Advent Meditation - December 7, 2009

Day 9 – Rise Up, Shepherd, and Follow
Scripture: Luke 2:8-15

The Scripture reading for today is the account of most of what happened when the angels sang to the shepherds and told them to Rise Up. . . and Follow. The hymn, an African-American spiritual, may not be the most familiar, but it is easy to sing, alternating between unison measures and those sung in harmony as it urges the shepherds and those singing to follow. It’s almost as if the angels are saying, “Don’t just sit there. Get up and go find the baby in the manger.”

Words to ponder: The words of the second verse are: If you take good heed to the angel’s words, Rise up, shepherd and follow, You’ll forget your flocks, you’ll forget your herds, Rise up, shepherd, and follow. Have you ever wondered what happened to the sheep when the shepherds left them? Did the shepherds offer excuses, reasons they couldn’t follow the star to find the manger? Did they simply go as instructed? What would you have done?