A shepherds story

I’ve been asked to tell you about that night. You must excuse me as I’m not used to public speaking, as you know I’m just a shepherd, but I must admit us guys haven’t been able to stop talking about that night ever since.

It started off a fairly normal evening. We were up on the high pasture and it was a beautiful clear night. One of those nights out on the hills where you can just about feel God’s presence out there with my sheep and a few mates with their sheep too. My wife, Esther, often laughed as I went out the door ‘you prefer those sheep and those hills than my bed and the kids for company.” Truth be told I often did miss her and the kids, it could be lonely and cold up there, but this night I wouldn’t have been anywhere else, it was just one of those nights, hard to explain to you town folk really.

My mates and I all agreed we were glad to get out of Bethlehem, our hometown, that night. It was crowded out because of this stupid Roman census thing. Just so peaceful up here. Us shepherds confided with each other we felt much closer to God up here than we ever did in the hubbub of the Temple in Jerusalem. Those priests strutted about often arguing over some finer points of law. Seemed to us shepherds their only real concern, as my mate said, was to have control in their hands and their hands on our money. I guess I knew one or two good genuine priests, but they were vastly outnumbered. It paid to keep our feelings to ourselves though for our flock supplied many of the sacrificial lambs used at the Temple. My real hero of faith was King David, he had been a shepherd on these very hills hundreds of years before. Hard to believe really. Anyway……

We were all just relaxing, the day was done, and one of the guys had been quietly playing his zither and we had ended up singing our favourite of King David’s Psalms. ” the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters……….” Then we had all gone strangely silent. There was this bright star it seemed straight above us this night. We had noticed it before getting gradually brighter, for a few months now, but this night it seemed right there. You could almost feel it.

As we sat there all deep in our own thoughts my mind went back to last year’s Passover, about nine months ago now. I had often relived that weekend wondering what I could have done better. Bit of a long story, but that spring a young first lamber had had twins and couldn’t feed them both. I had taken the weakest down home and my daughter Miriam had fostered it. They became inseparable, Miriam named him Danny and he would follow Miriam everywhere through the village. In the end, Danny had to go back to the hills with the other sheep, and whenever she could Miriam would come out with me to meet up with Danny.

Unfortunately, Danny was a firstborn male lamb and so was highly prized by the priests especially for our Passover festival. I admit I fudged it a bit with Miriam saying Danny was off on a journey of a lifetime.

That weekend Esther and I, with Miriam, and Abel headed into Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and meet up with friends and family. The idea was to leave Esther and Miriam at my cousins while Abel and I would go onto the Temple. But my worst fears unfolded. Around the street corner came some sheep herded by the temple servants. They were hopeless with the sheep. Anyway who should be among the sheep but Danny, and he and Miriam seemed to instantly spy each other. Danny bolted out of the sheep straight for Miriam, bleating all the way. One of the temple guys came rushing after him cursing, then dragged Danny back who was now really doing everything he could to escape. Miriam was inconsolable. She now knew what Danny’s fate was. I left her sobbing at my cousin’s with her Mum, Esther, looking daggers at me.

Abel and I went on up to the temple, I just couldn’t get into it. Lambs bleating, the blood, of innocent lambs, it all seemed so unfair to me on that day. Nobody seemed to care for the lambs, they were just “sacrifices” some meat. Yet I knew Danny was one of them. Danny, who was so trusting, so part of our family.

We left for home and picked up Esther and Miriam on the way. Miriam would not look at me, Refused to talk all the way home. I went in that night and sat on the side of her bed, she turned her back and faced the wall. I was glad in a way as how could I explain that Moses had asked us to sacrifice a lamb. It just seemed so wrong, cattle maybe I could understand, a bear or a lion that would be so much more dramatic. But a lamb that totally relies on our protection, is so vulnerable, so trusting. Just didn’t seem right to me.

Must admit, since that Passover I never went back to the Temple again. I just found I was struggling with the whole concept that an innocent lamb should have to pay the price for us to be rescued from slavery. My son Abel he loved studying, more like his Mum I guess, had his favourite teachers in the Temple, he rationalised it to me. But guess now my only place of true peace, and worship if you like, was out there on those hills where God truly did seem omnipresent. I was deep in my thoughts when………………..

