Shepherds!!

A random Christmas Thought (part 1)

Yes, I am a Pollyanna.  The glass is not half-full, it is FULL and RUNNING OVER!!!

This is a time for “Peace on Earth; Good Will to Mankind”!

So, I’m thinking of the Christmas story today. SHEPHERDS

From Luke 2

“Now there were shepherds in that region living in the fields and keeping the night watch over their flock. The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were struck with great fear.  So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger.”

Come on God - you sent angels to shepherds?  Really? Do you know about shepherds? You even called Jesus “The Good Shepherd”.  Really?

Who are the shepherds?  Well - (doh) - they keep the sheep.  Now the city person says ‘ah, the cute little lambs, with the pretty white fleece’.  But, have you ever walked through a sheep fold (or sheep pasture)? Those cute little lambs and their parents are nasty!!  They need diapers!! So, if you have walked through these areas your shoes are (well) - smelly with sheep droppings. And, at least at that time, they needed to be watched 24/7.  There were predators (I’m not quite sure what predators might have been native to Israel in those days - coyotes, wolves, lions, puma, mountain lions, cougars, and maybe others). Sheep are just not good at defending themselves.  Maybe some of the rams have horns - but a slow, fat ram going up against a mountain lion? My money is on the mountain lion - every time! And, sheep are not known for being really smart. They needed somebody to watch them. We are told that good shepherds know their sheep.  

And, the shepherds - well - in terms of Jewish society - were not all that well respected.  They probably didn’t go to the synagogue regularly as they needed to watch the sheep, and even if they did go to the synagogue nobody would want to sit very close to them because of the clothes and smell.   And, yet, God sent the angels to shepherds!!!

Did anyone else see the angels?  Not in the Biblical narrative - not the Priests, the Levites, not the Innkeeper - just the shepherds.

And … then what happened?  Something that our modern hospitals would never allow!!!  These dirty, smelly, shepherds went into Bethlehem to see the baby.  Yes, they went into the inn and to wherever the innkeeper had put the family to see the baby.  I somehow doubt that the shepherds used Purell to sanitize their hands before they held Jesus (assuming they did hold him).

And, then, after this encounter, the shepherds returned to the sheep.  

So, what might these mean to us?  With a lot of guesswork, we can suggest that God even loves shepherds (and other smelly and down-and-out people); that God wants the down-and-out to come and see the baby; and that even after the encounter they returned to their sheep (Luke 2:20) “Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them.”

Are we like sheep?  The Messiah scriptures say “All we like sheep have gone astray”.  Do we need angels to ‘wake us up’ to love others, to forgive others, to keep from going astray?

Would you like shepherds to come to your baby’s birth?  Would you like homeless, alienated, socially unacceptable to come to your house to see you (and/or your child) - and to touch the child with their dirty hands?  (What if God sent messengers to Gay, Lesbian, Black, Muslim, Christian and even transgender people?) 

And, are you expecting an angel choir to sing to you to tell you of the Messiah’s birth?  Is it a matter of “earning” the respect of God?  

Things to think about!!

Karen