As I looked across the table, last Friday, at the birthday boy, I realized that this was a different Christmas indeed.
With hubby on a medical leave, there was a palatable absence of something …
busyness.
Though hubby is tired (so tired), he is not pre-occupied. The ring of his phone, the ding of a text or email is silent, peaceful. He is not rushing off to … anything.
Our most difficult decision on Christmas Eve was, where to attend church. For hubby, being with groups of people are fatiguing, so I chose a small Anglican church, offering a “Holy Eucharist with Candlelight”. It was to be a first time experience.
As we entered the small sanctuary, we sat in two of the last available seats, one in front of the other, and the service began. It was traditional, liturgical … probably the same as it had been done there for much of it’s over one hundred years.
And there was comfort in it’s traditions, that have stood the test of time.
Looking toward the front, my eyes and mind were captivated by the large stained glass window at the back. The focal image was that of Jesus, holding a lamb … the Good Shepherd. It reminded me of a similar stained glass window in the church my grandmother had attended, and I remember, so fondly, from my childhood.
I am not sure if the one speaking recognized the significance of her homily, when she began by describing the shepherds … in the Christmas pageant held earlier.
According to Wonderololis the profession of shepherd is probably one of the oldest professions, and practiced all over our world. They work long hours, roaming deserted countrysides, enduring all forms of weather, and always needing to be on the alert for predators, who seek to destroy the sheep in their care. Plus, by all accounts, sheep are … not very intuitive (aka, they are thick as a brick).
The work of the shepherd can be long, tiring, lonely.
The term shepherd can also be attributed to those in the role of pastor, priest, minister. They too can experience their task to be long, tiring and lonely … especially at this high expectation and busy season of Christmas.
When Jesus is described as the Good Shepherd, the Greek word, kalos, is used, and it means noble, wholesome. It is a goodness that comes from the inside out, not a behaviour but character. In a sense Jesus is a shepherd unlike any other, real or metaphorically. For he was not just born for this role, but conceived for it.
The Good Shepherd,
- who lays down His life for the sheep (John 10:11)
- tends His flock … gathers the lambs and carries them in His bosom (Isaiah 40:11)
- he calls his own sheep by name … and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice (John 10:3-4)
He is the true Good Shepherd, who leads his flock in the power and grace specifically given to him.
All others (even priests, pastors and the like) are followers … sheep in need of the shepherd … and he carries us close, knows our names and gave his life for us.
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I remember a Christmas ‘pageant’ where I did a ‘recitation’ when I was still a preschooler. It was at the church of my grandmother, and it was she who taught the poem to me. I remember how very many people were staring back at me (the church probably doesn’t hold more than seventy people, but as a preschooler, it seemed like hundreds). I also remember her voice whispering the lines to me (memorizing has never been a strength for me).
At this time of year, I am looking for many things … free time, peace, relaxation, togetherness as a family, and a holy night experience.
itsawonderfilledlife 