The Shepherd is Coming

How I wish I had a picture of my husband John in the field with his lambs. He was a very good shepherd. The work of a shepherd is never done. John spent hours in the sheep shed, caring for his flock, all after he came home from his "real" paying job. That's why he was ready to retire from the sheeping business. There was no rest for the weary.

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young," (Isaiah 40:11 NIV).

The nativity scenes we display during this season nearly all have shepherds and sheep. We can only wonder if there were sheep near the stable when Mary and Joseph arrived. Or perhaps the sheep came with the shepherds who followed the star to Bethlehem. Either way, sheep and shepherds are important to the story.

Though there are no mountains in Iowa, there are hills, as the traditional spiritual Christmas carol, written by John W. Work, II, 1907, says:

"Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born.  While shepherds kept their watching O'er silent flocks by night, Behold, throughout the heavens There shone a holy light. Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born. The shepherds feared and trembled When, lo! above the earth Rang out the angel chorus That hailed our Savior's birth. Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born. Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born, And God sent us salvation That blessed Christmas morn. Go tell it on the mountain, Over the hills and everywhere; Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born."

"May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen," (Hebrews 13:20-21 NIV)