Then the sheep began to stir, and one or two of them bleated with the surprised sound that sheep sometimes have.  The noise disturbed other sheep, who added their bleating to the rapidly increasing clamour, and after that there was no need for me to wake up the other shepherds – they were all awake.  Some asked what was going on, while others merely watched silently, taking in the ethereal beauty of the scene.  But there was fear too, I can tell you.  I’m not young, and nothing like this had ever happened before in my lifetime, nor those of the older shepherds either.  Soon the light was bright enough to make the moon look dim, and then, in a terrifying instant, I suddenly saw where the light was coming from.  An angel – it must have been an angel, for ordinary men don’t shine like that – came around the corner of the sheepfold and walked towards me as I sat at the entrance.

My heart stood still and I stopped breathing as panic gripped me.  The fear that I felt was greater than any I had ever experienced when facing wild animals, or even that time when lightning struck a tree very close to me.

And then he spoke, saying, “Don’t be afraid, for I bring you good news.”  At the time, it didn’t even occur to me to wonder why an angel would come and speak to a group of shepherds in the middle of the night, though I’ve wondered since why we were chosen.  What good news could possibly deserve such a strange event?

Some people say that there are angels around us all the time, but I had never seen one before and I was terrified.  And being told not to be afraid didn’t seem to help very much either.  I was so afraid that I could neither stand nor speak; I just sat there and quivered as the angel approached.

“I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people,” continued the angel, speaking to me and to all of the other shepherds inside the fold.  “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord.  And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”

 There was no time to digest his words, because suddenly, all around and above the angel was an enormous crowd of other angels.  The night exploded with light and sound as this heavenly army, standing on the ground around the angel or floating above it wherever they happened to be, praised God and said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Some spoke, some sang, and some shouted, but all praised God, filling the hillside air with joyous celebration.  Light and happiness had come to the earth in a way never seen before.  This continued for some time, but I don’t have any idea how long.  Finally, as we watched, all of the angels went away, ascending into the sky in a shining, glorious throng, shrinking in the distance above until they dwindled to a point of light and disappeared.

But though the darkness had returned, I can’t say the same about the silence, because none of us could keep quiet about what we had just seen.  Some commented on the beauty of the voices, some on the brightness of the light, and still others on the clothing of the angels.  After a time, though, we finally started to talk about what we had been told.  Good news.  Great joy.  A saviour, the Christ.  Someone pointed out that the city of David must be Bethlehem, such a short distance away.  Now Bethlehem is not a large town, and one way or another, we knew of all of the babies that were due to be born soon.  No-one could think of any expectant mother in Bethlehem who could possibly have given birth to the Messiah.  But then someone suggested that it could be one of the visitors who had come to register in the census, and another man remembered that he had seen a young woman among the visitors in Bethlehem who was clearly expecting a baby very soon.

“Let’s go over to Bethlehem and see this baby,” I said, willing to go by myself if I had to, but preferring to have company if possible.

“Yes, let’s go and see what has happened,” answered one of the other shepherds, “since God has specially told us about it.”

“But we can’t leave the sheep here,” objected another.

“Of course we can,” I replied.  “Just make sure the entrance is blocked, and then let’s hurry.”

 So we hurried.  The moon made it easy to find our way to Bethlehem, but when we got there, it wasn’t quite so easy, since we didn’t know exactly where to go.  First, we all went to one of the inns to see whether the baby was there.  It wasn’t, but the innkeeper spoke of a young couple who had been expecting a baby, due any time.  “They found a place to stay,” he said reassuringly, then laughed a little as he continued, “but if the baby has been born, it has probably ended up in a manger!”

That was just what we were looking for, since, when we came to think of it, that was what the angel had said too; so we quickly went to the place. We found exactly what the angel had said: a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.  Our arrival was obviously a bit of a surprise to the father – a young man called Joseph – and we found out from him that he was indeed descended from the line of King David.  In fact, if he has his facts right, he would probably be first in line for the kingship if only we could get rid of Herod and the Romans.

Now, I believe strongly in God.  I offer my sacrifices at the temple, and I pray to God often – but this was all a bit too uncanny for me!

This baby was to be a saviour.  Now, there is no doubt that Israel needs a saviour, but can a baby do the job?  And angels had appeared to tell a group of shepherds about the birth of a baby: why would God do that?  Why not tell Herod instead, and force him to let this baby be king?  Let Herod know that a baby had been born to just the right man that very day, and let him check it out.  But then again, when a monster like Herod is in control, announcing the birth of a baby is just going to get the baby killed.

Unfortunately, that was the horrible truth of the matter; the terrible outcome.

As we hurried back to our sheep later that night, we couldn’t stop talking about the amazing events.  I even went to look at the place where the angel had stood to speak to us, but there was no trace of anything special.  All that we had to work on was our memories and our shared experience.  We told everyone we could, and everyone was amazed, although the religious leaders were rather sceptical about the idea that God would deliver a message like that to shepherds rather than to experts in the law or priests.

I didn’t go and visit the couple again, but I heard that they had stayed in Bethlehem and moved into a house of their own.

Well, the news of the baby spread, particularly when some wise men also visited a few months later – of course, people listened to them more than they listened to us.  Unfortunately, though, they had stopped at Jerusalem first to make enquiries about a new king, and that was what really let the cat out of the bag.  As I said, Herod was never one to let a potential competitor survive.

Sadly, it was a tragic end to a beautiful story.  Having heard of the child from the wise men, a while later Herod ordered his soldiers to go and kill every young boy in and around Bethlehem.  The soldiers did what they were told, and every boy two years old and under was slaughtered, leaving many heartbroken families mourning their loss.

But one baby boy was more important than all of the others, and now even his parents have disappeared – probably having withdrawn to mourn his tragic loss.  Did we shepherds help to cause his death by telling everyone what the angel had said to us?

I suppose God will have to try sending another saviour – unless the child somehow escaped Herod’s killing squads.  But I don’t think there’s much hope of that…