The scripture tells us that the shepherds made haste to see the Christ child. In other words, they ran. I love that image. I can just imagine grown men running through the fields to Bethlehem. With the departure of the angels, they drop everything, leave their work, and take off pell-mell through the dark of night oblivious to unseen rocks and holes. The news is too important. The promise is too great. This is not a time for caution. This is a time to make haste.
In our day and age, we know how to make haste. For most of us, haste is how we live our lives. It seems we are always on the run. Our jobs keep us running. Our families keep us running. Our responsibilities keep us running. Christmas invites into a very different kind of haste. It is not the haste that wears us down and burns us out. It is not the haste that is forced or demanded. It is the haste that comes from great joy, like the birth of a grandchild. Good news that is so wonderful that it cannot be contained. News so important that it leaves our jobs and business of our lives in the dust.
On Christmas Eve, Christ was born. God so loved the world, so loved you and me, that God sent his son. God reached out to claim us all even though we were lost and broken. This is the goods news proclaimed that night. This is the good news that has the power to change the hearts and lives of people. This is the good news that is so wondrous that we cannot help but make haste. May we join the shepherds running in the field this Christmas season. Merry Christmas to you all and may you have a joyous New Year.
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