I’ll never forget my second grade Christmas play at my Catholic school. It seemed as if all the boys wanted to be one of the Three Wise Men, or St. Joseph. After all, the Three Wise Men were dressed in fine robes and carried precious treasures to the Infant God. And St. Joseph, he would likely be next to the prettiest girl in class, who played Our Lady. But no one wanted to the lowly shepherds. They were considered outcasts by many accounts. They were poor. They would often smell like their sheep. Because of their exposure to animal blood and feces, they were considered unclean by Jewish laws as pointed out by Fr. Dwight Longenecker in his book by Sophia Institute, The Secret of the Bethlehem Shepherds. Shepherds were also not the most intelligent souls. Hence the shepherds were overlooked by society.
Interestingly enough, the shepherds were the first persons to receive the proclamation of the Savior after Our Lady and St. Joseph. One would think that God would have chosen some devout Scribe or Pharisee who prayed frequently in the Temple to receive the angel’s message. But time and time again, God shows that His ways are not our ways. Or in the words of St. Paul, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong” (1 Cor. 1:27). And throughout Our Lady’s apparitions does she not choose the poorest and lowliest to receive her message as seen at Lourdes and Fatima? At Fatima, Our Lady spoke to three shepherd children: St. Francisco, St. Jacinta, and Venerable Sr. Lucia.
According to St. Luke’s gospel, we see the story of Salvation unfold before the shepherd’s eyes:
And in that 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 fear. And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
The shepherds lived a life of vigilance, watching for any wolves or predators that might attack their sheep. The shepherds were the precursors to the monks of our day and age. Under the starry skies, they were alone with God and their animals. In the quiet hours, they might have even prayed the Psalms, which were written by the once shepherd boy, King David.
It is important to remember that some of God’s most treasured souls were shepherds as pointed out by Fr. Longenecker: “Father Abraham was a herdsman. Moses was a shepherd after he fled from Egypt. King David was a shepherd, and tradition has it that he wrote the famous Psalm 23: ‘The Lord Is My Shepherd.’”
Based on St. Luke’s account above, the shepherds were in fear of the Angel of the Lord, but it does not say anything about being surprised? Yes, angels most often struck fear when they appear. But what if some of these shepherds had been praying and waiting for the Messiah for years? After all, one of the most famous Old Testament prophecies from the Prophet Micah predicted that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem:
“But you, O Bethlehem Eph′rathah,
who are little to be among the clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days.
My fascination with Micah’s prophecy led me to recently write a children’s book called, The Shepherd at the Crib and the Cross published by Emmaus Road Publishing. In my book, I focus on one shepherd boy named Nissim, who prays everyday to meet the Messiah because of Micah’s prophecy, which his father spoke to him. If you read the book, you will see what happens. The book images and layout are inspired by the book, The Polar Express. In a similar fashion, what if a prophet in Scripture said that Christ will return at the end of time in Bethlehem? One would think the inhabitants of that time would be ready for His visit.
Mystics like Ven. Mary of Agreda said that the shepherds of Bethlehem were able to hold the Christ Child after the angel of the Lord summoned them to visit the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes. Furthermore, several mystics said the shepherds held the Baby Jesus while kneeling, which is such a reminder for us when we approach our Eucharistic Lord. Indeed, the shepherds of Bethlehem were the first contemplatives of the Nativity, for contemplation, humility, and poverty all go hand in hand. Before their very eyes, the humble shepherds of Bethlehem beheld the most glorious sight in the history of the world, Emmanuel, humility itself.
Charlotte Mason, a twentieth century British educator, said of the shepherds: “Humble before, humbled they went away.”
The shepherds of Bethlehem remind us to be vigilant for Christ’s coming this Christmas and to be humble of heart, for Our Lord can only find room in a heart that is devoid of pride…a heart that is lowly like the shepherds of Bethlehem.
Author Bio:
Patrick O’Hearn is a freelance editor and an author of six books and counting, including recent children’s books, The Shepherd at the Crib and the Cross and Go and Fear Nothing: The Story of Our Lady of Champion. You can visit his website at patrickrohearn.com
