here's to the rejects!

perhaps of all the characters of the original CHRISTmas story i identify with most, the shepherds are the ones that seem to fit the bill on a consistent basis.  in order to fully appreciate the role of the shepherds in the birth of CHRIST, you have to know a little about shepherds during that day. 

in biblical times, few people were despised as much as shepherds.  the shepherds were the outcasts of society.  they spent most of their days out in the fields, and reeked of the outdoors, sweat, and animal musk.  they were viewed as outlaws and thieves, and whenever they came into town, items would conveniently come up missing and fingers would easily point to the shepherds.  we see shepherds getting into fights with other farmers in the Bible, mainly because of the destruction shepherds would leave in their wake.  shepherds cared for sheep, hence the name "shepherd", short for "sheep herder".  shepherds were nomadic, always having to move their sheep from one location to another.  this was because of the grazing method that sheep use.  most grazing animals only bite off the visible portion of the grass, and in contrast, sheep pull the entire plant up by the roots.  by the time a heard of sheep had finished grazing an area, the field would have been reduced to a large dirt plot, making it unusable for anyone else.  this was why other farmers hated shepherds.  this was also the reason for the shepherd having to take the sheep through the "valley of the shadow of death", as the grass grew in the higher locations and as one was cleared, the sheep would have to be led to another one.  a shepherd's only friends were the sheep that he cared for, and sometimes other shepherds that worked the herd with him.  kind of paints a different picture than the fair-skinned, clean and pressed boyish shepherds we see in the paintings, huh? 

now, imagine for a moment that you are a shepherd.  or let's compare it to a modern day example.  say for a moment that you are a paroled convict working out of a halfway house as a member of a road crew clearing overpasses.  everywhere you go, people know that you are a thief, and you reek of the outdoors, sweat, and a mixture of grass, onion, and 2 stroke engine exhaust.  you are unkempt, and have no home to officially speak of.  your family barely speaks to you, and the only friends you have are of like backgrounds.  even then, they are not what you would call "real" friends, more just temporary alliances.  you can't go anywhere without suspicion, and one day while working on a ditchbank somewhere an angel appears to you and tells you that the Messiah is born in the small town down the road.  this is no booming metropolis, just a little community with two working traffic lights, a post office, and a small downtown area.  you were just there working and even then the townspeople all but ran you off with their accusing looks and general avoidance.  do you go back and see this Child for yourself and then go and tell everyone about it?  they will think even worse of you, and probably have you run out of town by the local barney fife.  moreover, you probably will not be allowed back, limiting where you can go for supplies even further. 

well, this is exactly what the shepherds did.  they went in the middle of the night into a town that did not welcome them to witness the Messiah firsthand, and then went out after they had seen Him, rejoicing and telling everyone they saw about it!  these shepherds were outcasts, considered unclean and unworthy.  they were not royalty.  they had little money or possessions to speak of.  they were dirty.  they were sinners.  yet, they were exactly the type of people that CHRIST came for! 

as i said before, this group is the one i identify with more than any other, and on a regular basis.  the Bible is full of unworthy people that God chose to use, but these guys would make the top ten list.  all of us were like that in God's eyes.  we were unclean and unworthy, sinners, and as revelation 3 says:  "poor, wretched, and blind".  yet God saw fit to announce to us on a personal level the revelation of CHRIST.  if God can use a group of outcasts such as the shepherds, and have them immortalized throughout time (many of you have already seen them portrayed in CHRISTmas programs across the globe!), then imagine how He can use you!  remember, CHRIST chose to compare Himself to a shepherd as well.  He was an outcast from the beginning, so it is only fitting that He would announce His birth to outcasts, and use outcasts like us to spread His gospel! 

this year, what will you do with the gospel of CHRIST?  will you make excuses about how you aren't good at speaking, or you don't have time, money, status, ___________ (fill in your own excuse here)?  the shepherds left their whole livelihood to go, see, and tell of the Messiah's birth.  or will you go out and let the Holy Spirit who lives within you guide you as you go and tell other outcasts that CHRIST was born on CHRISTmas to die and rise again to save rejects such as us?