Erma Bombeck wrote a book entitled The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank. Having grown up with a septic tank, I can confirm the statement is true. My grandmother who lived next door talked about getting a sheep to eat the grass over her septic tank because it always needed mowing. Instead, my brother moved her pasture fence closer to the house so the cows could get to it.
This brings us to the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20. Shepherds were always on the lookout for grazing areas because sheep tend to eat roots of the grass leaving bare dirt. Cows only eat what is above ground.
As a geographically reference, Bethlehem is only a short distance north of Slidell. Their seasonal temperatures are not much different from our own. The idea of shepherds watching over their flocks by night would only occur during the warmer months of the year. Sheep are more likely to graze in the daytime during December.
In the Old Testament, we have several examples of shepherds in Abel, Jacob, Moses, and David. Being the youngest, David was the one watching the sheep when Samuel came for a visit (1st Samuel 16:11).
Clearly, shepherds were the entry level blue collar workers of their day. Most were probably young with an older shepherd to supervise them. Anything out of the ordinary was a welcome relief from counting sheep at night.
Think of the most boring task you know. Dim the lights. Suddenly, a stranger is standing next to you glowing in the dark. He tells you not to be afraid (Yeah, right) and to go find a newborn baby in a very unlikely place. Suddenly, strangers glowing in the dark are everywhere before they fade away.
If you are those bored to tears shepherds, you are going to leave a skeleton crew and go find this baby. I can easily see them texting the news all over the internet. When the first group returned, the rest of the shepherds would go see the baby.
Some events are very special. Some are good. Some are not so good. No matter how many years pass, you can relive the event as if it just happened. I suspect the shepherds were talking about this night for the rest of their lives.
Would you have gone to find the baby?
Grace and peace in the power of the Holy Spirit.
(J. Wesley McComb is a published author and a member of Christ Episcopal Church, 1534 7th St, Slidell, 643-4531.)
© by The Slidell Independent newspaper; originally published on December 10, 2009. Used by permission of publisher and author.