On the Sunday before Christmas, Pastor Tracy focused on the shepherds (Luke 2: 8-20.) She notes that this beloved, familiar story embodies a truly revolutionary idea: that the birth of the Messiah would be announced through the lowest of the low – poor, nomadic workers on society’s fringes, living in constant fear.
Today’s “shepherds” are all around us: people living an endangered existence on the margins of society. The Angels’ message of “Fear not” is absolutely central to the church’s role in any time, as she illustrates with a story from her first year in Ministry.