Daily Devotion 30 December 2025

He said to them, “Go into all the world. Preach the good news to everyone.

Mark 16: 15

READING: Luke 2: 15-20

We try to reflect the joy and wonder of the coming of God into our world by beautifying our Christmas celebrations with the best decorations, music, food and gifts that we can manage. And rightly so.

But we should not forget that these events in reality were grim – a girl in the late stages of pregnancy forced to travel an arduous journey of about 90 miles by donkey, to participate in a tax census for an oppressive military dictatorship, homeless when she gave birth, and the only people coming to wish her well were some shepherds, considered at that time to be very low-status workers.

But what we are told about those shepherds should lead us to respect them, and learn from them. What did they do after they met the baby Jesus? Did they just look at each other and say Wow? No, we are told that they went about praising God and “making known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed”. (Luke 2:15-20)

Sometimes, after Christmas, we feel let down after the excitement. But, as followers of Christ, we, like the shepherds, should be energised after Christmas. Even more than the shepherds, we understand the full meaning of the salvation brought to us by the baby in the manger. And today, there are no shepherds, no wise men.

There is only you and me. We have been commissioned to walk the path He did. To preach the good news. To bind up the broken-hearted. To proclaim liberty to the captives. To tell people that everlasting joy will be theirs. (Mark 16:15 & Isaiah 61)

After Christmas, our work is only just beginning.

As Howard Thurman put it:

When the song of the angels is stilled,

when the star in the sky is gone,

when the kings and princes are home,

when the shepherds are back with their flocks,

the work of Christmas begins:

to find the lost,

to heal the broken,

to feed the hungry,

to release the prisoner,

to rebuild the nations,

to bring peace among the people,

to make music in the heart.

Prayer

Almighty God, I thank You that, as You came to those shepherds long ago, You come to me, expecting me to tell others about You, expecting me to bring the music of the angels into their hearts, expecting me to help bring about peace on earth and good will among all people. Make me worthy to do Your work, I pray. Amen.