The Shepherds

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
"This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.
And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds.

Luke 2:8-18

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Growing up, I always looked forward to a certain Christmas decoration that my mom set out. By today’s standards, it would be considered a rather inexpensive manger scene (similar to the one in the picture) but my brother and I liked to play with it, rearranging the pieces much like we did with our plastic army men. I studied the characters closely. The Holy Family was handled with care. I liked the animals, I thought the kings were pretty cool, but I liked the shepherds most of all.

We treated the tiny figurienes with respect unlike the torture we raked on our diminutive plastic green warriors. A kid could buy a whole bag of these guys for less than a buck. Boredom set in after strategically placing them in battle position and then flicking them over with index finger and thumb, eliminating the battalion as a plastic fighting force. Setting them back up was tedious work.

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Fire soon became the weapon of choice with our little battle ready buddies. Matches. Gasoline and matches. Firecrackers. How we didn’t set the neighborhood on fire is beyond me. We did cause a minor grass fire once lighting up a full sized, petrol soaked GI Joe in the backyard. And there was that melted candle wax that went up in flames on the kitchen stove...Gosh, all the helicopter kids of today (kids whose parents hover over them constantly) haven’t got a clue the fun they missed. Sitting on their fannies with a Wii. Please. But I digress….

Recently, my pastor, Jay Wolfe, spoke about the Nativity scene. Something he said about the shepherds struck me. “Shepherds were social and religious outcasts. They were never able to enjoy the religious festivals and weddings of the day because the flock always had to be attended. But they left the flock that night with a sense of urgency.”

I have a friend, John, who I correspond via email. On a forum that we frequent, John coincidentally penned a poingnant reference to the shepherds that caught my attention recently:

One of the curious events of the Nativity of Jesus is in the night in which He was born angels appeared not to potentates but shepherds. Not to the patriarchs, or high priests, not the most enlightened or those in a position to do something positive about His birth but to the lowest of the social strata. That the shepherds were frightened would be like saying "oil rig workers were timid" it takes something to frighten a shepherd…
…the shepherds must have had some credibility with someone literate to have made the pages of scripture. Possibly because of their lack of guile and genuine astonishment at their revelation they were believable. God it seems has a habit of concealing Himself, and of revealing Himself in obscure ways.

One of the plastic shepherds in our little Nativity was carrying a lamb like the one in this picture. But I remember one particular shepherd distinctly. He was kneeling and offering something to the infant in the manger. My young mind could never figure out what the gift was, but I remember feeling sorry for him because it was obviously not some expensive present like the Magi brought.

And from the manger to His ministry, three decades later, Jesus... sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums.
A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;
for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."

Mark 12:41-44
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I really couldn’t understand my fascination with the little plastic shepherd figures then. I understand it now, more admiration than fascination, no pity but total respect. The shepherds came out of pure sacrifice, knowing that they may lose what little they had in the world. In a way, Jesus pays tribute not just to the poor widow, but to the shepherds who came to see Him out of their own sense of poverty.

The Gift of God was (and is) for all men. Not just rich kings from some far away place I have never heard of. God’s gift of love is available for Tommy in Holtville, Jake in Wetumpka, Tamisha in Montgomery, Pablo in Union Springs….
Luke 2:17-18 indicates that the shepherds had a sense of urgency... to drop what they were doing to seek Him and tell others. At times, I don’t think I have that urgency. I don't give enough. I don't sacrifice enough.
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I pray for the necessity and exigency of Him in my life.

Merry Christmas to all,

Mark

The Bonnie Slam

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy
Job 8:21

This picture is enough to restore your mouth with laughter, but there is more, believe me. Wow, eighteen years ago, baby Stephen---just a few weeks "post slap" on the fanny, Bonnie---our first Golden, and me, Mr. Chicken Legs.

Bonnie was by far our most stubborn retriever. She insisted on leading the pack on walks and would pull the leash until her tongue turned blue. Nothing would make her heel. It is funny the things you remember over the years, the inside jokes that couples share. On one walk, Bonnie spied a squirrel and took off, until she got to the end of the leash. What happened next can only be compared to the fate that awaited Barnyard Dawg in the Foghorn Leghorn cartoons when he ran out of rope. The flip in the air, with the subsequent flop on her butt was forever coined ‘the Bonnie Slam’. Any dog since who can perform this graceful move will get a rating from Annie and me, but none can top that first Bonnie Slam. It was one of those moments when you looked at your wife, you knew that she had her hand covering her nose and tears coming from her eyes in laughter.

