“Wake up.”

I shook the young man who startled awake. I couldn’t help but laugh at how scared he looked in the light of the stars. He pushed me away.

“Boy! Wait until I tell your father you were sleeping again.” I shook my head, still laughing.

“No, please don’t tell him. I wasn’t really asleep. I just dozed for a second.” While this young man was considered to be an adult, he looked so childlike, barely able to grow a beard. I smoothed down my own mustache while I considered if I should continue to tease him or use this as a moment to teach. Picking up my own staff I spoke, “Izzy, you are your father’s youngest son, this is your future. Taking care of these sheep is not a simple task. When you fall asleep during the night, anything could happen to them. They could wander away, following one another until they walk into the sea and drown. A wolf could come and attack. Your father’s flock would be ruined. You would be responsible. Do you want to be a good shepherd?” Isaac rolled his eyes.

“No, I don’t. I don’t want to be a shepherd at all. Nobody cares about shepherds. I’ll be the poorest of my brothers, my word will never matter in a courtroom, no one will ever respect me.”

“You’re right. No one will ever respect you if you let all your dad’s sheep drown to death.” I winked at him, but his mood was still foul.

“Why are you so proud of this work? These aren’t even your sheep. You just work for my dad because the Romans think you’re a dirty, stupid, poor, Israelite.” I shrugged, there was some truth in what he said.

Some of the other shepherds joined us then.

“I’m getting tired.” One of the older men said.

“Not as tired as little Isaac here.” The men all laughed.

“Fell asleep again, did ya Izzy?” The 16 year old stood and walked away from us.

“I meant to say, I’m getting tired of all these strangers in town.” Another shepherd grunted.

“When are you in the town and not in the field?” I asked, another grunted in response.

“My wife says there are so many strangers coming to register with their kin for taxes that she’s letting people stay in our bed and she’s taken to sleeping with our children.”

I looked at the stars, listening to the other shepherds continue to complain about the government taxing us and causing problems.

After a time, I walked after Isaac. “Come be with us boy.” He followed me, but as we reached the other shepherds a light flashed so brightly I thought I had become blind. I wasn’t the only one, I heard the other men gasp and scream. Then I heard a voice. I looked up to see what looked like a man, but what I saw was unlike any man I had ever seen. I wanted to scream again, but the creature spoke:

“Do not be afraid.”

Some of the shepherds were on their knees, Isaac was holding my hand, I looked at him. His eyes were wide and looked as if they were staring into fire. I looked back at the bright standing light.

“I bring you good news.” It said, “Tonight in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.”

We were all too stunned to speak, but I realized that the one speaking was a messenger from God. An angel.

“This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in blankets lying in a feeding trough.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God. They were like an army of light, appearing in the grassy field in the middle of the night. Altogether with voices that made our legs shake they said,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those who know His grace.”

The army of angels were gone as quickly as they had appeared. We shepherds stood in silence. I do not know how much time passed in the darkness after the messenger of God left before we were able to speak to one another.

“Was it real?” Someone finally spoke up. “Did you also see it?” He must’ve been wondering the same as I was, was this a dream? Like that which Daniel and our ancestors had written of in our Scriptures. Were these truly messengers of God? What else could it have been?

The other men were all speaking amongst themselves as I wondered what must be done now. “Let’s go!” Isaac spoke with excitement. “Let’s go see what’s happened!”

“You want to leave the sheep and walk into Bethlehem in the middle of the night?” An older shepherd asked him.

“Izzy is right.” I finally spoke up. “We must go to Bethlemhem and see what the Lord has just told us about.”

People would talk about us, some of us may lose our jobs, something may happen to our sheep, but none of that mattered. We had been told by the angels of heaven that the promised King of the world had been born. Our long awaited Savior was here, on earth, with us! God with us. Emmanuel. Could it be true? I had to see it for myself. There was an excitement within me that I had never felt before. I wanted it all to be true, but how could it be? An army of angels announcing peace to the world? Would the Savior of our people really be in a feeding trough and not in the palace? I threw down my staff and started walking to King David’s old town, Bethlehem.

Normally, a night like this the streets would be empty, quiet, dark. But with everyone coming to register with their families, candles were lit in every window. People were in the street speaking with one another. We made our way through the streets asking anyone if they had heard of the baby born that day. We asked if they had seen the angels. They shook their heads at us as if we were fools. We kept searching.

“Izzy! Is that you?” A girl, only a little younger than Isaac, stopped us. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in the field? What happened?” She looked at the rest of us and realized it was a whole group of shepherds.

“We’ve gone through the whole town,” Izzy started to explain, “Well, we saw something. Or heard something. Or rather, we were told something…”

“Messengers of God told us to look for a baby, born today.” I told the girl.

“Born today? In town? And you couldn’t find it?” We shook our heads.

“Follow me.” She said and turned to lead us the way she had come from. “I know where he is.”

“Adah, how do you know it is a baby boy we are looking for?” Isaac asked her.

“Because, I’ve seen him.” She stated.

We followed her to one of the homes at the edge of the town, but she did not knock on the door. “This is it.” Adah said, but she did not even go near the house. We began to walk to the door. “No, this way.” She said as she led us to the cave-like room where the animals were kept from the cold nights.

“This will be a sign to you: You will find the baby in a manger.” I remembered what the angel had said to us as we followed her to the entrance of the small barn room beside the house. Now it was very quiet. I think we must’ve all been holding our breath as we walked into the candlelit room. It smelled of blood, of animal excrement, of hay, but we did not notice the smell. All we could think of was the baby we saw sleeping where the animals must’ve eaten the day before. A young woman also lay asleep on the hay beside the makeshift crib. “I believe this is the one you were looking to find.” The girl whispered to Isaac.

Another man entered behind us. “Oh, you’ve heard.” He spoke softly. “Adah, you are back?”

“They were looking for him, so I led them here. If that’s alright.”

“Of course, were you able to find more blankets?”

“I’m sorry, I forgot. I will go now.” She left.

“Are you his father?” I asked the man. He nodded his head and sat by the sleeping woman.

“I am Joseph, this is my wife Mary. The baby is ours. But I am not his father.”

Isaac let out a laugh, another shepherd hit him with his staff. The young mother woke, and we all sat to hear this baby’s story.