Advent of Peace
Delivered by Rev. Jonathan Oh on Sunday, December 7, 2025.
英語のテキストの後に日本語訳があります。こちらはChatGPTによる機械翻訳であり、文法的な誤りが含まれている可能性があります。基本的な正確さを確認しております。
Passages:
Psalm 23 (NRSV)
The Divine Shepherd. A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3 he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I fear no evil;
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
my whole life long.
Luke 2:8-20 (NRSV)
The Shepherds and the Angels
8 In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11 to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace among those whom he favors!”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. 17 When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.
Sermon Text:
Illustration: We live in a pretty industrialized country where the jobs of today are focused on finances, technology, and innovation based on education and experience. Those are the jobs that we see are desirable. And yet, there are jobs that we know must exist in order for our society to function. Consider the farmer. We just go to the supermarket and just put the fruits and vegetables in our shopping carts and go to the checkout line. However, farming, as much as we see this as vital, isn’t something we are willing to just drop our current jobs in order to go to do. The extremely early hours, the hard work to either work the soil over long periods of time or working with the livestock, and the struggles to make all these things get to market are likely not something we personally desire. Or consider the sanitation workers. We just take out our garbage to the deposit location on a certain day (properly sorted and all), and the workers come to pick them up. It keeps our streets clean and our cities from filling up with garbage. And yet, the never-ending trash, the leaking bags, and the smelly clothes from just driving around the truck is not something we probably will want to do. We wouldn’t just stand around a garbage truck chatting with the workers.
Parallels: The shepherds of Israel had a very interesting paradoxical existence as well. When we read Psalm 23, we read about God as the Shepherd - an idealized Being who loves, cares, and protects the sheep. It is the ultimate role, and this position meant a great deal to those in Israel. From the beginning with Abraham and throughout its existence, the caring of sheep was so important to the country because it was the sheep who brought so much to the table, especially for food and clothing. People saw the king’s role as a shepherd - to shepherd the people of God. But then there’s the flipside of the shepherd: it’s not a role that people actually wanted to do. Typically the youngest child of the family was the one responsible for caring for the sheep. The sheep were not all that clean, and frankly, they were annoying because they couldn’t do anything for themselves. They would be freaked out by just a little bit of rushing water, and they would just wander off and need the shepherd to guide them back. We read in Luke 2 that the shepherds were out at night watching to protect the sheep. So while it was a culturally idealized role - it wasn’t particularly glamorous. Because the shepherds were likely away from the rest of the community in order to take care of the sheep, they were likely the last ones to know about anything that might have taken place. When we look at 1 Samuel and the prophet Samuel going to the family of Jesse, his youngest son David was out with the sheep and was the last to find out about what was going on - and found out that he was being anointed king.
Good News: These average, unassuming shepherds that we see in Luke 2 were the ones to whom God sent the angels to proclaim the Good News: Good News of Great Joy, and on earth peace among those the Lord’s favor rests. It almost seems like they won the lottery in being selected, but it wasn’t a random selection: it is Good News from the Shepherd to the “rest of us”. We might not be powerful, prominent, or wealthy. For those who are marginalized, unseen, or poor, the Good News of Christ’s coming is for us. God’s generous grace means that instead of just a select few, God brings hope and love to the world.
Reaction: While the shepherds in the field were at first terrified, when the angels told them the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, they rushed there, and they had something to tell: the Good News proclaimed by the angels. You see, the shepherds weren’t the priests, Pharisees, or some prominent officials known for public speaking. That’s not what their job was, but these shepherds, the youngest of the community, were out proclaiming this incredible event. Even the child’s mother, Mary, who had already known all about this special child from before her pregnancy, treasured the words that were being proclaimed about Jesus. What wonderful news is this! And the shepherds, as they returned to their jobs, they continued to glorify and praise God for all that they heard and saw. These people become a vital part of the Christmas story, and we are truly blessed to have known their part in it.
Today: There are actually parallels between the shepherds and all of us today. I think most of us will find ourselves to be average people - not boring or unassuming per se - but we probably won’t consider ourselves to be “drop my name” type of people. And yet, God has both given to us this incredible message of peace and joy for us - that we are able to find great delight in as well as great delight for those all around us. Not only has God given to us this incredible message - the Lord has also entrusted us to go and bring this message to the world. Who better to tell the world that is filled with strife and sadness that the Good Shepherd, the One who laid down his life, has come to conquer and heal all the things that remain broken in this world? It is the very ones who have experienced peace and joy in Him.
Riches: And consider the riches that we experience with the Lord as our Shepherd as written in Psalm 23:
We will lack nothing, for God is the source of all that we need.
We will be restored and see justice and righteousness, for God is the ultimate Judge.
We will not fear, for God is with us.
We will find ourselves blessed, even in front of those who are opposed to us, for God will pour out blessing upon us.
We will see goodness and mercy all throughout our days because we will be in the presence of the Lord forever.
Worth Sharing: This is the reason why it is worth proclaiming the Good News. The message of peace and joy comes in light of the fact that Christ as our Good Shepherd came to us, people with no special fame or name, granting us purpose, hope, and love.
