As we come to the Fourth Sunday in Advent, we arrive at both a holy threshold and a joyful culmination. This Sunday concludes our sermon series, “Advent at the Art Museum,” a journey that has invited us to linger with Scripture through the lens of classical art. Throughout these weeks, we have slowed down, observed, and listened deeply—much as one does when standing before a painting and allowing it to speak. This final week draws us to the fields outside Bethlehem and to a message first entrusted not to kings or scholars, but to shepherds.
The sermon, titled “The Shepherds’ Praise,” is based on Luke 2:8–20. In this familiar yet ever-surprising passage, the heavens break open with angelic song, and ordinary laborers become the first evangelists of the Incarnation. After seeing the Christ child, the shepherds returned to their fields “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” Their praise is spontaneous, unpolished, and irrepressible—a response to grace encountered firsthand.
Our featured artwork for the week is “Adoration of the Shepherds” by Gerard van Honthorst, a master of light and shadow. Known for his dramatic use of illumination, van Honthorst places the Christ child at the radiant center of the scene. The shepherds lean in, their weathered faces aglow not only from the light of the manger, but from wonder itself. In this painting, praise is not loud or grand; it is intimate, hushed, and full of awe. We will reflect on how true praise often begins not with words, but with attention—with seeing clearly what God is doing in our midst.
As Advent draws to a close, the shepherds invite us to consider how we respond to good news. Do we keep it to ourselves, or do we return to our daily lives changed, carrying praise with us into the ordinary rhythms of work and responsibility? The shepherds show us that encountering Christ does not remove us from the world; it sends us back into it with joy.
This Sunday’s worship will also be richly enhanced through music. At both our 8:00 AM and 9:30 AM services, the combined Wesley and Cathedral Choirs, accompanied by a full orchestra, will offer Vivaldi’s “Gloria.” This exuberant and timeless work of praise beautifully echoes the angels’ song and the shepherds’ response, lifting our hearts in preparation for Christmas.
I invite you to join us for this final Advent reflection—to stand once more in the gallery of faith, to gaze upon the scene at Bethlehem, and to let praise rise anew. May we, like the shepherds, leave worship glorifying God for all we have heard and seen.