A long time ago in the little town of Bethlehem, there lived a shepherd named Benjamin.
Benjamin lived in a pretty house on the
edge of Bethlehem. But he was rarely at home. He spent most of his time alone
in the hills taking care of his flock of sheep.
That was fine with Benjamin. For you see, he didn’t trust anyone.
When he went to the market, he always
counted his change two or three times to make sure the merchants hadn’t cheated
him.
When he was with his flock, he always
hired a watchman to watch his house. Then he hired a watchman to watch the
other watchman.
And when the shepherds around Bethlehem
gathered in the hills to talk and tell jokes and sing songs, Benjamin never
joined them. He was afraid some of the other shepherds might try to steal his
sheep.
Most of all, Benjamin didn’t trust
children. He thought they were always trying to sneak into his yard to steal
fruit from his trees. Whenever he saw children come close to his yard, he’d
shake his fist and yell, “Go away. Stay away from my trees!”
So it was easy to understand why everyone
in Bethlehem called him Benjamin, the grumpy shepherd.
Now while Benjamin may have seemed
completely cold and hard-hearted, he really wasn’t. There were two things in
the world that he loved very dearly.
First, he loved his fruit trees.
His father had planted them when Benjamin
was a small boy. Together, they had tended and watered the trees. They had
watched with pride as the trees grew tall and full of sweet figs, dates, and
apples. When Benjamin’s father went into the hills to tend his flock, he always
left the trees in Benjamin’s care. And when Benjamin grew old enough to help
with the flock, he and his father would bring fruit from the trees to eat. Even
now, long after his father was dead and the flock had become his, Benjamin
still brought cakes made of dates and figs to eat while watching his sheep. As
he would eat, he would remember his father. Then the fruit would taste even
sweeter.
But as much as he loved his trees,
Benjamin loved his sheep even more.
He would do anything for his sheep. He
always searched out the freshest grass for them. He only took them to pastures
where there were no cliffs or holes for them to fall into. He would stay awake
all night to make sure they were safe from wild animals and thieves. If one of
his sheep fell sick, he would stay with it, keeping it warm and comfortable.
Benjamin knew so much about the care of
sheep that the other shepherds would come to ask his advice – even if he was
grumpy when he gave it.
Now Benjamin lived at a time when a
strange star appeared in the sky above Bethlehem. It glowed brighter and
brighter every night.
One night when the star seemed to burn as
bright as the sun, the other shepherds came over to where Benjamin was watching
his sheep.
“Benjamin,” one of them said, “have you
ever seen a star like this?”
“No,” Benjamin replied, looking up at the
sky. “In all my life I’ve never seen such a star.”
Another shepherd pointed to the valley
below.
“It seems to be shining down on that
stable,” the shepherd said. “Maybe we should go down to see what is there.”
“No,” Benjamin said quickly. “If we leave our sheep wild animals or
thieves may come.”
The other shepherds nodded their heads.
At that moment, a stranger stood among
them. The shepherds fell down and covered themselves. They knew in their hearts
he was no ordinary man. He was an angel.
“Fear not,” the angel said gently, “for I have come to give you great news. On
this day the Messiah, the savior, is born right here in the city of David. And
this shall be a sign to you. You will find him wrapped in swaddling clothes and
lying in a manger.”
Suddenly, the air filled with angels.
They began to sing, “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on
earth.”
And just as suddenly as they’d come, the
angels were gone.
Benjamin stood up.
“Come,” he said, “let us see the Messiah.”
The other shepherds followed Benjamin down
the hill to the stable. When they came to the entrance, they had to stoop low
to get in. Inside, the stable was full of animals, all standing quietly. In the
center of the room were a man and a woman, and in front of them, a baby wrapped
in cloth and lying in a manger.
Benjamin looked at the woman. Never had
he seen a face so calm, so beautiful.
Then he looked at the baby, and the baby
looked at him. He felt as if the baby was looking right at his heart. He felt
all the distrust and hardness around his heart melt way.
Benjamin fell to his knees. The other
shepherds joined him.
In his heart, Benjamin heard the song of
the angels again. Glory to God in the highest. Peace to his people on earth.
Benjamin did not know how long he knelt.
But after a time, he suddenly remembered where he was. He stood up and smiled
at the man and the woman.
“Thank you for letting us be here,” he
said to them.
He looked around the stable. He could
see that they had only just arrived. Their bundles were still tied. And he saw
no food.
Benjamin reached into his pouch and took
out the bread and the fig cakes he had brought for his own meal. He held them
out to the man.
“This will hold you until the morning,”
Benjamin said. “Until you can go to the market.”
The man thanked him, and Benjamin looked
at the woman. She smiled.
Then he looked at the baby. The song
started in Benjamin’s heart again.
The shepherds left the stable and
hurried back to their flocks.
Benjamin spent the rest of the night on
the hill above the stable, keeping an eye on it and on his beloved sheep. All
the while, the song filled his heart.
From that day forward, Benjamin was a
changed man. He no longer mistrusted others. He would gather with the other
shepherds and laugh and sing louder than anyone else.
And when he was home, he would invite
the children over. They would play games and sing songs. And Benjamin always
shared with them fresh fruit from his trees.
Soon, everyone in Bethlehem loved
Benjamin. They even had a new name for him.
He was Benjamin, the good shepherd.
Pax et bonum
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