The Shepherd's Story

I hate the night-shift. It’s boring. Nothing happens, you can’t see much ‘cause it’s dark, and it can be a little scary, because sometimes you have to defend the sheep from the wolves, and if a sheep gets taken it comes out of your wages, unless you can get a bit of it off the wolf to prove you hadn’t nicked it yourself.

So, we were up on the hill looking down over the town. The wind cuts across there sometimes, but this night it was still; a calm night, quite uneventful.

Then all of a sudden, far away, there a bright light.

“What’s that?” said Ruben, and he stood up pointing in the distance.

“It’s just a star,” said Ben. “No look, it’s getting bigger.”

“It’s getting closer” I said.

And then it seemed the whole sky was lit up – just like one of those golden sunsets. And then, we felt a presence – we all did; but not like when you know there’s a wolf about – it was different, ‘cause the sheep weren’t troubled - but we were … we were terrified. Out of nowhere a stranger was standing right next to us. The light was shining from him, like the sun was inside him, even though it was night time. We had to shield our eyes, so we couldn’t quite make him out.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said. But we were. He said, “I’ve got some really good news for you, and for everyone, and when you hear it you’ll be over the moon. You know the Messiah that God has promised you, well, he’s been born, down there in Bethlehem, in David’s town. You’ll know it’s him because he’s wrapped in a blanket and lying in a manger.”

And then, before we could say anything, there were more of them – it was like a choir - praising God. We had to cover our ears the noise was so great. And then they went as quick as they’d come – we were alone again.

“What was that?” said Ben.

“Angels?” Ruben said hesitantly.

“You believe them.” Ben taunted. “Don’t be stupid, the Messiah isn’t going to have a feeding trough for a crib; and they called him ‘Lord’, so he’d be born in a palace, wouldn’t he? And no one would bother to come and tell us, would they?

“Well,” I said, “if it were true… it’s exactly what the prophets had said.”

600 years ago, prophet Micah said that from tiny Bethlehem would come a ruler for all Israel. He said that the Messiah would ‘stand and shepherd the flock.’ Was that why we’d been chosen? I don’t know. But we’d been waiting for this for years, hundreds of years.

“Let’s go,” said Ruben. “Let’s see for ourselves,”

So we did; we ran. We never gave the sheep a thought, we just ran.

Eventually we found him. It was true, just as the … just as the … we’ll yes it was an angel, just as the angel had said. The manger was the sign that we’d found the right child. Who’d put their baby in a manger?

(slowly) And there he was all tiny and vulnerable and wrapped in a blanket.

Ruben said he was just like a wee new-born lamb lying in the straw ... God’s lamb you might say .. with his Mum.

We felt a little awkward, but she didn’t seem to mind us coming to look at her baby, in fact I think she was quite proud of him and she didn’t think our story strange at all.

I was convinced, he was the Messiah, I think even Ben thought that, once he’d seen him for himself. We couldn’t keep it to ourselves, we just had to tell everyone. People were amazed. We were amazed. Everyone was amazed, but then God does do amazing things.

So, we went back to the sheep singing our own praises to God. We didn’t sound quite as good as the angels but we meant it just as much.

I said, I’d go and check on the sheep, but they were OK, I just wanted some time to myself. I needed to think, to work it all out, what did it all mean?

The angels called him the Christ, the Messiah, the Lord. As Ruben said, he should have been born in the palace, but we’d never have been allowed in there, we’d never have met him.

I suppose since God had bothered to tell us, a few poor farm hands looking after some sheep, then he really cares for everyone, even the nobodies.

We Jews were always taught the Messiah would come with power and glory, not laid in a manger, in poverty…. But I suppose the angels brought glory… and we left him glorifying God. But where was the power?

We’re always told the Messiah will overthrow the Romans, and re-establish the Kingdom of Israel, but those angels spoke of peace on earth, not war and violence.

Perhaps it’s not the Romans he’ll save us from, but from the things that keep us from God.

Were the angels really saying, that through this little boy God is actually opening up a way we can have a personal relationship with him? Could the peace they spoke of actually be about peace in our hearts? He won’t achieve that with a powerful terrorising army… but he might just do it with the power of love.

What do you think?