The Gospel for the Shepherd’s Mass takes off from there. After the angels had left, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us”. So they hurried away and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in the manger.
The movement from the Midnight Mass to the Mass at Dawn mirrors the transition from truth or reality to meaning or responsibility. The angels merely announced to the shepherds that the Saviour was born and what the signs were that He would be associated with. With such a proclamation, the shepherds must now contend with the truth of the Saviour’s coming.
“Let us go and see” represents the act of assuming responsibility for one’s discovery of the truth or coming face to face with reality. Under the cover of darkness, Christ comes as Light to illumine the darkness of sins. He is the one who will save His people from the eternal damnation of sin.
The question at the heart of this Mass is salvation. What is it to be saved? And more than salvation is the urgency of it. The shepherds did not tarry. They did not wait for the right time. Instead, upon hearing the good news of the birth of Christ and after the angels’ departure, they hurried to Bethlehem. Their action shows an urgency of their part. They wanted to be saved.
Question for us is do we need to be saved? Or do we want to be saved?
Would it be fair to surmise that many of us are not in a hurry to embrace our salvation? Instead what is characteristic of our behaviour is the lack of haste. Many are just happy to delay or wait for an opportune moment, believing that there is always enough time to make the necessary changes needed for us to be saved.
But a more appropriate question is not if we want to be saved but rather if we truly appreciate salvation. It points to the truth that many do not really know what salvation is, for them to truly yearn for it. Either we do not appreciate it or we feel that we are entitled to it as if God were obliged to save us, whether we want it or not. If not, our lack of enthusiasm shows that we want to be saved with the least effort on our part or that we are not that in need of it because we do not think that it is that important.
The Collect of the 1st Sunday of Advent when using this phrase “resolve to run forth to meet your Christ with righteous deeds at his coming” demonstrates how much of a haste we ought to have.
Translated, it would mean that we would have to become more invested in our salvation. To be invested is to take on more of who Christ is as suggested by the Prayer over the Gifts. That the marvellous exchange between God and man be seen in an increase of our divinity or our godly behaviour. The intensity of our divine behaviour is confirmed by us through our deeds. Love shows itself in deeds rather than in words.
Finally, when we are full, we will not desire more than what our stomach can consume and contain. Likewise, when we are comfortable, we might never see the need to be saved cause we already feel safe. However, note that safety is not the same as being saved. One is a sense that nothing untoward can happen and that is safety. The other has a quality which is eternal and that is being saved. A person in safety does not mean that he is saved. In fact, hidden within the Christmas Octave is a feast which barely draws our attention. It is the Holy Innocents. Even though these children committed no personal sins, still they needed a Saviour. By their nature they shared in humanity’s need of redemption which only Jesus Christ the Saviour can provide. Nothing after Adam’s fall is free from the salvation which only Christ can bring.
The Feast of the Holy Innocents shows how necessary salvation is.
In summary, the experience of the shepherds has shown us that salvation is not a reality to be trifled with. They hastily made their way to see the Saviour born in Bethlehem. We too should not take it for granted. On one level, we are already looking for our salvation even if we were not aware of it. Meaning? We are unwittingly searching for salvation. A desire to be safe is basically a desire to be saved. But on another level, we should be careful to protect our salvation. It is not an automatic given whether we want it or not. It is not an entitlement. It is a gift to which we should respond.
May we have the heart of the Shepherds who rushed to seek Him out and to adore Him. As we adore Him, may we also make more room for Him in our hearts and in our lives so that we might be able to embrace the salvation for which He has come to bring each one of us.
