MIRIAM: Shalom. Peace be with you. My name is Miriam, daughter of Benjamin and Sarah. I'm 13 years old. My parents are shepherds. I am their eldest child, and this is my brother —
MOSES: (interrupting) Hi. How's it goin'?
MIRIAM: This is my brother, Moses. He's 10.
MOSES: I'm almost 11.
MIRIAM: Well, anyway, we are glad to be with you. We have a story we wish to share with you.
MOSES: Yes, it's about the baby Jesus, and how we got to meet him on the day of his birth.
MIRIAM: Now wait a second, Moses. That's no way to tell the story. You're starting at the end, and giving away the special surprise.
MOSES: You folks are welcome to call me Mo! All my friends call me Mo.
MIRIAM: Will you stop that, Moses! We have a job to do!
MOSES: (aside) As you can see, my sister, Miry, calls me Moses.
MIRIAM: Don't call me Miry! My name is Miriam.
MOSES: Sure thing, Miry-um.
MIRIAM: (sighs) Go ahead and tell your part.
MOSES: I was just about to do that. (Under his breath.) Older sisters can be so bossy.
MIRIAM: I heard that.
MOSES: Good. Anyway, the day that we got to meet the baby Jesus started out like any other day. My dad shook me awake early that morning. We were going to look after the sheep. Dad looked tired, and I couldn't figure out why.
MIRIAM: It was because he and mother had argued the night before. You were snoring, so I couldn't sleep. I heard them talking. Father said he was tired of the whole sheep herding business — the long hours, the lack of respect. The price for sheep was lower than this time last year. Father wondered if we should sell everything and move to Jerusalem. He had heard there were lots of jobs there. But mother was not having any of this. She told him in that quiet voice she has when she's angry —
MOSES: (interrupting) Oh, that one! Last week, I was running outside to play with my friends, and I accidentally knocked over a cup, and it broke, and then mom —
MIRIAM: (interrupting) Yes, yes, Moses. We're all just so fascinated.
MOSES: Yadda, yadda, Miry.
MIRIAM: Stop calling me, Miry, Moses.
MOSES: The name is Mo.
MIRIAM: (To congregation.) The point is that mom and dad were at a stalemate. “We do things together in this family!” That's what they always say. So, they were stuck.
MOSES: Dad didn't look very happy that morning, when he shook me awake. We went out to the pen, and got the sheep out into the fields.
MIRIAM: I was with mom. We were making bread, and mom was pounding it hard with her fists. She pounded that dough for a long time …
MOSES: Dad's mouth frowned, and his face had lines in it. I could tell he was upset. “Are you mad at me?” I asked. “No, little Mo,” he said. “I'm just mad at life.” In the afternoon, one of the sheep got sick, and blew up in size. It keeled over, and it was just lying there. I was sure it was going to die. Dad took his sharp stick and punctured the sheep. Out came a lot of guck. It was really neat — and then, before you knew it that sheep was up grazing with the others, as happy as could be.
MIRIAM: (reciting) “The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. The Lord makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside still waters, restores my soul, and leads me in right paths for the sake of the Lord's name. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff — they comfort me.”
MOSES: Yeah. It was just like that.
MIRIAM: Go on with the story, Mo.
MOSES: It was a long day. I slept for a while in the afternoon, 'cause we were going to be watching the whole flock that night.
MIRIAM: Mom and I came with the bread, the meat, and the sheep milk for our evening meal.
MOSES: Boy, do I love sheep milk!
MIRIAM: We sat together near the fire, but mom and dad didn't speak to one another.
MOSES: Yeah. It was quiet. Too quiet. After the meal, I picked up my reed flute and started to play a tune that my dad loved. But dad said, “Will you stop that, Moses. I'm trying to think.” I put down my flute, and I swallowed hard.
MIRIAM: I got mad. I said: “What's wrong with Mo playing the flute? I like to hear him.” Dad said he was sorry, but that didn't break up the clouds. No one spoke. A bit later some other shepherds came to warm themselves at our fire. But they didn't say much either. Their faces looked sad. The evening was getting late, and Mo had lain down to go to asleep.
MOSES: I wasn't sleepy. I was star watching. The stars shone brightly that night, when all of a sudden —
MIRIAM: (completing the thought) My eyes were blinded by a light.
MOSES: I winced too.
MIRIAM: It was an angel.
MOSES: He was beautiful.
MIRIAM: You mean she was beautiful.
MOSES: Whatever. The angel spoke to us: “Be not afraid.” Which made me feel better because I was shaking like a leaf.
MIRIAM: The angel told us that our Saviour had been born in Bethlehem. And she told us how we could find him: “You will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.”
MOSES: And then there was like a whole choir of angels, just whaling away, and singing with all their hearts, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will among people.” It was awesome!
MIRIAM: Mom and dad looked different. They were crying, and they looked happy. They gave us hugs. And mom said we had to go and find this child. So we got up and we put the sheep in the pen as quick as we could. And then, together with some other shepherds, we went into Bethlehem. I thought it would be like finding a needle in a haystack …
MOSES: But we all just knew where to go. We ran and found a stable behind an inn. And in the stable, there was a baby lying in a feed trough.
MIRIAM: The baby was tightly bound in strips of cloth. He was beautiful.
MOSES: His face was red, and kind of smushed.
MIRIAM: He was beautiful.
MOSES: Yeah, he was.
MIRIAM: I gave him my favourite doll.
MOSES: I played for him with my reed flute.
MIRIAM: His parents were so surprised to see us. At first, the man looked frightened, as if he thought his wife and baby might be in some danger. But when we told him our story, he smiled. Then he told us how they had travelled here from Nazareth. There was no room to be found, but luckily the innkeeper had allowed them to stay here. A lamp lit their faces. I remember their names: Joseph, Mary —
MOSES: And the baby, Jesus.
MIRIAM: Mary looked at us with clear, sure eyes. She was quiet, like mom. She looked like she was treasuring each moment. She was glad we had come.
MOSES: But soon we had to leave. The sheep needed us to be there to look after them.
MIRIAM: We went back to our home. And we were telling the news of what happened to the people we met along the way.
MOSES: It's a funny thing, isn't it?
MIRIAM: What's that, Mo?
MOSES: Well, we're still looking after the sheep. Mom and dad haven't talked about selling them, or moving to Jerusalem since that day.
MIRIAM: Yes, Mo. You're right. It is a most surprising thing. I wonder what will happen when that baby grows up?
MOSES: It'll be awesome, Miriam. I just know it's gonna be awesome.
