Christmas in July or August. Shepherd Song

Images of Jesus birth are often full of angel chorus in the night sky witnessed by some shepherds. A lovely bucolic scene perfect for the flannel graph. My thought reading this passage is always about what kind of men the shepherds were.

Outside at night in the cold and rain. Dirty with the smells of animals and camp fires. Watching for the predators...wolf, lion, fellow man...anyone that could harm their livelihood the rather stupid sheep. These were hard men, not easily shaken.

Yet their first response was not  " Hey, Bud did you see that?" but worship,belief, evangelism. Having witnessed the Angels' Song of Truth , that The LORD, the one true GOD had come down to them, for them, to bring them back like some lost sheep; the shepherds ran to spread the Gospel.

Praying you can witness truth like that. And that you will RUN to spread the song.

The Shepherd’s Song : Luke 2:8-20

The night was cold. No moon, no stars.

Only inky clouds giving nothing

but the promise of rain.

The sheep huddled together –

Their low breathy cries

Hovered above them like a strange mist.

My older brother called the flock,

accounting for each one.

He did the night watch with me, the youngest.

He always went after the lost ones

Bringing them back triumphantly around his shoulders.

The counting done,

I lay down on the hard packed earth,

staring a the black sky

wondering when the rain would come,

if it could wash away the sweat and stink

of sheep that stained my hands.

Dark sky, black night,

suddenly broken

filled with LIGHT.

Light! More than the stars and the moon,

more than the Sun.

Light. More than a thousand suns.

Light.

It pushed into my eyes.

Light.

It pushed me to my knees,

my face in the dirt.

Everywhere, beautiful

Terrible Light.

No sound save my brother’s fearful breathing.

Then a Voice.

A Voice of wind in valleys

And water crashing on rocks.

A Voice that held me

to the ground and pierced my bones.

Do not be afraid!

I bring you GOOD NEWS

Of Great Joy!

The Voice spoke of a child, a Savior.

Then a thousand voices

filled the night.

They sang of

Battle and Victory.

They sang of

Loss and Triumph.

They sang of

Glory and Love.

Glory to God in The Highest!

The quiet returned.

The crickets picked up their night song.

A mother ewe bleated questioningly.

Her lamb quickly answered.

My brother, oldest, strongest, fearless…

was weeping,

His face streaked with mud.

“We were lost and now found.

Our King has found us.

A shepherd’s king.

The Shepherd King.

Let us go and find HIM.

Let us go

And Sing.”

Lilly Monson 11/18/2010