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As the youngest of eight brothers, David was
assigned the job of tending his family's
flocks. It's an outdoors job in the
scorching sun or in the pelting rain with
many hours idling in the same place.
Yet it came with the responsibility for
protecting his family's property from hungry
predators. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Shepherds' fields in
springtime |
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As David declared to Saul, the first king of
Israel, whenever a lion or a bear came to
take a lamb out of the flock, he was ready.
He struck it and delivered the lamb from its
mouth. Of course, he added, it was the
Lord who delivered him from the paw of the
lion and the paw of the bear. David's
rigorous practice and prowess as a shepherd
led him to strike the Philistine giant with
his first fatal "shot." |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Sheep and goats in
springtime outside Bethlehem |
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In psalms, the shepherd is the protector and
the provider and the director. The
prophet Zechariah sees the shepherd as a
feeder and healer. Jesus builds upon
the metaphor as he describes himself as the
good shepherd. "I know my sheep and
am known by my own. As the Father knows me,
even so I know the Father, and lay down my
life for the sheep." (John 10) |
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COMING TO
JERUSALEM?
BOOK GILA for your customized private tour |
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Yet, in Jesus' day, the real nitty gritty
shepherds (as opposed to virtual shepherds
of nostalgic memory) were denigrated.
They led their flocks to graze on other
people's property and pilfered the produce
of the animals in their care. They
were considered so untrustworthy that their
testimony in a Jewish court was rejected.
They were even lumped together with
tax-collectors and publicans
(toll-collectors). Yuk! |
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So when the good news of Jesus' birth was
twittered (in person!) by an angel first to
the shepherds, we sit up and take notice. |
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And there's no better place than Shepherds
Fields to the east of Bethlehem, on the
periphery of the Judean wilderness. As
you listen to that oh so familiar narrative
in Luke 2, you may even be watching a
shepherd tending his flock, as I did last
July. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Bethlehem as viewed from
the east |
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As we look out from the area of caves no
doubt used for shelter by shepherds over the
centuries, as evidenced by their blackened
limestone ceilings, we observe the sheep
plodding through the fields just reaped of
wheat, eating the lower parts of the stalks. And we chuckle as we see the added benefit
for the farmer the sheep are fertilizing
the soil at the same time! |
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Chapter 2, verse 8 of Luke's Gospel gives us
a clue about the time of year Jesus was
born. "Now there were in the same country
shepherds living out in the fields, keeping
watch over their flock by night."
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During the winter, the shepherds would keep
their animals inside caves such as the ones
we see at Shepherds Fields. There they would
stay by the "door" of the cave (see John
10:7) to keep out the wolves, bears, hyenas,
jackals, leopards or lions. In the spring
when the wheat is sprouting, the shepherds
would be on the slopes.
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But it's in summer after the wheat harvest,
and in autumn before the winter wheat crop,
that the shepherds were allowed to graze
their flocks in the fields. That the
shepherds were out in the fields at night
suggests that we are talking about late
summer or early fall. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Ruins of fifth century
Monastery of the Flock by Shepherds Fields |
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Opposite the cave we see fifth century ruins
of the Monastery of the Flock. During the
Crusader period, the site was called The
Holy Pasture. (Sounds British, doesn't it?) The modern church, built in the 1950s and
dedicated on Christmas Eve is in the shape
of a shepherd's tent with five straight
sides and five projecting sides. It is
filled with light, shining in from the dome. |
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Photo:
Gila Yudkin |
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Church at Shepherds Fields
is shaped like a shepherd's tent |
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Come and sing your favorite carol in
Shepherds Fields. Your Christmas's forever
after will be flavored by scenes and sounds
of your holy land pilgrimage. |
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Copyright 2013 Gila Yudkin. Permission
needed for any reuse. |
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Gila Yudkin,
is a Connecticut-born Yankee guiding in
and around Bethlehem for over three decades.
Over this past year she has spent quality
quiet time in Shepherds' Fields with all her
groups. Gila loves working with
groups thirsty for biblical insight,
archeological adventures and old-fashioned
fun. |
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The Gospel of Matthew places the birth of
Jesus in the days of King Herod who built
the largest palace of his world complete
with Olympic-sized swimming pool and
luxuriant pleasure gardens just a few miles
from Bethlehem. Read about the
discovery of Herod's Tomb
after a 150-year search
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If you are a solo traveler heading for the
holy land, you may want to
book
Gila for a fascinating day in
Jerusalem and Bethlehem, according to your
own particular interests and pace. She will
also guide you to understand the
multi-cultural dynamics of the holy city.
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