It's not an easy life, I'll tell you that. I work my small farm during the day, but that doesn't bring in enough money. I have a family to support, taxes to pay — oy, don't get me started on taxes — so I need more than my farm brings in. I do the only other thing I know how to do. I hire myself out for the night shift watching other people's sheep. Tending sheep would not be my first choice, you understand. First, I have to stay awake all night. Then, there's counting the sheep to make sure one or two haven't wandered off. Thieves are always a problem. Wild animals, now that's what really scares me. I don't want them to get the sheep, but I sure don't want them to get me.

None of us could get by without sheep. Where else would we get the wool, the meat, the skins, even the horns? If sheep are that important, surely we shepherds are important, too, right? I guess that as long as people have been around, shepherds have been around. It's not like some great people haven't worked as shepherds. Moses was watching flocks at Midian when God spoke to him from a burning bush. He didn't turn out too badly. The great king, David, was a shepherd when he was a boy. You'd think we'd get a little more respect than we do. As important as we are, and as many great leaders who started out in the business, we still are treated like dirt. We're poor and we are pretty far down on the social ladder.

One of the ways I pass the time is to daydream — yeah, I know it's at night, but what else are you going to call it? If nothing much is going on with the sheep, I wonder what it would be like to be somebody important. I wonder want it would be like not to have to work so hard to eke out a living. What would it be like to be Emperor Augustus? He's a big shot who can do what he wants. I guess you could order everyone around if your uncle was Julius Caesar, and you were handpicked to be emperor. Not so awful long ago, he decided to call for a census. He wanted to know how many subjects he had, and how big his tax base was. Everybody had to go back to the hometown to be counted. You wouldn't believe the grumbling that caused. A few hot heads even tried to start a revolt. You can guess how far they got with that! What a mess this census was. I heard that nearby, in Bethlehem, it was so packed there wasn't room for everyone. All because Emperor Augustus wanted a census. What Augustus wants, he gets.

Anyway, the thing I wanted to tell you about happened around the time of this census. My buddies and I were passing the time on what looked like an ordinary night. We were watching the sheep and trying to keep awake. All of a sudden, the most amazing thing happened. An angel showed up — no kidding. I know what you're thinking: late at night, a little wine to keep warm, we only thought we saw an angel. Let me tell you, it was a real angel! We all saw him. None of us had ever seen an angel before, trust me. We were terrified. I don't know what you think seeing an angel is supposed to be like, but it scared us to death. The angel must have seen the looks on our faces, because the first thing he said was, "Do not be afraid." That's easy for him to say!

After we calmed down a bit, the angel said to us, "I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people." That's the kind of thing they say when a member of the royal family is born, only the joy is mostly for the royals and the big shots. This was great joy for all the people, even working stiffs like us. The angel went on, "to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord." Did you catch that? "To you is born...." This baby mattered for us. I had heard about a messiah, an anointed one, since I was a kid. Everybody expected a messiah. Every now and then, some hot shot would come along. People would get all excited, calling him the messiah. Then the Romans would put a stop to that. This was an angel saying that this baby was the Messiah. Then — and I swear I'm not making this up — it was more than just one angel. The whole pasture was filled with heavenly beings. They were praising God and offering us peace. Peace, real peace, has been in short supply. Military occupation doesn't make for peace. Staying up at night until you're bleary-eyed to make a living doesn't seem too much like peace. Being treated like dirt isn't peace. There they were anyway, talking about peace for all people.

Do you understand what this thing was like? Here we were out in the middle of a sheep pasture, fighting off the weariness — all kinds of weariness — expecting the same old thing. First one angel, then more angels than anyone could count, show up. Now, heaven is up there, and we're down here, but for that one moment, heaven was down here, in our sheep pasture!

They told us to go on into Bethlehem to see this baby. Just as they said, we found the baby in a manger. Can you imagine what all of this must have been like for the parents, especially the mother? Nazareth to Bethlehem is — oh, I'd say about 100 miles. They have to travel that path while momma is pregnant! Ain't no good way to travel 100 miles when you're eight months and 29 days pregnant. How would you get there? If you ride a donkey, a Roman soldier might steal your donkey. What else would you do but walk — 100 miles with a stomach out to here.

Once they arrived in Bethlehem, nobody could find room for them. They finally found a house where someone would take them in, but it wasn't much. The more important guests had the best rooms. They had to stay out with the animals. They put that baby in a feeding trough, for heaven's sakes! This baby was the one the angels said was the Messiah! You should have seen the look on the mother's face when we told her about the angels. You could tell she knew something was up, but you could tell she thought long and hard about what we told her.

It's been a few days since this happened, so it's still sinking in. It doesn't necessarily surprise me that God would send a Messiah. We sure need God's grace around here. The part that really gets me is that the angels appeared to us, a bunch of guys moonlighting to make a few extra bucks. The angels didn't appear to the priests, or even to Emperor Augustus. They came to us. We know what it's like to be pushed around, and for sure that family knows what it's like to be pushed around. Another thing I don't quite understand is that the angel said this baby was the Lord. That's what he said, "the Messiah, the Lord." There's only one Lord. What could that have meant?

So far, I haven't noticed much difference in the details of my life. I still have to work day and night to make ends meet. I'm still at the bottom of the social ladder. Still, somehow that experience helps me know that I matter to God. That keeps me going. Besides that, I wonder what this experience means for you. That angel talked about peace for all people. That means you, too. One more thing, though, before I head out. I'm just a shepherd, but the angels came to me. Maybe you could show people like me a little more respect. The guy who works the graveyard shift at the convenience store is a lot like me. The people who pick your fruit and take away your garbage are a lot like me. What they do for the economy is important like what I do for the economy. The people who have no place to live are a lot like that family with the baby. Maybe you could notice them a little more, maybe even a lot more. What are their needs? How can you help them? What can your church do for them? How much attention from the government do they deserve? It was someone like that who gave birth to your Savior. Just think about that; it's all I ask. Amen.