Shepherds

by Teresa Bateman

There was no little drummer boy at Bethlehem that night.

The animals did not know how to talk.

The wise men didn’t make it on time to see that sight.

But shepherds,

ah yes,

shepherds with their flock

of lambs who needed tender, watchful care

were out upon the hill ’neath starry sky.

To them the angels came with message rare—

Glad Tidings Of Great Joy … to shepherds.

WHY?

A man who tends a flock of sheep by day,

watching over them all through the night,

searching for the one that’s gone astray

until again the lost one’s in his sight;

Who leads his followers to pastures sweet

and keeps them safe from perils they can’t see—

This kind of man, this kind was first to see

the King of Kings. They knew that it was He.

Why shepherds?

Why were they the first to view

the babe?

Because,

He was a shepherd, too.

Photo by Laird Roberts