How the Sheep Spent the First Christmas

By Janell Carson

An EXPLOSION of light lit the sky one dark night

Giving sheep and their shepherds a terrible fright!

The shepherds were trembling, the sheep wanted to run

Didn’t know what it was, but it didn’t look fun.

Then an angel appeared in the sky, calmed their fears,

Saying, “The Son of God has been born near here.”

“We must go and see!” the shepherds cried with delight

And off they went dashing into the dark night.

The sheep looked around, getting very concerned,

Being left all alone was ba-a-ad they had learned.

Then another dear angel came walking among them

And they quieted down with the songs that he sung them.

When at last they were quiet and calm once again,

The angel said, “Please let me explain:

The child that was born in the stable in town

Is your Creator as babe in a manger come down.

“He’s starting out small and will need time to grow

And learn of this world and its joy and its woe.

So that’s where YOU come in,” he said to the sheep.

“So listen up good – this is no time to sleep!

“The ewes out among you can show what it’s like

To be fallen, cast down and in fear for your life.

He’ll learn how to help you get back on your feet

He’ll learn what you mean by the sound of your bleat.

“You ovines alone are the ones to convey

How dangerous it is to be gone astray

Away from your herd, lost and alone,

He’ll learn how to find you and bring you back home.

“He’ll see what it’s like to have His heart ache

When one lost lamb, the family tie breaks.

He’ll learn to rejoice and sing right out loud

When the one gone astray is back with the crowd.

“And a small flock of sheep is the one who can show

How the voice of their Master tells them which way to go.

He’ll learn what to say and to call you by name

And show you the way to the shelter again.

“You must also show what it takes to be brave

When you stand for the shearer and wait for your shave.

He will need to know this for a task He must do

The Father has sent Him, it really is true.

“The most serious lesson that He has to learn

Will be from you lambs, and this one concerns

The Passover Feast and your painful role in it

The atonement for sin, this Lamb will win it.

“So you sheep have been chosen to teach Him these things

Until His time comes and a dirge we must sing.

He knows you can do it or He wouldn’t ask.

In fact, he created you for just this task.

“Now don’t let His sacrifice make your hearts sad

Because what it will conquer will make all hearts glad.

God, with all people will be reconciled

And that will make all that He suffers worthwhile.”

And when he had said all that he’d come to say

The angel took flight and went on his way.

The sheep watched him go and then contemplated

All the angel had told them and then they just waited.

When their shepherds returned, in only a while

They were singing God’s praises and smiling big smiles.

Then up went the hand of one of the boys

Asking for quiet, he’d heard a small noise.

“What is it?” they asked him as he looked around.

But the source of the noise was not to be found.

“Must have been nothing,” he said with a sigh,

“But just for a moment, thought I heard someone cry.”

Merry Christmas