Shepherds Watching
25/12/11 01:10
“And there were, in that same country, shepherds, abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shown around hem, and they were sore afraid. But the angel of the Lord said unto them: “Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe, wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”
I never got to be the speaker of that line in the Christmas pageant, as best as I can remember. I was a shepherd only when I was too young to have a line. When I got old enough to memorize a line, I was assigned to the role of a wise man – a role I played for the remainder of my church school pageant career. I never even got to be the wise man bearing gold, or even frankincense. It was always myrrh. The verse of “We Three Kings” that I had to memorize was less than inspiring. As a result, I memorized all of the verses of the song, just in case the illness of David Sell or Ed Gust might open up for me a more desirable role.
Over the years, I have memorized the 20 verses of Luke 2 that tell the gist of he story. Pressed, I can quote a bit of Matthew and the prologue to the Gospel if John if necessary.
The angels were really busy in those days. Of course there were the official notifications that had to be made to Elizabeth and Mary. Those were probably pretty good jobs as jobs for angels go. Zechariah and Joseph presented more difficult cases. Both were a bit uncooperative. Zechariah needed a few months of silence to get him to listen. Joseph needed some angelic persuasion to keep from skipping town.
In Matthew’s gospel, angels get to warn people – usually of danger. The wise men are warned to take a different route on the return trip. Joseph is warned to take the baby and head across the border.
But you sort of have to wonder about the angel who drew shepherd duty. I guess that telling the shepherds was all part of the divine plan, but it is sort of hard to imagine why telling shepherds got to be such a big deal.
There aren’t as many shepherds these days. When I was a kid growing up, there were so many sheepherders in our town that we named the high school basketball team after them. We were proud of being he “Wool shipping capital” of America. In those days the leases on government pasture were available enough and cheap enough that it was possible to make a profit lambing out on a few acres in the valley and then trailing the sheep to the high country for summer pasture. It’s different these days. Most of the families who raise sheep in my home county have decidedly mixed operations. They raise cattle as well, do a little dude ranching, host hunters, and more than a few of them have jobs in town to make ends meet. The Court Bar, once the territory of the Sheepherders is no more. A sheepherder can walk into the Grand without getting into a fight. Times change.
Times have changed in Bethlehem as well. There are still a few shepherds in the ancient city where Jesus was born, but it is harder and harder to make a living raising sheep in that territory. It isn’t that there is no demand for the meat – there is a steady market in a land with a population that is growing rapidly. It is that it is hard to find enough pasture and water to raise sheep. Houses, many declared to be illegal by the United Nations, nonetheless spring up on the hillsides and open ground. A wall, called the “fence” divides the territory of the Israelis from that of the Palestinians. Shepherds who have been grazing their sheep on the same pastures for dozens of generations – perhaps even dating back to the time of Christ – no longer have access to traditional grazing lands. You can’t take a herd of sheep through the gates and check points.
Getting water for animals is no small feat in Bethlehem these days, either. With Israel controlling virtually all of he water, some people have to choose between adequate water for their family’s domestic needs and water for their animals.
No wonder shepherds are encouraging their sons to go into teaching or medicine or even politics. The family business is just getting too tough to make a living. You can see the handwriting on the wall – and there is plenty of wall in and around Bethlehem these days.
It isn’t the first time the shepherds have seen hard times in that region. During the days of the Roman occupation, it was hard to scrape by. The Romans would seize animals without payment to feed their troops. Even if an animal could be sold for a modest profit, there were taxes to pay and duties to be performed. There was enough corruption and graft to make your head spin. When you were out of cash the only way to pay the bribe and save your own skin was to give away a lamb – or perhaps the coat off your own back, provided it is sheepskin.
The people longed for a savior. Perhaps the shepherds were longing as much as others. After all, our people had been telling stories about the savior for generations. If you read the prophets the right way, they said there would be a savior and that the savior would bring peace and justice.
A little justice was all that was needed to save the folks in the sheep business those days.
So it makes sense that one of the angels drew shepherd duty and was sent to shepherds. Scared the . . . out of them too. (The Bible says they were “sore afraid,” but it doesn’t say where they were sore.) Shepherds weren’t used to having angels show up or having he glory of the Lord shown around them. Still it was nice to be noticed. It was a miracle that they knew all of the details of the story – it was enough to make Mary “keep all these things, and ponder them in her heart.” Not bad for a bunch of shepherds spending the night out in the hills with the sheep.
I’m not sure, but I think there are some shepherds in Bethlehem, and probably a few in South Dakota and Wyoming and Montana, who could use a bit of good news. They wouldn’t even hold out for an angel, though an angel would be a nice touch. They’re just looking for a few good words and enough encouragement to pass the ranch down for one generation. They never needed to be rich – or have lots of new equipment. They just love the land and the animals and the idea that there might be a few folk generations from now that might understand. They would be mighty grateful if anyone could give them a smidgen of encouragement.
