Shepherds – Between Sundays for the Week of December 22, 2025
On Sunday, we received the witness of children and youth as they told the story of Christ’s birth. (You can watch and listen to their proclamation by watching our Sunday worship service.) We focused especially on the shepherds who were filled with great joy at the news of Jesus’ birth and hurried to Bethlehem to see the baby and then were compelled to tell others what they saw and heard! The shepherds remind us that joy and witness are key ingredients of a Christian life! Their story can be read in Luke 2:8-20.
In our Lutheran Christian tradition, the word charismatic is rarely used to describe our worship. Ecstatic worship, emphasis on supernatural gifts like speaking of tongues are considered charismatic acts, and they are rarely a feature of Lutheran worship. At the heart of charismatic worship though is the simple truth that the Holy Spirit is the means by which we are brought to faith in Jesus Christ. The shepherds who heard the proclamation of the angels, ran to Bethlehem to see the Christ-child for themselves, and then shared the good news were lead by the Holy Spirit. They were charismatic in that they saw and believed and then shared the good news!
Martin Luther’s Small Catechism teaches “I believe that by my own understanding or strength I cannot believe in Jesus Christ my Lord or come to him, but instead the Holy Spirit has called me through the gospel . . .”. There is nothing more charismatic than to hear the good news of great joy at the heart of the Christmas story, believe through the power of the Holy Spirit that God becomes flesh, and then share that love made visible with others.
May this be so for you this Christmas!
Faith Connection at Home
With just a few days left until Christmas, here’s a wonderful way to count down the remaining days together. Create an Advent calendar of people for the last two days. As a family, come up with the names of two people and write each name on individual slips of paper. Place the names in a small dish or basket. Pick a time each day (dinnertime, bedtime, driving to the store for last minute pickups) to choose a name from your dish and pray for that person as a family.
Try this little Advent prayer:
Dear Jesus, thank you for bringing light and love into our world. Help us wait for you this Advent and be kind to everyone we meet. Today, we pray especially for _________________. Fill their heart with hope and joy as Christmas gets closer. Amen
Ponderings
View the Christmas Message offered from Presiding Bishop Yehiel Curry of the ELCA. He asks, “have you ever heard a whisper” and follows the charismatic example of the Shepherds in Sundays gospel in receiving with joy the news of Christ’s birth and sharing it with others!