Advent can feel like a season where it is hard to catch your breath. Our hearts long to reflect on God’s goodness displayed through the birth of Christ, but our to-do lists of tasks and activities seem to occupy more and more of the month of December. In the fast pace of life, reflections are fleeting and stray like sheep as our minds wander off to the next commitment. In the crowded space of our minds, we can struggle to contemplate how God is at work in our lives.

In some ways, this makes the shepherds the most relatable participants in the story of Advent. To set the scene, these shepherds were at work. It was late at night, but they were vigilantly keeping watch over their sheep to prevent predators from striking. Suddenly, chaos erupts—an angel is among them, casting the glorious light of God. Their eyes were likely adjusting, and they were filled with fear at the unexpected change of the night. Then, they hear amazing news of promises being fulfilled before a whole choir appears, bursting into what must have been the loudest and most perfectly harmonized Christmas choir to date. Still in shock, they leave the sheep defenseless and run the 40 minutes to Bethlehem in half the time, simply from all their adrenaline. And by the time they figure out where Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus are, they are sweating, smelly, and out of breath. Imagine a group of men who smell of livestock bursting into an already chaotic delivery room, shouting about angels, lights, and choirs. Doesn’t this sound like the marathon that greets some of us as we find our seats for Christmas Eve service?