Faithfully Keeping Watch

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the Highest! And on earth, peace. Good will to men.”

Luke 2:13-14

   The shepherds were spending an ordinary night. The chill of the night air had come over the hills and perhaps, if they didn’t have a fire, they wished for one. They were just abiding with their flock when suddenly the glory of the Lord shone around them and an angel stood before them. And they were afraid.

   This was completely out of the ordinary from the hundreds of nights they’d spent on these hills. They’d had strange company before perhaps. The coyote pup who acted friendly and the stranger who shared their food and told them stories. The small rabbit who nibbled at the food they set out for him. No visitor to their pastures had ever stood there and shone gloriously like this angel and said such wonderful and strange words.

   “Do not be afraid! … for I bring you good tidings of great joy! Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”

   After the marvellous gathering and singing of the multitude of heavenly beings the shepherds looked at each other and hurried off to find the babe in the manger in full accord of running feet. I doubt they paused to wonder, “Why us?” I doubt they even stopped to debate about what this all meant but ran to find what the angel was talking about. Maybe the older shepherds ran slower, maybe the younger ones helped him hurry, but i know if i saw a multitude of heavenly beings gathered and singing that my adrenaline would carry me as if i had wings. (Like that time I jumped over the panel gate and completely cleared it when our horse was tied up and pulling back so hard it was choking itself with its halter.) Wonder and amazement can shock a person into accomplishing amazing feats.

   Live singing also pulls people together like few things on earth can do. Music piped through speakers cannot have the same effect as people’s voices in harmony enthusiastically carrying a song. I believe that the human element of a few defects like the wrong note sung or a little warble or the emotions on singers faces has the same effect of pulling the listener in like the crooked lines or dropped splotch of paint can pull a viewer into a piece of art. Perhaps it is the multitude of voices, perhaps it is the surrender to singing in tune with others. Perhaps it is something heavenly. It must have been especially heavenly to hear such good news to all men being sung by angels.

  Perhaps, after singing together, harmony can be restored in relationships and with one consent we can run to find the Saviour who was born unto us. We abide day by day in the fields and perform our duties. We make our beds, straighten our house, feed our animals and we each finish our independent tasks. In complete satisfaction we come together and sing and depart filled up with newfound joy.

   Faithfulness to one’s duty like daily sheep herding or chores also has its own reward. There is a person named Florence Martus who faithfully performed her little part to cheer mankind and has become famous for it. She is known as The Waving Girl and her statue stands at the brink of the Savannah River in Georgia.. If you go to Savannah today and stand by the statue of her waving figure , you will experience the living legacy of her story. Ships and barges, tugboats and ferries still sound their horn when they pass her figure standing strong and waving just like she did in real life for over forty four years.  She waved a lantern at night and a towel by day and legend has it that she did not miss one vessel in over four decades. Greeting a ship of sailors coming into port is such a small thing, you or I can stand and wave with her when we’re there. The small gesture she made added up to one big lifetime achievement when she remained loyal to saluting every ship for decades.

   The locals in Savannah also say that when her statue was delivered to Savannah from overseas, the captain refused payment for delivery.  The memory of Florence Martus cheerfully saluting him upon each arrival and departure from Savannah was too precious to him for monetary gain. Now ships and a ferry have been named after Florence Martus, she didn’t do much in hard physical labour but she was faithful in adding cheer to her world.

   We’ve had a couple busy Christmas sales already and Christmas on Main in town. The schedule for December is filling up rapidly. Even though we stay occupied, there is always the ache of not being able to make it home to Georgia for Christmas. We could go, fly and spend the money, but we choose that we spend Christmas with my cattle man husband who has a hard time leaving the farm to travel that far when there are daily cattle chores. Sometimes all the activity that surrounds Christmas or maybe it’s the loneliness makes me grumpy. I feel like climbing in the oven with my food and sitting in there for awhile like the Cremation of Sam Mcghee. Finally a quiet and warm spot where no one will bother me.

   Yet I must abide. Keeping watch over all my duties. At times I am suddenly surrounded by what feels like a multitude of people, often it is noisy people with needs. Sometimes the problems or people’s needs sadden or burden me. I want to be able to marvel at the Glory of God and leave the solutions to Him. I want to be ready to run and see when my children call. I want to see the multitude as a throng of angels.

I’d like to be hospitable like the new mother Mary and freely share the babe in the manger. When I had my own babies, I felt connected to the snuggling with a baby in quietness feeling. Now it is the noisy feet of teenagers filling the surroundings with activity. I crave the energy to run with the youthful shepherds and tell the miracle of Jesus.

To quote Jan Karon from her book, ‘Shepherds Abiding’. I want my “first rule to be to keep an untroubled spirit. The second rule shall be to look things in the face and know them for what they are.”

   This morning as I cleaned up from my family getting rushed off to school and out to chores, I felt like making a Christmas resolve of faithfulness. For the next month, when it feels like a clamour of noisy needs around me, i want to be able to be quietly respond and see the golden motive or need behind the actions. When a chat gets extra active with Christmas planning and i feel like muting and archiving, i pray i can actively support and help out.

I want to take time to trim the unnecessary out so that all that is left is the true hospitable spirit of Christmas. I want to share tidings of great joy unto all people. I want to run when I need to run and sit and worship when its time to worship. I also want to sing with the multitudes of Christians around the world and to create a space each day where my family can sing the carols of cheer, comfort and worship.

  This way, this Christmas month, I want to quietly draw closer to my Saviour who was born in meek baby form.

  If it takes faithfulness at the small tasks, I shall be ready. I will abide in the fields, keeping watch over my flock. This is my Christmas creed.