Certain Poor Shepherds
Do you ever hear something, a word or a phrase, and it just hits you differently?
Sunday, we finished the first Sunday of Advent by singing The First Noel. And the opening line of that carol is The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay.
At first glance, it’s not particularly impressive. It’s merely setting the stage, right? Angels came to a particular group of shepherds, not to all the shepherds, all over the world, but to a few, to these ones, to certain shepherds…
But when I hear that line, when I sing that line, I hear something beyond what the plain reading of the words are. Take a walk with me a second.
“Certain” is an adjective. (I double-checked). It describes a noun. The angels are the subject, the verb is “sang” the object/s are the shepherds and “certain” is describing, or clarifying something about these shepherds – it’s a particular group. That’s the plain reading of the hymn.
But did you know that certain, even as an adjective, carries 9 different definitions? That includes free from doubt, destined, inevitable, settled. When my world is chaotic and shifting and I’m struggling to gain a footing… I’m looking for something that is… settled. To me, that is… comforting.
Thinking of the shepherds on that night, as the sky bursts forth with an unimaginably bright light and a chorus of angels shouting and singing – after my jaw was picked up off the turf, I’d need something comforting too.
And I can’t help but read and sing that line with that in mind. The angels sang that first noel, to certain poor shepherds… sure, to a particular group of them. But I also hear it and sing it as those angels singing to comfort the shepherds, to settle them, to free them from doubt about the inevitable, destined arrival of the promised Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth.
You may think that’s a stretch. And I didn’t consult any of the Cornish hymn editors from the 19th Century to get their take (I’ll do that in glory), but for me, for now, I take some comfort in the idea that part of the message, part of the mission of the angels on that night, was to provide comfort to these shepherds by their announcement of Jesus’ birth. I know this, I’d love to be certained (do I get credit for making up this word if it ends up in the dictionary?) with the knowledge of God-with-us, right here and now. I’d love to be certained by the message of God’s hope being manifest, God’s peace being manifest, God’s joy being manifest, God’s love being made manifest right now.
Short of an announcement by angels… I’ll settle for the chance to experience it in and through our life together, here at Canonsburg UP Church this Advent Season.
Welcoming You to Grow in Jesus… and be certained too,
Pastor Don