Shepherds: The First Believers

No scene of the Nativity of our Lord would be complete without at least one shepherd and a few sheep, mostly lambs.  What makes this man of low estate and his wooly charges so important to the story that no matter what else is included, the shepherd is never omitted? 

First, what do we know about shepherds?  I don’t pretend to be an expert in sheep rearing by any stretch of the imagination, but I have in fact known a shepherd.  Well, not a real “shepherd” shepherd, but a gentleman farmer who owned sheep and took care of them on his estate.  This property was in Northern Ireland and was actually on a small island in the western side of Strangford Lough, uninhabited by predator animals such as those that threaten sheep in other places.  This “shepherd” entertained a group of friends, which included several of us Americans, with his stories of sheep as we traveled together to a convention for daffodil growers.  (Another story for another day)