‘In the countryside close by there were shepherds out in the fields keeping guard over their sheep during the watches of the NIGHT.‘
Watching through the night is something which many of us will find ourselves doing at some point in our lives. We might be awaiting a birth or sitting at the bedside of a loved one in their last illness. There’s something about the darkness and the stillness that gives this time a very different quality to daytime. There’s an in built vulnerability, but also an uncluttered feel that can make space for problems to be resolved and new ideas to emerge.
Commentators suggest that it was most likely springtime when these shepherds are keeping watch. Shepherds and sheep simply wouldn’t survive if this were winter. In Luke’s narrative these shepherds have a symbolic value. Watching through the night in order to guard their flocks from predators, they symbolise those who care for the vulnerable. This scene is in contrast to the world over which Caesar Augustus presides.
New Testament Scholar, Amy J Levine, imagines how the shepherds might spend their time:
‘We can picture these shepherds, under the stars. They are doing what people do at the end of the day: telling stories, singing songs, praying to God for good health or for the Romans to go away, talking about household joys and sorrows. Perhaps there are women among the shepherds, gathered together to tell their own stories and to share their own dreams.‘
On this night their watch through the night turns to wonder as the angels appear. In the darkness of the night they are caught up in glory.
How has God invited you to watch and wait this Advent?
(Luke 2:1-14, Midnight Mass)