What
a night! That is a night that will go
down in the history books. One my great,
great, great grandchildren will still be talking about!
It
all started early in the evening on this mild Bethlehem night. Me, my name is Benjamin and I am just a
shepherd, 29 years old. A couple of
hired hands and myself watch my Father’s
flock at night. He puts me in charge as
the foreman since I am his youngest son and I know his flock very well.
Being
a shepherd has its ups and downs. It can
be socially hard to be a shepherd as our career is not a desirous one. Often times we risk our lives to save these
sheep, we always smell like sheep, and to be honest, the pay isn’t that great. But, on the other hand, as a shepherd, I can
truly say I love my sheep. They are
everything to me. Over the years, I have
named every sheep my dad owns, and interesting enough, when I call them by
name, they recognize my voice and follow me.
Typically,
our flock will graze about a ¼ mile east of Bethlehem on a hill overlooking the
village, but we have been known to wander up to 5 miles outside of the city to
find enough water and feed for our flock.
Around sunset, we usually bring the head of sheep (close to a 100 in
number) back to the sheepfold where we can do a final head count and safely
lock them up for the night.
But
on this night, I decided to allow them to roam in a field 500 yards east of my
village, on a hillside. The skies were
clear, the weather was pleasant, and to be honest, I had a rough week and could
use a night star gazing and relaxing. You see, the other side of being a shepherd
is, you are responsible for your sheep when they are under your care. This week, while I was on duty, a sheep
wandered off. It was one of my favorite
sheep named Whitey. He had an unusual
white coat that stood out from the other sheep.
Either way, I have spent four long days and nights looking for this guy,
but to no avail. I am very concerned for
Whitey as he is alone, and probably very scared and vulnerable to predators. I really want to find him, but I am exhausted
and needed a night to recoup. I have great help during the night hours, so I
was looking forward to sitting under an olive tree contemplating life.
Before
I get too far ahead of myself, let me tell you of Bethlehem. Bethlehem is a small village. There are just a few thousand of us that live
in this village. But don’t let our
population size fool you about our reputation.
We have been around for several hundred years now. Bethlehem was the city where the great King
David was born. In fact, King David was
a shepherd at one time also. One day,
out of the blue, David was called in from the fields while watching his dad’s
sheep to be anointed as King of Israel.
Sometimes I wonder if that field I was in last night was the same field
he was allowing his sheep to graze in the day he was called to be the Shepherd
King. It’s just a thought, but I would
like to think that I was sitting under the same tree he sat under when he was
just a boy. This town became quite
popular because of David.
But
there is another reason it is well known.
The prophet Micah says in one of his scrolls we have in Jerusalem just a
few miles north that,
“But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too
little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who
is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.
[1]
Everyone
in Bethlehem knows that prophecy. And we
are constantly thinking about it. We
have been under the oppressive rule of the Babylonians for some time now and
are longing for a ruler, a King to come and to set us free. According to Micah, this King will be born in
Bethlehem, just like King David was.
That’s
just a little back ground of my
hometown, now let me get to what happen last night!
At
about the twelfth hour of the day (that’s about sunset), I relieved my dad from
the flock and he headed home. We were a
bit farther south than I wanted to be for the night, so we headed north. There is a hillside I particularly like as it
is clear of rocks and is mostly just grass.
This makes it easier of the sheep to walk at night and therefore not
risk injury to themselves (not to mention, making my work a little bit
easier). Me and the shepherds with me
led the flock into this field and took up residence until sunrise where my dad
would come back out and meet us. Also,
another local shepherd recently saw a lion prowling the area recently,
therefore it is imperative we keep the sheep in an open field to be able to
spot any predator from a distance.
The
trip north took two hours. It’s no easy
task herding sheep at night and trying not to lose one of them. Sheep tend to wander off and get lost real
easily, therefore we have to always do a head count on the sheep. Also, when you move sheep from one field to
another, you can’t push them hard, you have to move at their pace, so covering
ground takes a lot of time and patience.
But for a shepherd, we don’t mind, because our entire lives are about
these sheep.
Well,
we all finally made it to that lush hillside and I set my staff and knapsack
down under an olive tree, gave my fellow shepherds some last minute
instructions on a couple of sheep that had been ill recently and took to my
star gazing.
The
night crept on like any other night.
There was nothing special about that night. The sky was clear, the sheep were cooperating
and my shepherds were bickering with each other, everything was normal.
It’s
funny, from this hill you can see everything happening in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was busier than usual as a recent
census has pushed people back to their homelands, so all the inns were full,
and there was a bit more commotion in the city than customary.
