I’ll never forget that night. I was in my fifteenth year. Mother had sent my younger brother out to the fields to bring my father and me a meal. The three of us were sitting with the other men, talking in the quiet night. I was proud that I had the responsibility for part of the sheep flock. I knew the sheep under my care were special. After all, they were all one year old, perfect male lambs which would soon be bought by faithful Jews for temple sacrifice. Since they were important for the worship of God, I was especially diligent in my care for them. I had made sure every one of them was accounted for tonight and every night.

Often, the men’s conversations would go to our country’s sad state of affairs. The Romans ruled with an iron fist. Their soldiers seemed to be everywhere. Unfortunately, our own religious leaders had made agreements with the powerful governor. They seemed to be scratching each other’s backs. The leaders pledged fidelity to Caesar, and the Romans let them rule in religious matters. But there was plenty of corruption- payments made for hush money, and tithes going into personal pockets. And at the bottom of the ladder, the common man suffered from two sources of oppression, religious and state.

Our hope rested on the promises of the prophets. It wouldn’t always be this way. One would come to deliver us. The Anointed One would fix it all. His would be a righteous rule. But how many generations must pass before he comes? And now it had been four hundred years since God had sent a prophet to give us God’s words. Some of the men scoffed and said he would never come. God must have forgotten his people. We would be better off arming ourselves and planning an insurrection.

This oft-repeated conversation was depressing, and I was getting sleepy, so I stretched out on a blanket on the ground. It was then that I noticed an unusually bright star I had never seen before, seemingly directly above us. Odd, since I was familiar with the stars, having spent so many nights looking up at them. Could it be some special sign in the sky? As I wondered about that star, I must have drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, the whole field was alight! I sat up blinking and squinting into the blazing light. What I saw put panic in my heart. I hate to admit it, but I reached for my father’s strong hand. But one glance at him told me he was just as terrified as I was. Right there in the middle of our little huddle of men in the open field was a being with an otherworldly splendor. He was magnificent and shining with what could only be described as the glory of God. I had never seen anything like this, but I knew it must be an angel messenger from God. Did he come to make us pay for our sins?

“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared (came near, approached, stood beside, at hand) to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.”

Don’t be afraid?! How could I be anything but?! The shining one continued,
“I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord (Yahweh).”

Oh, of all news, this was the best news! The Anointed One in our little town? Wasn’t small Bethlehem the town of David? After all these years, it’s happening here?! Did he say that the Anointed One is Yahweh? Such a mystery. How could a baby be God?

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Swaddled is normal, but in an animal feeding trough? Surely our long awaited Messiah isn’t with the animals on the night of his birth? But there was no time to sort it all out, for suddenly there was even more to overload our senses.

“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

I was drawn into this crescendo of praise. I thought my heart would burst. I felt I was transported into the heavenly realm. Then, they were all gone. But we were changed- charged up with excitement. I forgot all about being sleepy! My heart was pounding.

“When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

There weren’t any scoffers now! Every one of us was ready to hurry off to town except one of the older men said he wouldn’t be able to keep up, so he would stay with the sheep.
I was young and fast and arrived at the edge of town first. But where to start to look? Father and my brother caught up, with the other men close behind. Father said that they must be visitors or they would have had their baby in their own room, not in an animal area. Just then, my little brother remembered that our neighbor with the big house had several people staying with them, and the last to arrive, was a young couple who had to camp out in the animal enclosure off the courtyard. At least it had a roof- better than the street. Let’s look there first!

“So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.”
It was surreal. After the dazzle of the angel multitude, the small, dark animal enclosure seemed especially drab. But the circumstances couldn’t dampen our spirits. We were men on a mission. We wanted to lay our eyes on Messiah, the Lord, come to us as a baby. And we weren’t disappointed. The parents were surprised, of course, when excited strangers with stories of angels, wanted to crowd into the stall just for a look at their Baby. I guess we raised quite the commotion in our little town that night. But we couldn’t keep this good news to ourselves. We told everyone we knew what happened.

“When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.  The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.” Luke 2:8-18, 20

I’ve often wondered since that night, if an angel himself hadn’t told us, would I have believed? I can understand the folks who shake their heads in disbelief. What a strange way for God to enter the world. Some say he should have been born into a prominent family so he could be recognized. Others say God wouldn’t let his Son be born in such a demeaning situation. Many think, if not outright say, that we shepherds are too uneducated and poor to receive such special insight. We must have thought up an angel story when we were bored that night. But I saw the mighty shining ones. I heard the message. I saw the only Baby in Bethlehem tucked in a feeding trough. And I believe. I will patiently wait till this Baby grows to be a man. I hope I live to see him save our people.