Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us (Lk 2:15). These are the words of the shepherds reported by Luke as they decide among themselves what to do, after having heard the voices of the angels singing and after having seen a great light in the middle of the night in which they were immersed. It amazes you to see, on the lips of unlettered men, so clear an expression. It is able to describe not only what happened to the pastors back then, but also the reason why we ourselves celebrate Christmas: we are here, as they were, because of something that happened. We are not before a fable invented with a didactic purpose nor are we before a myth. We are in front of a fact that happened. Jesus really came to the world, to Bethlehem, a tiny and insignificant town in which, however, was born King David.
At first glance, the birth of Jesus could seem like many of the births that happen every day. In a certain sense, it really is: Jesus is born like all the men of the earth, because He was really a man, as we are. The expression of the shepherds, however, hides in itself a deeper revelation. In fact, to be precise, they say: Let us see this word that the Lord has made known to us. The Greek word is rhema, translated by St. Jerome as verbum: the birth of Jesus is therefore an event that brings with itself a word, a notice, an announcement. The angel had said: Behold, I announce to you a great joy (Lk 2:10).
Following a sign leads one to a deeper experience
None of us can, by ourselves, find the truth of our life. We need someone who has encountered it and can tell the story. We need, that is, to receive the “good news”, an announcement that is full of interest. Only then can we begin the most fascinating work of our existence, which is verifying what has been passed down to us.
The Gospel of Luke, relative to the shepherds, relates these very steps. At the beginning, they are afraid. Do not be afraid, says the angel, who immediately adds: I announce to you a great joy (Lk 2:10). Among other things, and it is particularly significant, the announcement received by the shepherds is for all people, because the method of God always consists in choosing some to reach all. And the joy is this: Today, in the city of David, is born for you a savior (Lk 2:11). To the shepherds, the angel also says that the fact that has happened, the birth of the savior, is for them.
What must the shepherds have understood? What could those simple men have been able to grasp, used as they were to the long silences of the cold nights in the desert? An inkling, a perception that was confused but full of attraction pushed the shepherds to set out. Truly their itinerary also delineates our own.
The angel had spoken to them also of a sign: And this will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger (Lk 2:12). It is not an insignificant detail. It shows how God, invisible and immense, became visible to our own capabilities. His unlimited greatness comes to encounter us in a circumscribed reality, with which we can have a physical relationship. God, that is, accepts to make Himself known according to our own capacity,;He stoops to meet us in the limits of our humanity. St. Luke was not ignorant of history nor of philosophy. He knew that, adhering to a sign, following it, leads one to a deeper experience. The sign is a visible reality that introduces an invisible mystery. Behold why the path of the shepherds is also the path of every Christian: we are called to follow visible and temporal signs to experience invisible and eternal realities, which give meaning to our everyday living.
