And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

Luke 2:7

Marilyn Chandler McEntyre, in her book Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies, makes the claim that curiosity is a form of compassion. She argues that it is an act of love to show interest in another person by asking them, “What is it like to be you?” And so it is. What does it feel like to you when someone notices you? What does it feel like when someone remembers your name, or your birthday, or some tidbit of information that you volunteered about yourself the last time you were together? Or how did it feel the last time someone asked you a good question and then stuck around long enough to truly hear your answer? There is nothing more encouraging, more soul enriching, than for another person to take a genuine interest in you. And if we’re honest, there’s nothing more insulting and discouraging than being ignored.

In New Testament times, shepherds were accustomed to being ignored.  For one thing, they were out in the fields while everyone else was busy in the city. Their physical location mirrored their location in the ancient Jewish social scene. That is, they weren’t in the scene at all. They were considered one step above a common criminal by many. If something went missing around the house, the local shepherds were usually the first to get blamed. Even when they came in town, they might as well have stayed away. Despite the fact that their lambs were being sacrificed in the Temple, they had to remain outside, as they were considered unclean. No one ever asked them, “What’s it like to be you?” No one gave them the gift of curiosity. If they weren’t being looked down upon, they were just being overlooked.

Until that night when this overlooked group of people looked up into the sky and discovered an angel of the Lord staring back at them! The Bible says the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. No joke. It’s like being the shy kid all your life and finally having the most popular girl in the school stop and call you by name. Attention is good, but it can also be terrifying. 

“Do not be afraid. I bring you good news” the angel said. Today, God has given you the greatest gift of all.  He’s given you all the attention he has. He’s given you his son. “This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Then, low and behold, this rough and ragged group, who’d never even been allowed into the Temple to participate in worship, got a private concert by God’s finest choir. Attention, compassion, curiosity, love. The perfect gift, for shepherds, and widows, for the left out, and the looked over, for kids, and seniors, for you and for me.

In the end, we’re all people who’ve been overlooked and people who’ve been left out – sometimes by our own choosing, sometimes through no fault of our own. But I’ve got good news that should bring us all great joy. We haven’t been overlooked for good. God has looked upon us with favor. We’ve got the gift to prove it. His name is Jesus Christ, the Lord.

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