Saturday, December 13, 2008

3rd Sunday in Advent - The Shepherd’s Candle

This child, this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes who was both The Shepherd and The Lamb, was born in the shadow of the cross.

"And in that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And the angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them...And they went with haste, and found...the babe lying in the manger... And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen...(Luke 2:8-9, 16, 20)"

The Savior had been born. The Messiah, the Christ, had come into the world. The One who carried the hopes of all mankind had arrived. Indeed the shepherds probably understood very little of the glorious meaning of His coming. But there was a certain kinship between the shepherds and Jesus. This child was the Great Shepherd who came to give His life for His sheep, yes, to give His life for the sins of the world. This child, this babe wrapped in swaddling clothes who was both The Shepherd and The Lamb, was born in the shadow of the cross.

It is fitting that the announcement of the Lord’s birth should be given to shepherds. The imagery of sheep and shepherds is repeated many times in the scripture. With this in mind, the following meditations call attention to the imagery of Christ being both the Shepherd and the Lamb.

Monday – John 10:11-15 “I am the Good Shepherd…”
Tuesday – John 1:29-31 “Behold the Lamb of God…”
Wednesday – Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd....
Thursday – I Peter 1:18-21 …a lamb without blemish or spot…
Friday – I Peter 2:24-25 For you…have now returned to the Shepherd…Saturday –Rev 5:1-10 “…I saw a Lamb…”


©2008 M.E.G.

1 comment:

Cynthia said...

YEA! I noticed the ticker is going down and our babies will be home soon!