Ruth looked up and saw that it was one of the local shepherds. Behind him were several of the other shepherds. She didn’t know them other than by sight- they were a rough bunch, spending most of their time out in the fields with their sheep, and most of the townspeople avoided them. She shrank back, wondering if she should call for help.
But the shepherd she had walked into stepped back. “Sorry, miss,” he said. “We...we were looking for a baby what’s just been born. We was told to come and find him.” He looked round at the other shepherds. “Sounds daft when you say it, doesn’t it?”
Ruth stared at them. How did they know?
“The whole thing’s daft,” an old shepherd said. “Angels, Messiah, baby in a manger- if I hadn’t seen and heard it all I’d have thought there was something up with you, to say we should leave the sheep alone like this in the middle of the night.”
“Well, we’re here now,” a young shepherd said. “At least let’s see if there is a baby.”
“There is a baby here, born last night,” Ruth said. “But he’s asleep. And...I don’t understand, how do you know? And what do you want with the baby?”
“I told you, the angels told us,” the first shepherd said.
“They appeared to us while we were in the fields,” said the younger one. “I know it sounds unbelievable, but really they did. First one came and told us that the Messiah had been born as a baby, and was lying, wrapped in cloths, in a manger here in Bethlehem. Then a whole load more turned up and sang to us about glory and peace. It...it was, I can’t describe it, but it was wonderful.”
The old shepherd chipped in. “So we left our flocks and come here to see him, and there’ll be hell to pay if the sheep aren’t all there when we get back. Them priests won’t believe any stories about angels.”
Ruth still stared. Then she heard a faint sound behind her. The baby’s cry. “I think you’d better wait here while I go and ask if you can see him.”
*****
Mary was just lifting the baby from the feedbox as Ruth opened the door. Joseph was rubbing bleary eyes. How on earth was she going to explain to them what was going on? She wasn’t even sure herself.
“How is he?” she asked. Mary smiled. “Hungry, I think,” she said, guiding the baby towards nourishment. “What is your name? I didn’t ask last night.”
“I’m Ruth.”
“I must thank you for your kindness to us last night- yours and your mother’s- is she your mother? You look just like her.”
“Yes, she is my mother. And I didn’t do anything much.” Ruth realised she had dropped the bucket when the shepherds startled her and left it outside, still unfilled. “I was going to get water this morning but- there’s some people outside who want to see you.”
“People?” Joseph sat up hurriedly.
“Shepherds. It’s a bit odd. They say- they say angels appeared to them and told them to come and find this baby.” Mary and Joseph looked at one another.
“So it is real,” Joseph muttered under his breath.
“Let them come in,” Mary said, smoothing her child’s hair.
“Mary- is that a good idea? I mean, shepherds can be a bit rough-” Joseph objected.
“If our Lord told them to come, who are we to turn them away?” Mary replied. “They won’t do us harm, Joseph. Remember what it was like to be visited by an angel! We can’t turn them away. Besides, this is David’s town, and David was a shepherd before he became king.” She looked up at her husband with playful love. “Anyway, you’ll protect us, won’t you?” Joseph blushed.
“Let them in please, Ruth,” Mary said.
Joseph stood protectively behind Mary, watchful, as the shepherds gathered round the feedbox where Mary had laid the baby down. He gurgled happily as the rough-hewn men peered down at him.
“What’s his name?” one of the shepherds asked Joseph. Joseph looked at Mary.
"Jesus," he said. She smiled.
"Ah, that's like our young lad here," the old shepherd said, indicating the youngest of the shepherds who had spoken to Ruth. He was only a couple of years older than her, she thought, and quite good looking, in a rough sort of way.
"My name's Joshua," he said. "It means the same thing, doesn’t it, 'God saves'?"
"Yes." Mary looked thoughtfully at her son. “It’s a good name.”
“The angels said he was the messiah, come to save us.” The old shepherd cleared his throat. “I heard the teachers in Jerusalem saying as how the messiah would drive out the foreign Legions of Rome and clear their foulness from our land, and make Israel great again. But I don’t see how a babe can do that.”
“He’s a baby now, but he’ll grow,” one of the other shepherds said. “Don’t you go disbelieving angels, old Benjamin. Young lambs grow into old rams before you know it.”
*****
Ruth's mother was not pleased to find a bunch of dirty shepherds in the house when she got up. After a busy day and little sleep she was not in the best of tempers anyway, especially when she discovered that there was no water. But she bit her tongue for the sake of the new parents, contending herself with shooing the shepherds away as soon as she politely could, the old shepherd still grumbling. Ruth went out with them to retrieve the water bucket.
"Can I do that for you?" the young shepherd called Joshua asked, taking the bucket. He was back quickly with the water and set it down in the courtyard.
"Thank you," Ruth said. Then she asked the question she had been longing to know the answer to since she first heard their story. "Did you really see angels? What were they like?"
"Yes, we really saw them. They were-" he hesitated. "I can't really describe them, but they were wonderful. Bright, with wings- at least I think so- and beautiful. Almost too beautiful really, it was hard to look at them. And the singing! Nothing could be like it, not even the music at the temple."
"What did they sing about?"
"Glory to God, and peace on earth. And somehow when they were singing I felt like- like maybe there could be peace, and justice, and an end to sadness-" He broke off. "But there won't be any peace for me if I don't get back to the fields. Goodbye- God bless you!" He hurried off after the older shepherds, leaving Ruth very thoughtful. Who was he, this child whose birth was announced by angels and shepherds?
Ruth's mother was not pleased to find a bunch of dirty shepherds in the house when she got up. After a busy day and little sleep she was not in the best of tempers anyway, especially when she discovered that there was no water. But she bit her tongue for the sake of the new parents, contending herself with shooing the shepherds away as soon as she politely could, the old shepherd still grumbling. Ruth went out with them to retrieve the water bucket.
"Can I do that for you?" the young shepherd called Joshua asked, taking the bucket. He was back quickly with the water and set it down in the courtyard.
"Thank you," Ruth said. Then she asked the question she had been longing to know the answer to since she first heard their story. "Did you really see angels? What were they like?"
"Yes, we really saw them. They were-" he hesitated. "I can't really describe them, but they were wonderful. Bright, with wings- at least I think so- and beautiful. Almost too beautiful really, it was hard to look at them. And the singing! Nothing could be like it, not even the music at the temple."
"What did they sing about?"
"Glory to God, and peace on earth. And somehow when they were singing I felt like- like maybe there could be peace, and justice, and an end to sadness-" He broke off. "But there won't be any peace for me if I don't get back to the fields. Goodbye- God bless you!" He hurried off after the older shepherds, leaving Ruth very thoughtful. Who was he, this child whose birth was announced by angels and shepherds?
