The "non-celebrities" of Jesus' Birth by Craig Knudsen

We just finished a 3 week series called, “Mary and Joe plus 1”, in which we highlighted some stories from Luke 1-4. What we didn’t highlight were some characters surrounding Jesus birth that can still teach us some things. You’ll have to read the accounts in Luke 2:15-52 to get anything from this, so I hope you do.
Shepherds: After SEEING Jesus in the manger they SPREAD THE WORD about the angel visitation and seeing the child as the angels said. The shepherds were the first “evangelizers” of the New Testament, just as women were the first “evangelizers” after the resurrection. These 2 classes of people were the “lowest class” of Jesus’ time, which means that anybody can tell another the good news of Jesus Christ.
People who heard the shepherds: The text says they were “AMAZED.” I thought, “What AMAZES me about God anymore?”
Mary: The text says that Mary TREASURED, PONDERED, GLORIFIED and PRAISED. I thought, “How can I TREASURE God more? How can I improve my PONDERING of the things of God? How can I GLORIFY and PRAISE God better?”
Simeon: The thing that’s pointed out about Simeon is that he was WAITING and the HOLY SPIRIT WAS UPON HIM. I thought, “What things will I be called upon to WAIT for? Is there anything I can do to be more aware that the Holy Spirit is “upon me?” Am I asking for the Holy Spirit to reveal things to me? Am I open and aware of the movings and promptings of the Holy Spirit?”
Anna: This is a woman who enjoyed placing herself in a position to hear God, experience God, talk to God, thank God, worship God, and spread the news about Jesus. Her spiritual practices were: worship, fasting, praying, giving thanks, and speaking about God. What practices am I consistently doing in order to hear God’s voice and recognize His coming?
Jesus at the Temple: Every year Jesus’ parents brought him to Jerusalem. On this trip, he stayed behind and it wasn’t discovered until 4 days had gone by. It’s not a good thing to be the parents and lose the Son of God. When the parents finally find him it says they were “astonished”…at what? That Jesus wasn’t looking for them? That he wasn’t remorseful? Then Mary says, “Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.” And then Jesus says something that might have stabbed Joseph in the heart, “Didn’t you know I’d be in MY FATHER’S house?” Mary says, “Your father,” and Jesus says, “My Father.” They needed a little reminder that he may be in this world, but he’s not their child.
All of these “musings” came from reading the text slowly, circling words (especially verbs) and asking God to point out things in the text that I needed to notice. You can do this to. And then thing through WHY it caught your attention, or why God brought it to your attention. It could be He wants to tell you something.