A reflection on Luke 2:15–16 (NIV)
“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
There’s something easy to miss in this familiar Christmas passage if we’re not careful. The angels appear. The heavens light up. The message is delivered. And then—almost immediately—the shepherds hurried off.
They didn’t linger.
They didn’t debate.
They didn’t wait for a more convenient moment.
They left their fields, their sheep, their responsibilities, and their routines—and they went.
The word hurried matters.
These were working men, not scholars or priests. Leaving sheep unattended wasn’t ideal or tidy or safe. Travel conditions at night weren’t great. Nothing about this moment screamed perfect timing. But when they heard the news—when they realized where Jesus could be found—they didn’t delay. Meeting Him became the priority.
And that makes me wonder about us.
When we first encounter Jesus—when faith is fresh and wonder is new—we tend to hurry too. We want to know Him, read Scripture, pray, worship, talk about Him. We rearrange our lives because He feels urgent. Necessary. Worth interrupting everything else.
But somewhere along the way, urgency can quietly turn into postponement.
We still love Jesus.
We still believe.
But we stop hurrying.
We tell ourselves:
- I’ll meet with Him after I finish my to-do list.
- Once this season calms down.
- When I feel better.
- When I have more focus, more energy, more time.
We don’t stop seeking Jesus—we just start scheduling Him later.
The shepherds didn’t do that. They didn’t say, “Let’s finish up here first,” or “Let’s go at sunrise,” or “Let’s make sure everything is perfectly handled before we go.” They heard the invitation and responded immediately.
And here’s the gentle challenge for us:
Do we still hurry to meet Jesus—or have we trained ourselves to wait?
Hurrying doesn’t mean rushing through spiritual disciplines or checking off a devotional box. It means treating time with Jesus as essential, not optional. It means letting Him interrupt our day rather than fitting Him into leftover moments. It means choosing presence over productivity, relationship over routine.
Jesus isn’t only meant to be sought on Christmas morning, in sacred spaces, or during quiet seasons. He is meant to be met daily—in the middle of work, responsibility, weariness, and ordinary life.
The shepherds found Jesus exactly where the angel said He would be—not because the timing was perfect, but because they went when He called.
May we be people who still hurry.
Not out of obligation.
Not out of guilt.
But out of love.
Because He is still worth leaving the field for.
Reflection:
What tends to delay your time with Jesus right now? What would it look like to “hurry off” to meet Him again—today?
Simple Prayer:
Jesus, forgive me for the times I put You off for later. Help me reorder my heart so that meeting with You is my first response, not my last task. Teach me to hurry toward You again. Amen.