But
I still remember noticing a couple walk into the city that I thought was
peculiar. They were on the highway that
connected Bethlehem to Jerusalem. What
stood out to me was the lady on the donkey; even though I was a couple hundred
yards away from here I could tell she was in distress. She appeared to be pregnant, and by the way
she was holding her stomach, that baby was due at any moment.
I
felt kind of bad for them. I watched as
they walked to at least three inns before finding a resting place. I guess they finally found a room, which I
was glad to see. Remember thinking to myself, “Hopefully that
woman will get some rest tonight, she needs it.”
After
I witnessed that scene, I went back to my duties, counting sheep, and glancing
over the hill for any possible threats to the flock.
What
happened next literally leaves me speechless.
Words cannot describe the scene that took place before my eyes. As a shepherd, I am supposed to be scared of
very little, as often times I have had to fight bears and lions to protect the
flock, but what I saw tonight, made me pee myself (I have no other way to
describe it).
Remember
I said that the sky was clear. Well
something caught my eye in the distance.
It was a bright light, a light I had never seen before. This light was too bright to be a star and
was getting larger and closer by the second.
Before long, the other shepherds came over and we were all standing
together, when BAM! There it was! I have no idea what I was looking at, but I
was freaked out! I don’t know if the
sheep or anyone else saw what my workers and I saw. The sheep didn’t move an inch, like what we
were seeing wasn’t even real, but I fell to the ground and covered my
face. I was so scared. I wasn’t scared for my life; I was shaken to
the core with fear because of this being that stood, or rather, floated before
me. The magnificence of the creature enveloped
all of us. I later determined that what
I saw was an angel. I will never forget his words, he said, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news
of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And
this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths
and lying in a manger”.
But
that’s not all! As if one angel wasn’t
enough! All of a sudden, the entire sky
was filled with angels! It was an
incredible multitude, so many I couldn’t count them all! Whatever was happening in front of me at that
moment was something bigger than this world has ever seen. I doubt if anyone would even believe me when
I tell them about this! But this
multitude of angels just started singing! “Glory
to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
Then
it hit me! It all came together. Micah’s prophecy, the lady on the donkey with
the man walking next to her earlier in the night; he is here, the King! I am getting all jittery just writing about
it.
Dude,
I had to go and see what this was all about. I didn’t care that it is the
middle of the night and that the family might be sleeping. I didn’t care if we lose more sheep, they
definitely can’t come with us. I had to
go see this thing for myself! And that
is what we all did; we left the sheep, our very livelihood behind for a few
hours to go see this baby that is called Lord.
On
the way down, we talked about how the Christ was the expected one to come and
how this baby has to be it. We talked
about what we were going to see, and how magnificent it was going to be. We didn’t fully understand why that angel
told us his name was Lord, as if this baby was already a ruler. But at least they did give us some clues as
to how we would find them. I know what
part of Bethlehem they are in because I watched them walk into the city. The angel said the baby would be in a manger;
therefore they must be in an inn that has an area in which animals could be
housed. In fact I knew exactly where
they were. I lived in this city for 29
years and I knew of every manger and every inn in this city. There was only one place they could be! And once we figured it out we started running! I mean straight out sprinting to this place.
We
tore through Bethlehem as if we just stole a bunch of gold from Scottie the
Blacksmith. We rounded those corners, so
fast that at one point I ate it, straight on my face, but I didn’t care I had
to see this baby!
There
it was, a small lantern burning in the door way and the ladies’ donkey tied up
outside. Once we found them, we stood there speechless, outside of catching our
breath. It was just how the angel said,
a baby wrapped in cloths lying in a manger. Wow. Let me take just a minute and think about
that again…
I
could tell the mother and father were a little perplexed as a bunch of out of
breath shepherds, one bleeding on his cheek with dirt all over his clothes,
with no sheep, were in their private quarters standing with their mouth’s wide
open at about midnight as they were trying to get some rest. We definitely were invading their privacy as
the mom was attempting to feed this child.
But we didn’t care. After
exchanging names real quick, we learned the name of the baby was Jesus, and the
mother was Mary, and the Father, or the man, whoever he was (Mary told us
something like Jesus was conceived by God himself), his name was Joseph.
We
really didn’t want to be a bother, but if you had the night that we had, then
you would understand. I will say this,
that young lady, Mary, who was about 16 years old, was the kindest soul you
will ever meet. There was something
about her and about that family that was unique. I mean, come on, a legion of angels came down
from heaven to announce his birth. I had
to learn more.