When it happened a bright light shone down right around us. Then what I could only call an angel appeared, hard to describe really. It totally freaked us guys out. Then the angel said”fear not for I bring you good news and great joy for all people for today in David’s town a Saviour has been born to you. The Messiah, the Lord. And this is the proof you will find him wrapped up and in a manger.

Seemed so confusing. But then suddenly the whole of heaven opened up and we all saw a great choir of angels singing for all they were worth, seemed not just to us but to all of creation, the whole world, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom His favour rests.

We were stunned. We all looked each other in utter amazement and quickly decided let’s go down to Bethlehem and see this thing that the Lord has told us about.

When we got there we found it just as had been said, Mary the mother with the baby in a manger!

Made me realise God does work His purposes out even with the weak and vulnerable. Amazing.

Anyway, I can tell you each of us shepherds spent the next few days talking about nothing else but about all we had seen and heard. Everybody around town was amazed and wondered what it all meant.

Mary’s story

Hi,

I’m a bit shy about telling you all about what happened that first Christmas, but I know this whole thing is much bigger than me. In fact to be honest, while I think it is amazing that God chose me I feel so inadequate and unworthy.

But I do need to tell you how it all happened. I was going about with my, you have to say very normal life in our village of Nazareth. Although it had been quite an exciting few months for me personally. My parents had decided it was time for me to get married and I had become engaged to Joseph a carpenter in the village.. He was older than me but I liked him and knew I would grow to love him. I was looking forward to having my own home and starting a family with Joseph.

Then, totally unexpected, shortly after we were engaged, I had this amazing experience.

A man appeared before me. I later realised he was the angel Gabriel but at the time I got such a fright. However, he seemed really nice, not threatening at all, as he told me not to be afraid. That I was highly favoured, can you believe? Then he told me something that shocked me to the core. I was going to be pregnant with a baby boy who was to be named Jesus. I said how can this be? I have never been with a man, I’m a virgin?

He told me my child would, it sounded like, be the special person we had often talked about who God would one day send to our nation. That was just too “out there” for me to comprehend at that time. All I could say was “I am the Lord’s servant”. He seemed to understand and told me that my old cousin Elisabeth who had for so long longed for a baby was now pregnant in her old age! Nothing was too hard for the Lord.

Wow, I was stunned. I didn’t know what to do or who to tell. Mum and Dad realised that night I was in a bit of a state. But how could I tell them? It just seemed to be too “out there”. In the end, I went and told Joseph, I could see his eyes glaze over, couldn’t blame him, must admit I struggled to believe what was happening?

In a panic I announced I must visit my cousin Elizabeth, the angel had hinted that could be a good idea. So Mum helped me pack, I could see she was worried, and off I went. It was a two-day trip so I had time to gather my thoughts. I was nervous as I knocked on Elizabeth’s door, she was a lot older than me and her husband Zechariah was a priest at the temple. I just didn’t know where else to go.

Wow, you just heard Elizabeth’s account, I can tell you her welcome that day was as though God was speaking directly to me. It made me realise God has no favourites, that His purposes will be worked out no matter how insignificant the rest of the world may see you. Elizabeth and I were ecstatic with praise as we both realised that God was working through us and in us to achieve His purposes.

It was such a relief to be able to talk openly and frankly with someone who understood. Zechariah her husband, just stood around silently smiling, for some reason he could not talk the whole time I was there. But Elizabeth was a Godsend, so wise. She encouraged me and advised me on how to cope when I got back to Nazareth. I knew there would be many questions asked, spoken and unspoken. I was now obviously pregnant. Elizabeth said there are some things others will never understand, you cannot explain, but God will direct your paths.

Then she sent me on my way, I couldn’t help thinking what would Joseph have been thinking all this time. He was such a good and righteous man. I knew it was out of the question for him to now marry me. Oh well, I kept telling myself, Elizabeth had said God won’t fail me He will have His perfect plan in place.

