Session 3
The Annunciation to the Sherpherds: Yearning and Quest

WEEK 3: December 10-16

Objectives

1. to hear again the stories of the shepherds
2. to understand their experience as another kind of annunciation
3. to explore the idea of longing and quest as response to the promise of Mystery
4. to participate in the shepherd’s quest and joy
5. to encourage participants to spend time with God each day during Advent by reading the daily entries and Bible readings suggested in The Upper Room

Materials

1. Below is a list of props that help tell the stories of the shepherds. You will need at least one prop for each person in the group (two if your group is small). Use figures from a manger scene, augmenting the set with homemade or found items as necessary. These items are to be hidden before the meeting begins.
   • For the shepherds: shepherd figures, sheep, cloaks, water jugs, knapsack, etc.
   • In the stable: cows, goats, straw, water bucket, oats, rope, broom, etc.
   Place Mary and Joseph, (and the baby in another spot), someplace that your group, like the shepherds, will walk to. See below.
2. For your “quest” you will need to figure out a way for the participants to “follow the star.” That is, you’ll need some sort of dark passage with a single light to follow as you journey to “Bethlehem.” You might want to walk in darkness, following a flashlight or candle to the sanctuary, where you will have already placed the baby and the manger. If you must stay in the meeting room, simply walk a spiral path to the manger in the center. Decide what works best for you after you read the lesson. Fabric paint and brushes
3. Music: It would be nice to have someone play “O Little Town of Bethlehem” as you walk to “Bethlehem” — perhaps just a guitar or flute or violin.
4. Music — At the manger, you’ll need a really great, big-sounding, plenty-of-trumpets recording of “Joy to the World” followed by “Angels We Have Heard on High” and “O Come All Ye Faithful” all cued up and ready to go, one person to push the play button, and another to hit the lights. A portable boombox would be ideal, so you can take the music with you as you sing along the way back.
5. A picture book of the story of the Nativity. Check your church library. Some suggestions:
   • Room for a Little One: A Christmas Tale - Martin Waddell
   • The Stable Where Jesus Was Born - Rhonda Gowler Greene
   • A Child is Born - Margaret Wise Brown
   • They Followed a Bright Star - Ulises Wensell
   • B is for Bethlehem - Isabel Wilner
   • How Many Miles to Bethlehem - Kevin Crossley-Holland
   The Christmas Path: A Legend of the Luminarias - Sue Wright
6. The Upper Room daily devotional guide

Opening

Leader says (directions in parentheses):“We have watched how Mary and Joseph each turned toward God when God’s messenger gave them the startling news that Jesus would come to be part of their family. It took courage for Mary and Joseph to respond to God’s news, but they were given the spirit to live the new life that God intended for them. Let’s take a minute to remember their stories by reciting some of our memory verses. (Ask for volunteers to recite.)

“The scripture passages we read during the Christmas season give us several stories of people traveling – Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, the wise men. We often use the image of traveling to talk about getting to know God. We hear lots of people talk about being on a “spiritual journey” – which really means trying to learn how to follow Christ more faithfully. Get into groups of three or four. Take a couple of minutes to look back over the meditations in The Upper Room for this week. Where do you see people changing – going to a new place – in these stories? Which writer from this week’s meditations would you most like to talk to, and why?

“This week we will see what happens when finally the Christ child is born. Two groups — the shepherds and the wise men — are informed about the birth of Christ in very different ways, but both respond by traveling. Let’s hear their stories.”

Scripture reading: Luke 2:8-20. Many people will have heard this story over and over, and the words will be so familiar that it’s hard to hear them with fresh ears. So for the second reading, read aloud one of the excellent illustrated children’s books on the Christmas story. Ask participants to say what images and words stay with them. Memorize a line that seems especially striking.

Discussion:

Leader says: “How did the shepherds feel when the angel appeared? Is good news sometimes a little scary? How would you feel if the whole sky were suddenly full of angels? Do you think the shepherds were brave to go to Bethlehem? How do you think they felt when they finally saw the baby Jesus? The story says that they told people what they’d seen and heard. What would you have said if someone from the inn asked you what was happening out there in the night?”

The Quest:

Leader says (directions in parentheses): “Now we’ll all go on a quest ourselves. Two quests, actually. The first quest is to find the pieces of the crËche that are hidden in the room (or wherever) like Easter eggs. As you hunt, you’re looking for the pieces that help tell the story. There is a piece for each one of you, so after you find your part of the story, please sit down until everyone else has found theirs, too. (When everyone has found a piece, continue.)

“Now everyone has found a piece that goes with the nativity story. Like the shepherds on the way to Bethlehem, you found something you’d been told about and were looking for. But think back: before the angel came, those shepherds were not looking for anything special. It was just another night taking care of the flock. And just as the shepherds got a surprise, here’s a surprise for you: Good news! Great joy! Guess what! You’re in the story too! Every one of us is like a shepherd who gets scared, then excited, then goes off to find the amazing God-baby who carries such love and holy power into the world and lives even now in our hearts.

“Look at The Upper Room meditation for December 15. Here is a story about a little girl who feels both excited and scared, just like the shepherds.

(Read the meditation aloud.)

“Libby Eaton, who wrote this piece, describes how it feels to be invited into God's story in a new way. Like her, and like the shepherds, we can find in faith the excitement and courage to step into a new chapter of God's story.

“And that is our second quest — to go through the dark night by the light of the star to find the Christ.

“When we find the baby in the manger, we will complete the scene as we each place our piece around him. While we walk, we’ll sing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” If you know it, sing too. If not, don’t worry, just hum or enjoy hearing the others sing. As you walk, think about the piece that you hold and how it is part of the story.

(All walk in the darkness — or semidarkness — following the “star” as it leads them on a circuitous path and eventually to the place where the Christ child lies. Appoint someone to bring up the rear and to make sure no one gets lost.)

(When you find the place where Mary, Joseph, and Jesus are, let the starlight continue to shine down, as everyone places his or her piece around the manger. Then read these words from the prophet Isaiah (Isa. 9:2, 6):

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light . . . ;
For a child has been born for us, a son given to us;
Authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (NRSV)

“Then invite everyone to shout with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on Earth peace, goodwill among all people!” Hit the play button on “Joy to the World” and turn up the lights! Let everyone sing and dance, and return down the lighted hall singing Christmas carols. If there are other groups in the church building, you may want to sing for them.”

Leader says: “As we paraphrase St. Augustine: ‘Anyone who sings prays twice.’ So we will consider the carols our closing prayer.” (From St Augustine, Commentary on Psalm 73, 1)

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