So
first thing this morning I went to Jerusalem, into the temple, and I talked to
one of the Priests on duty. I didn’t
tell him what I saw; I figured he’d think I was crazy. But in my cool, nonchalant way, I asked him
if there were any prophecies made about a future king being born in Bethlehem,
or maybe not a King, but someone special that we as Israelites were looking
forward to meeting. I told him I had a
lot of questions about God that needed answering (Priests love it when they
feel like they are doing the work of God, so I knew if I told him I had
questions about God, he would spend all day trying to answer them.)
Well
sure enough, this story turns even weirder!
The
Priest thought I was a shepherd by my sling in my waist line and my staff. He inquired about my shepherding and how it
was going. He then told me about a
prophecy made by Isaiah. But he didn’t
want to paraphrase it to me, so he went and dug around in the back room for the
scroll. About five minutes later he came
back. With a smirk on his face he told
me he just red this prophecy about five days earlier. He said he didn’t believe in coincidences,
and that God had him read this prophecy just for my sake. He went on and read it to me. It said;
‘9 Go
on up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald
of good news; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good
news; lift it up, fear not; say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!” 10 Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and his arm rules
for him;
behold,
his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.
11 He
will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms; he
will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.
(Isaiah 40:9-11)’”
Holy
Smackers! I thought this baby was him!
He had to be. That baby I saw was
somehow God, and he is called a shepherd.
Imagine that, as I was standing there in front of Mary and baby Jesus,
in my shepherd clothes, with my staff and my rod, I represented the very reason
Jesus came to this earth; to care for and to gather his lambs into his
arms. Now I am smart enough to know he
is not speaking of real lambs, but of people.
He came to this earth to care for and to love people like me and
you! Jesus was born to be someone like
me, a shepherd. I know being a shepherd
is no easy task, but after years and years of tending to sheep, you really fall
in love with them.
I
have about a hundred sheep I watch over and I know every single one of them by
name. In fact, I know and love them so
much that if it came down to it (which it has gotten close a couple of times)
I’d give my life for these beloved creatures.
They need someone like me in their life; someone to guide them, to watch
over them, someone who can tend to their illnesses and their wounds and someone
to lead them by still waters, and into green pastures. My sheep need their shepherds. And Jesus came, like a shepherd into this
world. That baby boy, who is just a few
hours old, came into this world to be my shepherd and yours.
Just
one person to another, if Isaiah was right, which I am guessing he is, since Micah
was right about Bethlehem, Jesus, that baby I saw last night, came to this earth
for one purpose. That purpose was
you. I got to see him face to face and
even as a baby, there was a sense of peace about that child. What a precious scene, that baby lying in a
manger. But he came for you. He wants to lead you and guide you. And I guarantee it, when Jesus grows up, he
is going to do something absolutely marvelous, something this world has never
seen before. And I bet you, whatever it
is, it’s going to be so he can love you even more.
But
for today, for tonight, as I finish telling you about what I saw, let me say
this. You will go back to your
lives. Some of you will forget what I
said tonight. For me, it will always
impact me, I will never forget that night.
I hope that I could get you to see it through my eyes, because that baby
changed my life! I know you will go back
to doing what you do, but I plead with you, do not let this story slip by as a
fable or a myth, but as reality. I was
an eye witness. I saw it! And I am telling you, Jesus came to this
world for you, as a shepherd to carry you, and to love you. I know what it’s like to be a shepherd, and I
know that my sheep are often tired and worn out.
To
wrap up, I have one more small miracle to tell you about. As I was walking back from Jerusalem, I saw
my father in the distance. He was coming
down from the hillside leaving his flock and walking towards me. As my dad got closer, I could tell there was
a sheep wrapped around his neck, one he was carrying. As we drew nearer, I could tell it was
Whitey! My father came up to me and told
me he had been searching for Whitey too and found him caught in a bush on the
outskirts of town. Besides some wool
missing, Whitey was ok, but he would need some tender care for the night. My father handed me the sheep and hugged me
goodnight. As I looked at Whitey, with
my eyes tearing up, I saw myself in him, safe and secure, back in his shepherd’s
arms.
People
call me nuts sometimes when I tell them my story. But that’s ok with me.
Luke 2:9-21
And an angel of the Lord appeared to
them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with
great fear. 10 And
the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all the people. 11 For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the
Lord. 12 And this
will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and
lying in a manger.” 13 And
suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God
and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest,
and
on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
15 When the angels went away from them
into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem
and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with
haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw
it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it
wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But
Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds
returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it
had been told them.
21 And at the end of eight days, when he
was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was
conceived in the womb. [2]
