CHILDREN OF BETHLEHEM
SHEPHERD
BOY
By
Robert Allen
“When the angels had left them and
gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and
see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So
they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the
manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word
concerning what had been told them about this child, and all
who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
Luke
2:15-17
A
monolog for a teen-age boy.
Have you heard the news? Have you?
No? Well then, stop right there
and let me tell you. It is the greatest
news in all of history.
The Messiah has been born! Right here in Bethlehem!
Wait a minute. Don’t look at me like I’m some crazy little
boy. My father, and Jacob and Ethan will
tell you the same thing. They are right
over there across the street sharing the same good news with the Ben Aarons.
Maybe it would help if I started at
the beginning. This was the very first
night father allowed me to go out into the shepherd’s field and help watch the
flock. I have often cared for them
during the day, but I was thrilled he thought I was old enough for night watch. So, anyway, I was determined not to go to
sleep, to stay up all night if I could.
I shouldn’t have worried.
We had all of the sheep safely
inside the enclosure made out of branches across the front of a cave just like
we always do. The fire was burning
brightly to keep away the wolves and some of the regulars were beginning to
yawn so I didn’t feel bad to be rubbing my eyes. And then I realized that the reason I was
rubbing them didn’t have anything to do with being tired. It was because of the bright light in the
sky. In fact, bright doesn’t even begin
to describe that light. It was brilliant! Heavenly!
We all saw the glow, and we all heard him clearly.
“Fear not,” he told us.
I guess he could tell we were petrified.
None of us had ever seen an angel before. That’s right.
An angel. There was an angel
right there in the sky above the shepherd’s field.
“I have come to bring you a
wonderful, joyful message,” he said. And
then he told us that the Messiah, the Savior had been born right here in
Bethlehem. He told us we would find the
baby swaddled in cloth and lying in a manger.
That seemed a little strange to me, I mean, who would put a newborn baby
in a manger. But it sure gave us clear
direction as to what we were looking for.
A mother and father, in a stable, with their baby lying in a
manger. There certainly wouldn’t be
another sight like that anywhere else in Bethlehem.
No, don’t look at me like that. It’s true.
And he wasn’t alone. The angel, I
mean. There were hundreds of angels, so
radiant that I could hardly keep my eyelids open. All of them were giving glory to God and
telling us to go into Bethlehem to see this baby-king. So we went.
You would have done the same if you had seen them. In fact, you can still do the same. He’s right over there in the stable behind
the inn. We saw him with our own
eyes. His folks have wrapped him in
cloth just like the angel said. He’s in
the manger on a bed of fresh hay, just like the angel said. You don’t have to believe me. You can see for yourself. Just like the angel said.
No, you can’t see the angels. They went back into the heavens. But don’t worry about that. You don’t need to see the angels. Oh, they were beautiful and I will never
forget seeing them as long as I live.
But all they did was guide us to the baby. The angels didn’t bring the wonder and joy,
they just announced it. In fact, you
don’t even need to believe me about the angels if you don’t want to. You can think I’m a crazy little boy. But you need to go see the baby. He’s the Promised One, the Messiah. Our Savior, right here in Bethlehem.
You don’t believe me? Then go see him. See him for yourself. He’s here.
In our own home town. In
Bethlehem.
Go and see him!
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