The Shepherd Left Behind: A New Fable for Christmas by Thomas Rowe Drinkard Page A

shepherds, including his uncle, had all gone into Bethlehem to see the glory the dazzling creatures had told them about.
    “Who are you and how did you get here?” Joshua said.
    “Well, I’m called Jude. I came along with Gabe to sing with the choir.”
    “All those creatures are gone. They left after they sang that wonderful music.”
    “Those creatures, as you call them, are angels. They, or we, came to announce the birth of God’s own Son.”
    “Are you an angel?”
    “Yes. After we had gone back into heaven, Gabe—more formally known as Gabriel—looked back and saw that all the shepherds had hurried away to see the baby Jesus. They left you, alone, to watch the sheep. He was concerned that you might be afraid, and sent me to be with you.”
    Joshua had noticed that the robes Jude wore seemed much too white for a boy in the open country and they seemed to have a soft glow.
    “I’m not scared. Not now anyway,” Joshua said.
    Jude sat beside Joshua. The lamb on that side snuggled its head in the visitor’s lap as if they were old friends.
    “So now, how long are you going to stay with me?” Joshua said.
    The angel looked up from stroking the lamb’s head.
    “As long as you need me.”
    “What will the shepherds find when they get to Bethlehem?”
    “When they search, as Gabe has told them, they’ll find the Baby, his mother, Mary and her husband, Joseph. They are in a stable near the inn. There was no room for them there. After He was born, they wrapped him in baby clothes and laid him in a feed trough on some hay. When the other shepherds return, they’ll tell you all about it.”
    The sky was bright with a three-quarters moon and clear. It seemed dark, though, after the blazing glory Joshua had seen.
    Jude sat beside him, still stroking the head of the lamb.
    “Oh, how I wish I could see it all,” Joshua said.
    “Gabe thought you’d say that. He told me to show you.”
    “How?”
    “Just remember what Gabe told the other shepherds, and look in the direction of the town.”
    When Joshua followed the angel’s directions, the scene from the inn’s stable stood before him. It was certainly what Jude had described —cows, donkeys and sheep were there, along with the shepherd that had been watching over their own sheep with the boy, just hours before. They were kneeling on the dirt floor. Even the animals were quiet and seemed awed.
    Inside the ramshackle building, though, a light—more powerful than candles—glowed. It came from the baby lying on the straw and gleamed in the face of his mother. The shepherds were kneeling before the wonderful mystery that Gabriel had foretold.
    ~~~~~~~~~
    “Jude tell me about the baby.”
    “Your people have been told about him for centuries. The great prophet, Isaiah, spoke about this night—more than seven hundred years ago. Remember what happened when Gabe came to you when I remind you of the prophecy. Isaiah said:
    “The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.”
    “You and the other shepherds saw the brilliance of the Lord’s glory shining in this remote pasture. Isaiah continued his prophecy, listen.
    The angel’s voice was like sweet, distant thunder in the ears of those waiting for rain.
    “Isaiah said, ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. ’”
    “All of that, in the baby lying on the hay?” Joshua said.
    “Yes, and much more. I can’t tell you everything now.”
    “When?”
    “When your heart and mind are ready. You will be prepared to understand.”
    As they talked, the scene from the stable gradually began to fade.
    “Who will tell me?”
    “ I will. Gabe told me to stay near you.” Jude said.
    “Please show me the stable scene again. There’s something