Always The Shepherd

“Always a bridesmaid, never a bride”. We have all heard those words said by young women who is looking for love and a wedding cake. Boys have their lines as well, but not so dramatically. With boys it’s more like, “Always been a shepherd, never a Joseph”. Once in my life I was a Wiseman, the third one chosen. But that was as high up the ladder I ever ventured. Inevitably I seemed to get relegated to be part of the heavenly host, with the white dress, tinsel wings and halo.

The interesting part about this whole Christmas Pageant thing was, the three most important parts were none speaking parts. To a young boy, that didn’t matter. You see, Joseph was the top dog to every boy, speaking or not. Well, as an adult and a minister I guess I have been making up for it the rest of my life.

You see, you can only be silent for so long. No, I never wanted to be the inn keeper who shouted, “There’s no room”, then slammed the door. Wonderfully I realized the shepherds said more than, “Let’s go and see”. After leaving Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus, they could not stop telling everyone else what they saw, even after being up all night. A while later the Wisemen came in silence. Their gifts spoke for themselves. After seeing Christ, they made their way home, undoubtedly telling everyone they came in contact with about the Christ child.

That must be what also happened to me as an angel in the back row or a shepherd, or even as a third string Wiseman standing in front of the manger scene. What I saw was and is something so amazing, so wonderful that it changed my heart and I have never stopped sharing what I saw, and heard. Today as I stand before that crudely made manger I no longer want to be that Joseph. I imagine he stood there in silence thinking about his responsibility of being a step-father to God’s son. Today, I’m just me, a quiet methodical shepherd who is always ready to shout out every time I can; “Immanuel, God with us”. How about you? Merry Christmas!

Something to think about