December 17 | Waiting for Peace | O Come, O Come Emmanuel | Tim Ayers

There isn’t a lot of specific information in scripture about the shepherds who visited Jesus. But we know that in the ancient world of Jesus’ day shepherds were some of the lowliest, working-class peasants imaginable. In a time of violent rebellions, war, and instability, those on the bottom rung of society’s ladder like them would have yearned for peace. But not just peace as an absence of warfare, but as the presence of God’s shalom – abundance, life, and joy which comes from God’s presence among his people. And this peace is exactly what the angels declare to the shepherds. Through the birth of Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, “good news” has finally come. The shalom of God, which these shepherds have been waiting for, has been born.