Amman shivered as he pulled his cloak up around his neck to guard him against the night air. He appreciated the provisional benefit of the soft woolen fleece the flock had rendered. Despite the fatigue from a day of herding, it was here among the sheep and the other shepherds’ silent contented company that he liked to reflect. He and his family had been shepherds for many generations, and he loved this life. Amman relished the quiet stirrings of his flock as they nestled in together. Their grazing seemed exceptionally peaceful tonight. He had named all of them and called them by name. He smiled as the young lambs searched for their mother’s warmth, while the older sheep seemed busy reacquainting themselves after the day’s journey. Amman noted the evening’s clarity, and tonight, the sky was so filled with light that it seemed the heavens themselves would burst open at any moment and consume what darkness remained. And then there was that unusually bright star in the east with a smoldering glow. Several times that evening, he was sure he had heard the most angelic melody, what almost seemed a lullaby floating on the breeze.
Stillness overtook him, and the reverence of his surroundings prompted him to thank Jehovah for the awe and deep sense of contentment that came to him tonight. With his heart full of gratitude, He thanked God for his life and the blessings of simple pleasures in ordinary moments. He praised God for the newness he experienced every morning and smiled as he contemplated what this night and what tomorrow might hold for a simple shepherd and his sheep. Amman gazed upward. He reached out a tan, weathered hand expectantly toward the sky, certain he would almost touch the presence of the Lord God Himself. He was well acquainted with Yahweh. he had served God all of his days. His parents continued to pray and worship, and Amman’s home was a loving one. Though it had been 400 years since the prophets had given the word from Yahweh, Amman was only 36. Perhaps he would see the deliverer come in his lifetime. His father had reassured him of the great love Jehovah had for His people, and tonight Amman rested in that thought and gave thanks for the peace it brought to know that despite that he was a simple shepherd, he was deeply loved.
All of us could speculate about the scenario on the hillside that long-ago Christmas night. Why would God send His greatest announcement for all creation to a band of simple hill dwellers and herdsmen? Especially. for all intent and purposes, seemed to be about their ordinary tasks on an evening that appeared to be like all the others. Perhaps, it would be fitting to announce the arrival of the Lamb of God to a group of shepherds. Maybe it reflected the kindred spirit that the Good Shepherd Himself felt towards those who loved and cared for their flock. It was possibly in the midst of life and all its flurry; they were the only ones who responded to the sense of expectancy that this night held. After all, they made their living-learning to be watchful.
In some ways, we as believers are like the shepherds of long ago. All of us have been entrusted to care for some small lamb sometime, somewhere. There are those among us who have the blessed responsibility of an entire flock. For sure, none of us know what encounter may lay over the next hillside. Like the shepherd, we are given opportunities for reflection, thanksgiving, and yes, even expectation, Moments to reach out and have encounters with a holy God, which transforms ordinary moments into extraordinary ones that bring such overwhelming peace. Someone has said,” the reward of life in Christ is not all about spiritual searching and the watching but in finding Him.” It is in this discovery we see our smallness and recognize His greatness. Just like the shepherds, we have been given a watch. We have the blessed hope of keeping vigil for His appearing in the world.
Lord, as we wait for your return, give us ears to hear those angelic melodies the spirit plays on our heartstrings and give us eyes to see your glories in the night sky. Give us mouths of praise to thank you for all you are, and all we have.
Make us instruments of your peace and fill us with a deep sense of awe and expectancy about the work you do in us and around us in the ordinary moments. Amen.
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