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After college I spent a few years living in South Bend, IN. I was going to a job interview one day but arrived early so went to a nearby McDonalds to get some coffee. As I was waiting and drinking my coffee, I saw an older man come in, order a hamburger and coffee and sit at a table not far from me. He looked like he had spent all his money on the meal and he very slowly ate his lunch. I heard this voice say, Andy, go get him some food, and I’m sure it was God’s nudging and prompting.
Have you been in a situation like this? You have a sense you should do something, but you aren’t sure. You know God is calling you to step up and do something but then you start thinking through the entire situation and then overthinking it. Here’s what I thought. What should I get him? What will he say? Will he be embarrassed? Does he want it? Is he really in need? It will be awkward. I’ll do it, no I won’t. And the talk went on and on…
I knew it was God telling me to help because just a few years earlier I had not helped a woman in NYC who was cold and homeless. After that situation, I told myself that if I ever felt God calling me to do something - I would do it. This was a moment where I felt God calling me to do something, but I hesitated. I thought too much about it. I delayed and justified not doing anything all while I watched the man eat his lunch.
I finally decided - I’m doing something. I didn’t want to get him food he would have to eat right then but something he could take home, but what can you get like that at McD. I went to the counter and got about the only thing I thought might last a while, cookies and milk. I know, it sounds silly, but it’s what I got, two cartons of milk and 2 boxes of cookies. I took the bag and went to give it to him, but he had left his table. I searched the restaurant, but he was gone. I had missed the opportunity. I had a holy moment to help someone but hesitated and lost the moment.
I ran outside and looked up and down the street and finally saw him about a block away. I caught up with him and said, excuse me, I wanted to give you this. I gave him a bag with cookies and milk. He smiled, said thank you, and went on his way. But it’s not the end of the story. A few days later I was visiting a church for the first time. During the service, I began to smell someone who probably hadn’t bathed for quite a while. During one of the songs I looked around I saw a disheveled man sitting a few rows behind me where the smell was coming from. It was the man from McD.
All kinds of things went through my mind. Why had God put this man in my path twice in just a few days. What should I do? What could I do? I didn’t have any money. I didn’t know any of the resources of the church or community. I didn’t know what to do. After the service I watched to see if the church would reach out to him, or if they knew him. No one did anything. He walked out alone and I never saw him again.
I’ve thought about this encounter and that man a lot through the years. Who was he? Why did God put him in my path at McD and then at the church? What was the message I was to learn? And why did I hesitate the first time to help him and then do nothing the second time?
One thing I learned from this situation is that there are divine appointments all around us where God calls us to be bold and step out to serve and share in ways that might change someone’s life. When we feel prompted by God, we can’t hesitate, we have to seize that moment and respond with boldness and courage. I almost lost a moment at McDonalds because I wasn’t willing to act quickly. And I lost a moment at the church. The holy moments God gives us to step out and serve and share may not come more than once so when they come, we need to act.
In the Christmas story, the shepherds took advantage of a holy moment and shared the life changing message of Jesus. We hear about the shepherds in Luke 2: 8-18.
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger.”
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
This is such a familiar story that we might miss the significance of God first sharing the news of Christ's birth with shepherds. While some scholars believe these shepherds were priestly shepherds who were taking care of sheep that were being raised for the Passover, most scholars believe these were just ordinary men who were not trusted or valued in society.
Shepherds were social outcasts. Because they were exposed to the bodily fluids of the sheep and the blood of other animals, they were always considered unclean and could not worship in the Temple. Shepherds were not allowed to buy or sell property because they couldn’t be trusted to make an honest deal. Their word was not allowed in a court of law because they couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth. They were despised and untrustworthy people and yet they were the ones God went to on the night Jesus was born.
Of all the people God could have chosen to be the first to hear about the birth of the Messiah, God chose shepherds. God chose uneducated, unremarkable, and unclean men who couldn’t be trusted to tell the truth. That God chose this group of people tells us that the Messiah, the Savior of the world, is for everyone. There is no one beyond the reach of God. There is no one outside of the love of God. There is no sin too great for God to forgive.
This is great news for us. None of us is beyond the reach of God’s love and grace. Jesus is for all of us. No matter how unclean you feel or how far from God you might be or what anyone else thinks of you - you are loved and cared for by God. No sin, no shame, no past history can keep us from the grace of God. This is a holy moment of acceptance for the Shepherds and they don’t hesitate to respond to it.