Stephen loved this Baby Jogger. Bonnie got to the point that I simply had to tie her to it and let her pull us like a Conestoga wagon. Another sight that I am sure produced chuckles in the neighborhood, but we didn’t care. I'd like to think that this activity started Stephen’s love for athletics and exercise. Annie and I used to run road races together, trading out the pushing duties.

So now, I am teaching our new pup ‘the ropes’. She loves walking beside Belle, holding the lead in her mouth as she trots.

“You gotta go on a walk with us and see how good Millie is doing!” I pleaded with Annie. (She is usually the one pleading with me to get out and get some exercise now. Still the avid runner, she logs 5 miles a day.)

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As someone who is always trying to jury-rig things, I found a large carabiner and hooked the two leashes to it. How proud I was of my invention, everything seemed to check out for a few walks and I was ready to unveil Millie’s progress on the world.

But the world is still new to Millie. I noticed a few weeks ago how cars wizzing by startled her, but within a few days, she ignored them. Oh, but a new challenge…a large Scag mower was on the horizon…Millie immediately backed up, straight between my legs. I lost the 'graceful' quick-pace of my gait and turned into a waddling duck….Belle, unfazed by the mower, continued forward at full stride. By this time, Millie was behind me and her leash was straddling the 'stride' of my sweats. I am holding the caribiner, with leashes going in opposite directions, waddling like a duck and I hear a snort.

Now because I have lived with this woman for over thirty years now, I didn’t have to turn around to see what she was doing, but I did. Hand to the nose, tears in her eyes, laughing. We have not named this move yet, but I am sure she will come up with something as creative as the Bonnie Slam.

The thing is, I didn’t mind her laughing at me one bit. In fact, it did my heart good. Stress of work and home sometimes trumps laughter and it was nice to see her let loose a good one. I just shook my head and feigned disgust with my new pupil.

I am convinced that laughter is good medicine. I have used the proverb “A merry heart doeth good like medicine” (Prov 17:22) many times in the past on my blog and I repeat it again for good measure.

The creator of Beetle Bailey, Mort Walker, once said: “Laughter is the brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of the heart.”
I read the comic strip every day, something I have done since I was a kid. I believe the man’s quote is just another way of stating the words I have highlighted in red.

God bless, and be sure to share a laugh with family and friends over the holidays!

Mark

Prov 17:22

'Goodwill' Towards Men

He who profits illicitly troubles his own house…Prov.15:27

Searching the tie rack…hmm…nothing new this week. Wait…wow, a Hilfiger! OK, do I have 2 bucks in my wallet?

I have been meeting with the staff at Goodwill Industries every Wednesday for years. My agency refers people to this organization in efforts to fulfill our mission of finding employment for the disabled population of Alabama. They do a great job in this area and I am proud to be associated with them.

One of my rituals is to stop in at the Goodwill Thrift Store before or after the meeting and check the tie rack. I rarely buy a tie retail any longer; the price at Goodwill is just too tempting (2 dollars) and often I find extremely good ties with little wear. Everyone at Goodwill uses me as the male model. Right.

This article caught my eye immediately, especially after the debacle of the WalMart shopping nightmare. If you don’t want read the link, basically a Goodwill worker in Illinois,Teodora Petrova, found $7500 in a shoebox while sorting clothes. She turned it in, because it simply didn’t belong to her. Goodwill found the owner. She got a reward, and then a few days later, Goodwill gets a check from a donor who wished to remain anonymous…for $7500 to assist with their job placement efforts.

It does show that spiritual principles work. I am not talking about the "name it claim it" religion that seems so pervasive in America...'if you do this, then God must do that'....The priciples that I speak of have more to do with someone's character. If one exhibits characteristics of honesty, he usually has characteristics of charity, stability, strong mindedness...he attracts friends like him, influences those who are not like him, has families of similar characteristics. Treating people with respect and kindness works. The Golden Rule works! The result is that this person sleeps well at night. I think Ms Petrova sleeps like a baby.

Conversely, the proverb above also rings true from a spiritual standpoint. Dishonesty is usually just one of the MANY character flaws that these folks exhibit, thus their lives and the people they influence are in a constant state of a big hot mess. The guy in this proverb sleeps with one eye open, as he has created a plethora of problems due to his sordid behaviors.

The story about Goodwill made the news because it simply had a nice twist to it. Believers should not expect some instant, outward result because they simply did the 'right' thing. However, exhibiting Godly character will render a lifetime of rewards, true inward peace on earth and good will towards men. That is the real sowing and reaping of which Christ spoke.
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Merry Christmas to my friends at Goodwill Industries of Central Alabama, a caring bunch of people with hearts of gold.
Mark