Goodbye Fear, Hello Joy

 Not Wanting To Be A Shepherd

Boy: "I don't want to be a shepherd. I always have to be a dumb old shepherd."

The little boy hung his head and scuffed his foot in the dirt before he climbed into the car.

"I want to be a wise man for once. They were the cool guys. Shepherds are boring."

The dad settled into the front seat of the car. He watched his son in the rearview mirror and contemplated his next words carefully. His son's feelings were legitimate, and he did not want to disregard them, but at the same time he felt this was as good a time as any for a good story. It was just the two of them, and the drive home was long enough.

Dad: "Well, son, did you know that there were some men in the Bible who were shepherds who were anything but boring? Abel was the first one. Abraham was one. Isaac, Jacob, Moses. And how about David? God calls Himself a shepherd, and He calls us His sheep."

The young boy stared out the window and sighed long and loud.

Boy: "Yeah, sure, but in the Christmas play they're not as important as those guys."

Who Shepherds Really Were

The dad grinned.

Dad: "Well, maybe, and maybe not. I will admit that by the time the Christmas story is told, being a shepherd was not as noble a profession as it was when Abraham managed his flocks. By this time, those poor fellows were stuck down in the lowest class of people, probably right above the lepers. The Jewish leaders of the time wrote that 'No help is to be given to heathen or shepherds.'"

The boy twisted his mouth and rolled his eyes.

Boy: "Gee, Dad. That isn't making me feel better about wearing your old bathrobe and an old towel on my head at all."

The dad laughed.

Dad: "Stay with me. Shepherds were outsiders to the community, unable to attend the religious ceremonies because of being unclean. They moved around a lot trying to find grass and water, so other than other shepherds, they didn't have many friends. They were treated with contempt and mistrust and thought to be thieves, and quite often they were. Because they lived outdoors, they were unappealing to most of society."

Boy: "Still not helping."

The dad gently smiled at him in the rearview mirror.

Opening The Bible

Dad: "You got your Bible back there?"

Boy: "Yeah."

Dad: "Open it up to Luke and read the verses I give you."

Pages ruffled for a minute, then the boy quietly spoke.

Boy: "Okay. Which ones?"

Dad: "Chapter 1, verse 52."

Boy: "'He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.'"

The dad nodded his head slowly.

Dad: "Would you say the shepherds were of low degree?"

The boy nodded his head.

Dad: "Okay. Now start reading in chapter 2, verse 8, through verse 20, I think."

Boy:

"'And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which 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.

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,

Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.'"

He blew out a breath and looked up at his dad.

Boy: "That was a lot. But I've heard it before. Lots of times. You read it to us every Christmas Eve."

Dad: "Yeah, I do. But knowing what you know about the shepherds, think about it. Why did the angels come to the shepherds? That was a pretty big message to deliver, don't you think?"

Why The Angels Came To Shepherds

His son was silent for a couple of minutes as he stared out the window at the passing scenery.

Boy: "I don't know. It doesn't make sense."

He turned his head back to face the front.

"That's why I want to be a Wise Man. They were important. They were like important people you would think would come see Jesus. After all, He was the Son of God and all."

Dad: "But that isn't the way God works, son. That first verse you read, that God exalts those of low degree? God used the lowest, in the eyes of man, to deliver His greatest news to His people. He chose a shepherd boy, David, to be the line from which Jesus would be born. Remember that?"

The young boy's eyes lit up just a bit.

Boy: "Yeah... I forgot about that."

Lessons From The Shepherds

Dad: "Now pay attention to this part. The shepherds had so much joy from that message that they could not contain it. They ran to see this great thing, the Messiah the whole nation, the world, had been waiting for. Then they ran, literally, from door to door telling everyone. And remember, they were pretty much ostracized from the very people they were sharing the news with, but their joy overrode any previous fear or hesitancy they had about approaching those very people who would have sent them away."

Boy: "Wow, that's pretty brave."

Dad: "Yes, it was. And we can learn a lot from those men. They were attentive to what the angel had to say. They could have just run in fear. We need to be attentive to God's voice when He speaks to us.

"And they were in awe. That means they knew and understood the glory of God. We always need to respect that God is holy.

"And lastly, they shared what they had. Son, we have this great joy that comes with knowing Jesus. That joy cannot be contained. It must be shared, spread to others.

"Think if the shepherds had left that manger and gone back to their field and talked only amongst themselves?"

Seeing Shepherds Differently

The boy's smile grew.

Boy: "But they didn't. They told everyone."

He sat up straighter.

"I think the shepherds were the coolest people there. I can't wait to tell everyone about what they did."

He looked out the window for a minute before whispering quietly:

"...behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."