It says they hurried to Bethlehem to find this savior. Without asking a lot of questions about what they just experienced and why they got this message and what it all meant, they said, let’s go and they hurried off. How many of us hurried to church today? Not because you were late but because you couldn’t wait to be here. I wish we all had the urgency we see in the shepherds. They were given a holy moment, a divine opportunity to experience the power of God, and they took it.
They didn’t think about how they were unclean or that no one would believe them or listen to them, they just went to find the messiah and this was not an easy thing for them to do. First they had to leave their sheep unprotected, which meant putting them in danger and maybe suffering a financial loss if any of the sheep wandered off or were attacked. Second, it took courage to go because they knew they might not be welcomed when they showed up. They knew they were considered unclean. They knew they were unwanted and despised. There was a good chance they wouldn’t be welcomed when they found the child, but they went anyway.
When they found a baby wrapped in cloth and lying in a manger, they knew what the angels said was true. The savior had come, and this savior wasn’t for the rich and righteous. He wasn’t for the wealthy and those deemed worthy. This savior was for shepherds. The birth of this savior changed everything for them. They now knew that they were loved and accepted by God. They had value and worth and dignity. Their sins would be forgiven. God was for them and if God was for them, then God had come for everyone. And this good news was worth spreading. Once again, the shepherds don’t hesitate but realize they have another holy moment, a divine opportunity, to share the news about this child so they immediately shared all that they had heard from the angel and seen with their own eyes.
When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed. Luke 2:18
The shepherds knew they had a divine opportunity to change someone’s life. They could have just returned to the fields and their sheep and celebrated that God had come for them, but they knew they had an opportunity to help change the lives of others. They took that holy moment to share the good news about the coming of the Savior and changed the lives of those who heard them.
All around us are divine opportunities to change the lives of others. It might be by serving them. We might have an opportunity to give someone cookies and milk, or maybe we give our time or money to help provide a Christmas Dinner to those in our community who are hungry or lonely. Maybe we give some of our money to help rebuild a home or church in NC destroyed by the wind and floods of a hurricane. Maybe we change someone’s life by inviting them to join us on Christmas eve in worship.
A few weeks ago we gave out Christmas Eve worship invitations and Pastor David asked you to think and pray about who you could invite to join you and sit with you in worship. Have you given it to someone yet? This is the season when many people are open to attending worship and might just need an invitation. Many people might be looking for places to go and just need someone to invite them and welcome them. If you have thought about inviting someone and haven’t done it yet, don’t hesitate. Don’t let this holy moment pass you by. It could change their life.
If you don’t think you have what it takes to serve or share or invite someone, then remember that God used shepherds to first spread the news about the birth of the Savior. God used people who weren’t trusted to tell the truth and declare that God himself had come into the world. God used the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary thing. God is calling you and me to do something this week that will change someone’s life. There are holy moments all around us, we can’t hesitate, we have to be bold and courageous and seize the moments.
This week, may our prayer be:
God, make me bold so that without hesitation I will seize the holy moments you give me. Help me to share about Jesus and serve those in need around me whether it’s at a McD, or in my school, or my neighborhood, or my church. Use me in extraordinary ways to do your will in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Next Steps
Holy Moments - Sharing
Have you ever felt God calling you to say or do something?
● Did you step out and do it?
● If you did, what happened? If not, why not?
Read Luke 2:2-18
● Why were the shepherds such an unlikely group of people to first hear about the birth of the Savior?
● What does God choosing them to first hear this news mean for us?
● How did the shepherds immediately respond to the Holy moment of the angels’ appearance?
● Once they saw Jesus and knew the message of the angels’ was true, what did they do and why?
● How does their story remind us that God often chooses the most unlikely people to do the most extraordinary things?
What divine opportunity is God giving you today?
Are you hesitating? What is holding you back?
Prayer: God, make me bold so that without hesitation I will seize the holy moment you are giving me. Help me to share about Jesus and serve those in need around me whether it’s at a McD, or in my school, or my neighborhood, or my church. Use me in extraordinary ways to do your will. I ask all this in Jesus’ name. AMEN
Some divine opportunities for us all:
1. Invite someone to join you for worship on Christmas Eve.
2. Sign up to help with the Christmas Dinner.
3. Give to the Christmas Dinner or the Hurricane relief (Christmas Eve) offering.
4. Look for someone in need during this season and don’t hesitate to help them.
