They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. – Luke 2:16-20

The holidays are over! Yes? Well, the gifts are unwrapped, the leftovers have been put away and dishes are washed. Perhaps the tree has even been taken down and the decorations have been put away for another year. It may seem like Christmas is over.

The shepherds had similar thoughts. By witnessing the baby Jesus in the manger they saw what they had come to see! The invitation of the angels had reached its completion and now they could resume life as normal.

However, in reality, God’s new plan of salvation has only begun. The ministry, death & resurrection of Jesus becomes visible through the windshield. The shepherds would return glorifying and praising God and they would tell everyone the details of what they had witnessed in that stable in Bethlehem. The shepherds were not ONLY invited to the manger for their own edification but so that they could go forth and proclaim the Lord’s messiah to all.

Truly, our faith is fully demonstrated when … that which we inwardly witnessed becomes … the testimony we outwardly proclaim!

Our mission as the church is to now take what we have observed in the manger and proclaim the Truth of God’s love to the world. Receiving the birth of Jesus, the love of God in our hearts … we are now called to engage in mission to the world by meeting the needs (spiritual, physical & emotional) of those around us. Or in the words penned by Howard Thurman:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with their flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.

[The poem “The Work of Christmas” is from Howard Thurman’s The Mood of Christmas and Other Celebrations and is used by permission of Friends United Press. All rights reserved.]