Well, you know, it was true! Even before I got home Joseph heard I was on my way and met me about two miles out of town. He made me sit down under the shade of a tree and told me what had happened to him. He had come to the conclusion that he would have to quietly call off our marriage when he too had been visited by an angel telling him in no uncertain terms that he was to carry on as before. What a massive relief that was for me.

He just absolutely knew now that whatever it may appear to others he was going to hold his head high and do the right thing as he saw it. They were not our judge he told me God was. So we held hands and walked into Nazareth together. Although there was no doubt a few sniggers behind my back, as it happened, possibly because Joseph had such an upstanding and “righteous” reputation, although they couldn’t really fathom, nobody confronted the issue either.

Anyway four months later I was nearly due, it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. Joseph and I had to travel back to Bethlehem because that is where our families came from. It was for some Roman census and all people had to be registered.

We loaded the donkey and me and arrived in Bethlehem with crowds of others. King David by now had lots of descendants. Consequently, everything was booked out, but Joseph was determined to find a roof over our heads. In the end, the innkeeper agreed to us using his stable. It was actually quite snug, just us and a few animals, mainly sheep. It was a beautiful starlight night, I will always remember that night, just Joseph and I, and the animals, it seemed surreal, like heaven on earth.

But then I couldn’t believe it, the baby was coming, wasn’t God in control? Surely this special baby wasn’t to be born out the back of an Inn in a stable? Ridiculous.

There was no stopping baby Jesus he had decided this was the time and place and while it seemed quite a while to me Joseph says it was no time at all and I had this little squirmy baby boy in my arms looking up into my eyes.

Elizabeths story

I can tell you I have to pinch myself to be sure this last year has not been just a dream. I’m a bit reticent to tell others, it all seems so surreal really. But I will try and tell you because I know you are all fellow believers, friends and neighbours, and have known my struggles in life.

It all started over a year ago. Zechariah and I were going about our lives, just like you, knowing our God, but feeling pretty despondent we have to admit. We just didn’t feel blessed what with the Romans and all that. On top of that as you all know one of the greatest blessings a wife can have is to bear her husband a child. For years I had felt one day God would bless me, and Zech, with a baby boy, but by now I had come to accept it was just not my lot. I was well past the age where that was going to happen.

But then…….then it happened! You have probably all heard the gossip. Well, it is true, most of it anyway. Unbelievable really. My husband you see, drew the lot, a special privilege, to go into the temple’s inner sanctuary, and there he had this “encounter” I guess you would say with an angel. Freaky really, totally freaked Zech, but what was even more mind-blowing for Zech was he was told he would have a child within the year? He, understandably really, struggled to believe this was possible. We had over the years been left so disillusioned and disappointed after well-intentioned people had said they believed God would give us a boy. But this, you have to say was different, the angel said he was Gabriel, how dare he question.

Anyway, Zech came out of the temple after quite some time like a stunned mullet. Couldn’t speak for the whole nine months I was pregnant. But we both knew something special was about to happen. Our child was going to be a special child somehow in God’s purposes. It was hard to explain to you lot. I think you all knew too it was special, it had to be, me having a child at my age?

But that’s not all. About seven months into my pregnancy, out of the blue, a young cousin of mine, Mary, who lived way up in Nazareth, Galilee, arrived at my door. I realised she was pregnant but before I could say anything the baby inside of me gave this almighty kick. It seemed to me he was leaping for joy. And it was catchy. I just couldn’t help myself. I felt so overwhelmed with praise to our God, for somehow I felt that Mary’s baby was the promise we had all longed for. Mary also sensed it, for I suspect she had spent many a night of lonely pondering. Now she sang out in amazement, in freedom, as she voiced her amazement that our God would look down on such inconspicuous, lowly women like us and use us to achieve the unthinkable.

Oh, what a great couple of months we had together before she had to head home to Nazareth.

Then my baby was born, you know the story. They all expected us to name him at least after his grandad, who had recently died, if not Zechariah, but Zech wrote down, no, his name is John.

Zech right then got his tongue back, and you couldn’t shut him up, going about praising God for all the things He was about to do.

But then I heard about Mary’s baby, and the amazing birth scene. But I’ll leave Mary to tell you all about that.