Julie is the oldest among my nieces and nephews. Because of being the first niece, she gained the uncles’ and aunts’ undivided attention. Her brother and sister came after, and Julie was still the spoiled one. When she was thirteen years old, David, the first child of my older brother Antonio, was about to be born. Julie saw how David, even before his birth, was getting everyone’s attention. The day of David’s birth, Julie was on the phone asking about the event. Unable to hide her jealousy, this is how Julie asked the question, “Has ‘that child’ been born yet?”

Now, I would like to share with you some details about my birth. I was born in my parents’ house, the same way all my four siblings were. Home baby deliveries were common back in those days in my country. The baby birth announcement was not as fast as it is today. There was only one phone in town available for everyone to communicate with the external world. So, the announcement of my birth was made by word of mouth, from the small circle of people in the home to the larger concentric circles of family and neighbors.

My reflections today are focused on the way God the Father wanted to share the news of his Son’s birth with the world. Saint Luke tells us that an angel was sent to announce the birth of the Lord first to a group of shepherds who were near Bethlehem.

As it is the case with most births, family members are the first ones to know. I believe that this was also the case with the Lord’s birth. The Lord’s human family was the family of King David. We cannot know whether the shepherds were related to King David or not. What we do know is that they were from Bethlehem, the city of King David. And since King David was originally a shepherd, it makes sense that God, by choosing these shepherds from Bethlehem, was sharing the good news of his beloved Son’s birth with the family.

Shepherds were humble people. They recognized that all they had came from God. They were the poor in spirit and meek of whom the Lord speaks about in the Beatitudes as heirs of the kingdom of heaven. They were the clean of heart who would see God. In fact, Saint Luke tells us that, when the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds, “the glory of the Lord shone around them”. With heads and hearts emptied of themselves as humble people are, the shepherds were able to receive the divine message and immediately accept it in their hearts. The Lord says in the gospel, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother”.

The heavenly host praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests”. Once more, the shepherds were the peacemakers of the Beatitudes who are called children of God. These qualities lead us to accept that the shepherds were the Lord’s family. 

The good news of great joy was proclaimed to all the people beginning in Bethlehem that glorious night and is still shared in the world. We all have heard it. The world hears it more intensely at this time of year. The fact that we all have heard the news of the Lord’s Nativity makes us special people in the eyes of God. We have become God’s family, recipients of God’s joyous news.

The sacrament of Baptism has made us God’s children, his beloved adopted sons, and daughters. We cannot ever repay God for such a distinguished honor. And just as the shepherds did when they learned about the Lord’s Nativity, in the same way we have also come to meet him where he lives, in the Church and in his holy sacrament. We thank the heavenly Father for his gift of humility that he bestowed on us, enabling us to actively participate in Mass and worship his Beloved Son.

Many of us also recognize that we need much more humility in our lives. We would like to be poorer in spirit and meeker. We would like to have a cleaner heart and be effective peacemakers. We would like to have an eager heart and mind to hear God’s divine Word and accept it without reservations.

Let us ask the baby Jesus to graciously grant us the gift of becoming humble people, filled with faith and hope as the blessed shepherds were. Merry Christmas!