Conclusion: As we continue through this Advent season, as we reflect upon this Christmas story, remember that as we journey to and from Bethlehem, we go there to hear what happened, but we leave there with the message that the world needs to hear. And just like the shepherds that we see here - let us go forth into the world, declaring that Christ has come, a message of peace and joy!
日本語の翻訳：
たとえ話：
私たちが住んでいる国はとても産業が発達していて、仕事といえばお金やテクノロジー、教育や経験を生かしたものが中心です。多くの人がそういう仕事を「いい仕事」だと思っています。
でも、社会が成り立つためには、そういう仕事だけではなく、ほかにも欠かせない仕事があります。
たとえば「農家」。私たちはスーパーに行って、当たり前のように果物や野菜をカゴに入れて買っています。しかし、実際に農業をやるとなると、誰もが今の仕事をやめてやりたがるわけではありません。朝はとても早いし、土を耕したり家畜の世話をしたり、とてもきつい仕事です。市場に出るまでの苦労も大きいので、「やりたい！」と思える人は多くないでしょう。
また「清掃（ごみ収集）」の仕事も同じです。私たちは決まった日に分別したごみを出しておけば、収集車が来て持っていってくれます。そのおかげで街はきれいに保たれています。でも、終わりのないごみ、破れた袋、においのついた作業服…と考えると、多くの人は気軽にやりたいと思わないはずです。ごみ収集車のそばで、のんびり雑談したりもしないでしょう。
聖書とのつながり：
イスラエルの「羊飼い」も、実は似たような立場でした。
詩篇23篇では、神さまは“羊飼い”として描かれています。羊飼いは、羊を守り、助け、導く存在として理想的なイメージでした。イスラエルでは羊が食べ物や衣服をもたらす重要な動物だったので、羊飼いという役割は象徴的にも大きな意味がありました。王様でさえ「民を導く羊飼い」と言われたほどです。
でも現実には、羊飼いは人気のある仕事ではありませんでした。たいてい家族の中で一番年下がやらされる仕事で、羊は汚いし、自分では何もできないし、すぐに迷子になるし、正直とても大変でした。ルカ2章にも、羊飼いが夜通し羊を守っている場面があります。理想とされながら、実際は地味できつい仕事だったのです。
羊飼いたちは町から離れた場所で過ごすことが多く、村で何が起きているかを知るのも一番遅いような人たちでした。サムエル記のダビデも、父エッサイの息子の中で末っ子として羊の世話に出され、預言者サムエルが来たことさえ知らなかったほどです。
良い知らせ：
そんな目立たない羊飼いたちに、ルカ2章では天使が現れて「良い知らせ」を伝えます。
「すべての人に与えられる大きな喜びの知らせ」
「地には平和、主に愛される人々に恵みがある」
羊飼いたちはまるで“選ばれた”ように見えますが、これは偶然ではありません。
神さまは、名もない普通の人たちへ、特に大切なニュースを最初に届けたのです。
力がある人、有名な人、お金持ちだけのためではありません。
見落とされがちな人、貧しい人、名の知られていない人──そういう人たちこそ、救いの知らせが向けられていました。
羊飼いたちの反応：
羊飼いたちは最初とても怖がりましたが、天使の言葉を聞くと急いでベツレヘムへ向かいました。そして、天使から聞いたことをどんどん人々に伝えました。
彼らは祭司でも学者でもありません。人前で話すのが上手いわけでもありません。それでも、彼らはこの驚くべき出来事を語り伝えました。
そして、イエスの母マリアでさえ、その言葉を心に深く刻んだのです。
羊飼いたちは自分の仕事に戻ってからも、神さまを賛美し続けました。彼らはクリスマス物語の大切な登場人物であり、私たちもその恵みを知ることができます。
今日の私たちへ：
実は私たちも、羊飼いと似たところがあります。
多くの人は「特別に有名」というわけではなく、普通の生活をしています。でも、その私たち一人ひとりに、神さまは平和と喜びのメッセージを与えてくださっています。そしてそのメッセージを、世界に伝える役目も任せてくださっています。
争いや悲しみが多い世界に、「良い羊飼い」であるキリスト――自分の命を差し出すほど愛してくれた方――が来られたことを伝えられるのは、心からその平和と喜びを経験した私たちなのです。
詩篇23篇の恵み：
主が羊飼いであることの恵みは、次のように表されています。
神さまが必要なものをくださるので、私たちは欠けることがない。
神さまが正しい道へ導き、心を回復してくださる。
どんな恐れの中でも、神さまが共にいてくださる。
私たちを敵の前でも祝福してくださる。
一生の間、神さまの恵みと優しさがついてきて、いつまでも神さまのもとで生きられる。
この知らせは伝える価値がある：
だからこそ、この「良い知らせ」を語る価値があります。
キリストという良い羊飼いが、特別な地位も名誉もない私たちのところに来てくださり、希望と愛を与えてくださった――これは本当に伝えるべき喜びのニュースです。
結び：
アドベントの期間、そしてクリスマスの物語を味わいながら、私たちはベツレヘムへ「聞きに行き」、そして「伝えに戻る」旅をしています。
羊飼いたちがそうしたように、私たちもこの世界へ出て「キリストが来られた」という平和と喜びのメッセージを伝えていきましょう。