Scien-
tifcaliy 10 WAS phenomenon. No wonder they
cringcd beneath the oncoming, illuminated
bank of Heavenly beings. At first there was
but the sound OF wings Seeing the alarm of
the shepherds the angels we're conscious that
before all else there was call TO quiet the minds
OF the ailrghted group. In such a state of
fear they were not in condition TO receive the
Heavenly message. Gabriel assured them they
need not DO alarmed. Tho news was glad
tidings. Nor did he keep them long in sas-
pense. At once he continued. That they
might not imagine the tidings applied to a class
exclusive OF themselves The Angel told them no
had good nows for all persons ON earth We
sec how religious ideas began 10 expand-hOw
Jewish exciusiyeness was rebuked. The news
was the announcement that the Messiah had
come The suspense of 1000 years was broken.
The world for 40 centuries had been waiting
for Jesus To come. At about the time he did
arrive at Bethlehem the earth was the gui-
piue for the Advent, The shepherds seemed To
comprehend the situation. They recalled the
prophesies relating TO Christ Probably many
words, however, of explanation not recorded
passed between Gabriel and the shepherds.
The city of David WAS the place in which the
Messiah was to bo born, as prophecy said, and
indeed he was brought forth in Bethlehem.
lie is the Savior, not Savior, one of many.
lIe is Christ the anointed, the one set apart
from all eternity to be the Redeemer. lie is
Lord, our Ruler. our King. When the Prince
of Wales was born there was rejoicing all over
our world. When there was royal birth some
years ago at Madrid, not only was there rejoic-
ing in the palace, and out at the Escurial, aud
all over Spain, but also in every part of the