Rejoicing: Shepherds

Luke 2:8-18
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and 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 among those with whom he is pleased!”
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.

Out of the whole Nativity story, this is the event that I most want to witness. I imagine sleeping on the cold, hard ground with sheep milling around. It has been a long, hard day at a job that garners disdain rather than respect. The smell of sheep never leaving the nostrils. Then, the earth begins to shake and a blinding light consumes the night. I would be trembling in fear, wanting to run and hide but frozen to the spot. What is happening? An angel appears and tells everyone not to fear. Did the shepherds suddenly stop fearing or did they think, "Yeah, right!"? The angel continues with something about the Messiah. The sounds of joy, peace, and glory fill the air. The shepherds are overcome by this spectacle. Wait! Did the angel just say that the Messiah is born? The Messiah?! The One who will set us free?! The shepherds race off toward Bethlehem, forgetting about their responsibilities but focusing on what they must do--go and see, worship. Down this street! No, this is the way! The find the family, a wee babe crying his lungs into operation, a mother exhausted but rejoicing at the new life she holds, a father incredulous at the oldest of all miracles he has participated in. Here was the greatest of all kings, the Messiah, lying not in a palace but in a manger. A lowly manger, a lowly entrance--just like the shepherds.  The shepherds, the dregs of society, and this great thing has happened to them of all people. What must the shepherds do now? Go and tell everyone! 
It was the talk of Bethlehem the next day that a group of probably drunk shepherds went throughout the town waking up everyone, babbling about the Messiah, angels, and a baby in a manger. Typical crazy behavior for a shepherd. You can't trust those people anyway. If the Messiah was born in Bethlehem, don't you think everyone would know about it? But, the shepherds knew what they had witnessed and believed it to be true. Whenever they saw the child in the coming months, they would give him and his a family a little nod, a small smile of acknowledgement, and hope that would last a lifetime for the greatest of all came to the least of these.

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