This is what I used to tell my children back in the newspaper delivery days on Christmas Eve in the middle of the night when we were out on the road instead of nestled all snug in our beds with visions of sugar plums dancing in our heads.
We were outside doing the type of job no one wanted to do at the time of night and time of year when most people were doing something else.
True, others were working, too: firefighters, police officers, and those in health care. But rolling newspapers in a dirty warehouse and then slinging them into driveways or running them up to people's porches didn't feel as noble.
Apparently, I wasn't far off the mark:
http://www.stpaulcumc.org/shepherds-one-of-the-original-dirty-jobs/
https://vimeo.com/18100139
The point is that the angels didn't appear and announce Christ's birth to the "important" people of the world. No, they chose the lowly people, the ones society didn't laud, while they were keeping watch at night and doing a dirty job.
I'd tell the kids that if Christ's birth happened in our day, we might be the ones visited by angels. It helped to change our perspective.
So here's the thing. All of us have components to our vocations that we don't want to do. But as long as we're faithful and keep an interior watch, I believe something of heaven can touch our clay. For WE are the shepherds.
And for a true, cool story.
One Christmas Eve, with Daniel in the car, we were delivering old Channahon and coming up to a part of Canal Street that ended in a "T." The house has a large lighted nativity scene in front. On either side sat two life-size deer, perfectly positioned on either side of the stable, slightly to the front.
We sat a moment, enjoying the view and this non-customary addition to a traditional creche, when one of the deer moved. Before we could react, they both bolted.
Yes, the deer were real.
We were outside doing the type of job no one wanted to do at the time of night and time of year when most people were doing something else.
True, others were working, too: firefighters, police officers, and those in health care. But rolling newspapers in a dirty warehouse and then slinging them into driveways or running them up to people's porches didn't feel as noble.
Apparently, I wasn't far off the mark:
http://www.stpaulcumc.org/shepherds-one-of-the-original-dirty-jobs/
https://vimeo.com/18100139
The point is that the angels didn't appear and announce Christ's birth to the "important" people of the world. No, they chose the lowly people, the ones society didn't laud, while they were keeping watch at night and doing a dirty job.
I'd tell the kids that if Christ's birth happened in our day, we might be the ones visited by angels. It helped to change our perspective.
So here's the thing. All of us have components to our vocations that we don't want to do. But as long as we're faithful and keep an interior watch, I believe something of heaven can touch our clay. For WE are the shepherds.
And for a true, cool story.
One Christmas Eve, with Daniel in the car, we were delivering old Channahon and coming up to a part of Canal Street that ended in a "T." The house has a large lighted nativity scene in front. On either side sat two life-size deer, perfectly positioned on either side of the stable, slightly to the front.
We sat a moment, enjoying the view and this non-customary addition to a traditional creche, when one of the deer moved. Before we could react, they both bolted.
Yes, the deer were real.
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