Come to think of it, the angel who drew shepherd duty might have had the best job of all.
Merry Christmas!
I never got to be the speaker of that line in the Christmas pageant, as best as I can remember. I was a shepherd only when I was too young to have a line. When I got old enough to memorize a line, I was assigned to the role of a wise man – a role I played for the remainder of my church school pageant career. I never even got to be the wise man bearing gold, or even frankincense. It was always myrrh. The verse of “We Three Kings” that I had to memorize was less than inspiring. As a result, I memorized all of the verses of the song, just in case the illness of David Sell or Ed Gust might open up for me a more desirable role.
Over the years, I have memorized the 20 verses of Luke 2 that tell the gist of he story. Pressed, I can quote a bit of Matthew and the prologue to the Gospel if John if necessary.
The angels were really busy in those days. Of course there were the official notifications that had to be made to Elizabeth and Mary. Those were probably pretty good jobs as jobs for angels go. Zechariah and Joseph presented more difficult cases. Both were a bit uncooperative. Zechariah needed a few months of silence to get him to listen. Joseph needed some angelic persuasion to keep from skipping town.
In Matthew’s gospel, angels get to warn people – usually of danger. The wise men are warned to take a different route on the return trip. Joseph is warned to take the baby and head across the border.
But you sort of have to wonder about the angel who drew shepherd duty. I guess that telling the shepherds was all part of the divine plan, but it is sort of hard to imagine why telling shepherds got to be such a big deal.
There aren’t as many shepherds these days. When I was a kid growing up, there were so many sheepherders in our town that we named the high school basketball team after them. We were proud of being he “Wool shipping capital” of America. In those days the leases on government pasture were available enough and cheap enough that it was possible to make a profit lambing out on a few acres in the valley and then trailing the sheep to the high country for summer pasture. It’s different these days. Most of the families who raise sheep in my home county have decidedly mixed operations. They raise cattle as well, do a little dude ranching, host hunters, and more than a few of them have jobs in town to make ends meet. The Court Bar, once the territory of the Sheepherders is no more. A sheepherder can walk into the Grand without getting into a fight. Times change.
Times have changed in Bethlehem as well. There are still a few shepherds in the ancient city where Jesus was born, but it is harder and harder to make a living raising sheep in that territory. It isn’t that there is no demand for the meat – there is a steady market in a land with a population that is growing rapidly. It is that it is hard to find enough pasture and water to raise sheep. Houses, many declared to be illegal by the United Nations, nonetheless spring up on the hillsides and open ground. A wall, called the “fence” divides the territory of the Israelis from that of the Palestinians. Shepherds who have been grazing their sheep on the same pastures for dozens of generations – perhaps even dating back to the time of Christ – no longer have access to traditional grazing lands. You can’t take a herd of sheep through the gates and check points.
Getting water for animals is no small feat in Bethlehem these days, either. With Israel controlling virtually all of he water, some people have to choose between adequate water for their family’s domestic needs and water for their animals.
No wonder shepherds are encouraging their sons to go into teaching or medicine or even politics. The family business is just getting too tough to make a living. You can see the handwriting on the wall – and there is plenty of wall in and around Bethlehem these days.
It isn’t the first time the shepherds have seen hard times in that region. During the days of the Roman occupation, it was hard to scrape by. The Romans would seize animals without payment to feed their troops. Even if an animal could be sold for a modest profit, there were taxes to pay and duties to be performed. There was enough corruption and graft to make your head spin. When you were out of cash the only way to pay the bribe and save your own skin was to give away a lamb – or perhaps the coat off your own back, provided it is sheepskin.
The people longed for a savior. Perhaps the shepherds were longing as much as others. After all, our people had been telling stories about the savior for generations. If you read the prophets the right way, they said there would be a savior and that the savior would bring peace and justice.
A little justice was all that was needed to save the folks in the sheep business those days.
So it makes sense that one of the angels drew shepherd duty and was sent to shepherds. Scared the . . . out of them too. (The Bible says they were “sore afraid,” but it doesn’t say where they were sore.) Shepherds weren’t used to having angels show up or having he glory of the Lord shown around them. Still it was nice to be noticed. It was a miracle that they knew all of the details of the story – it was enough to make Mary “keep all these things, and ponder them in her heart.” Not bad for a bunch of shepherds spending the night out in the hills with the sheep.
I’m not sure, but I think there are some shepherds in Bethlehem, and probably a few in South Dakota and Wyoming and Montana, who could use a bit of good news. They wouldn’t even hold out for an angel, though an angel would be a nice touch. They’re just looking for a few good words and enough encouragement to pass the ranch down for one generation. They never needed to be rich – or have lots of new equipment. They just love the land and the animals and the idea that there might be a few folk generations from now that might understand. They would be mighty grateful if anyone could give them a smidgen of encouragement.
Come to think of it, the angel who drew shepherd duty might have had the best job of all.
Merry Christmas!