A Shepherd on Christmas Night

One of the highlights of our Christmas season thus far (remember, today is only the 3rd Day of Christmas) was Tom Kotchka coming by our house for a cup of tea and a brief chat. And in that conversation, we discovered that a few years back Tom had written some scripts designed for dramatic reading, one of which was a Christmas-themed narrative that he was going to present at a party that night. Well, could we get a preview? Yes, indeed. And it was really neat -- a provocative piece, well-delivered, memorable, and using only Old Testament references to the Christmas event.  

I asked Tom if I could share that Christmas narrative with others and, because he most graciously said yes, here it is. 

A Shepherd on Christmas Night

“It is nights like this that I don’t mind being a shepherd. No rain, just a hint of a breeze, perfect temperature. Yes, it is a good night to be a shepherd. But the night seems different. No, the rabbinical leadership in Jerusalem has not changed, the walls of the city of Jerusalem, 4 or 5 miles to the north behind me, are still standing. And…and the holy city is still filled …with… Roman soldiers. They are everywhere, even here, below, in my beloved village of Bethlehem.

I’m so disgusted with those Roman soldiers that I could spit. I would like to tell you how I really feel about those soldiers, but when I look up to the sky above me, I am struck as to how clear it is. I can see hundreds, maybe even thousands of stars. It’s like I’m looking deep into heaven. It almost feels like I could talk directly to El Shaddai, God Almighty.

Maybe it feels more like He is wanting to speak to me, a shepherd. Now, don’t laugh, King David was a shepherd. Maybe it is just the lack of activity out here tonight, what with the Roman census being taken in town. Listen -- even the sheep seem quiet tonight. Maybe, maybe this is a good night to ask God what to do about those Roman soldiers. Or how we are to live with a foreign army occupying OUR Promised Land. Or about the Promised Messiah.

No, no, no, I don’t want to seem presumptive. Besides, I asked the priest the last time  that I sold lambs to the Temple. Zacharias, one of the priests, told me ‘My son, in the fullness of time, God will send His Chosen One (Gen 49:10, Isa 11:1) But you, a shepherd, remember the words of the Prophet Isaiah, and listen for ‘the voice of Him crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.”’ (Isa 40:3) “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”. How does one prepare for the Lord? Especially if you are a shepherd, we are not exactly thought of as royalty, and the Roman soldiers limit our activities when we are in town.

‘Hey, you, shepherd, what are you doing here?’ ‘Me, I am just preparing for the next King of Israel, a King in the line of David.’ ‘Treason!’ would probably be the first word to cross his lips…and the last word to fall on my ears.

Yet the Prophet Isaiah says ‘For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.’ (Isa 9:6). ‘For unto us a Child is born.’ A child-Messiah? I don’t understand, even though the Prophet Isaiah seems clear: ‘Hear ye now O House of David, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: A virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and shall call His name Immanuel (Isa. 7:14).’ I am sure that hundreds of years from now people will be asking, ‘How is that even possible for a virgin to give birth?’ Even though I don’t understand, I can still believe in God’s Word. Especially the words of the Prophet Micah: ‘But thou, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be Ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Somehow, I don’t think the Prophet had shepherds in mind. Shepherds would not be able to welcome a child-Messiah out here in the open field or even in a sheep-fold. Actually, even the most prosperous in Bethlehem would not be able to prepare a place for the royal baby tonight with all the census people in town.

And that would be ironic since our people have waited over…well, 700 years since the prophet Isaiah and the prophet Micah spoke those words. Maybe our wait is over? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be around when the King was born? Oh, what joy that would be! Yes, what excitement! Yes, what Promises fulfilled! Yet…if it were tonight, what have I done to prepare the way of the Lord? What have I done to prepare me? Oh, little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie…and yes even my own heart lies still. The stars drift by, yet this night God may send the Savior, One Who will change the world…and, maybe…even me.

(Thomas Kotchka)