Asher
By Joan Santomenna
He was too much of a man to let his tears show, but they ran down the inside of his mind as surely as if they were flowing over his cheeks. Even after two days, the sharp shouts of rebuke, "Unclean, unclean", still rang in his ears. Asher hugged the lamb close to his chest and leaned into the wind as he walked. Driven by anger and frustration, small stones scattered before his sandals.
"Asher, where have you been?" On a knoll high above the path another shepherd appeared, his crook outlined against the evening sky. Asher carefully placed the small lamb on the ground, wrapped his mantle closely around his own gaunt frame and retied his rope belt. Taking time to collect his emotions as well as to catch his breath, he called for the lamb to follow and began to climb the rocky hillside toward his friend. The walk back from Jerusalem had been a long, angry one; and, for much of the journey, he had carried the animal.
When Asher finally reached the crest of the hill, his friend spoke quietly. "You went to the temple again, didn't you?" Scuffling his feet, Asher sent a fresh shower of pebbles flying down the ravine. "Why do you keep knocking your head against the wall, Asher? They will never let the likes of us enter the place of sacrifice, let alone allow us to make an offering for ourselves."
Asher squatted on the ground, picked up another handful of the small stones, and threw them forcefully against the side of the mountain. The lamb pressed against his side as if to comfort the shepherd. "I know our work is a bloody business. We sell these animals for sin offerings; but, the men who buy them and the priests who sacrifice them are not considered unclean; only us." Asher put his arms around the pressing lamb and buried his dark hair in its tangled wool. "This one should have carried my guilt before the altar of God. Are we really forsaken by The Lord? In my heart, I do not believe that, Micaiah; I don't. I don't"
Suddenly from the darkness, a dog barked and both men straightened up and scanned the flocks before them, listening carefully. But there was only silence. Asher picked up the lamb again; the heat of its body seemed to offset the cold in his heart. Slowly, he strode down the slope and deposited the animal inside a stone-rimmed sheepfold. Turning toward his friend he spoke gently, "Thank you, Micaiah, for staying here with the flock while I went to Jerusalem. Perhaps, when this lamb is sold, it will carry, to the altar of God, not only the rich man's sins but mine as well."
The two men parted, slowly and watchfully moving in opposite directions around the perimeter of the sheep. The animals huddled together, sleeping inside the fold of men and dogs.
Then a dog barked a short, edgy bark. The sheep stirred uneasily. The men stopped, silently peering into the darkness. But there was no rattle of stone, no odor of predator born on the night air, just the cold and the silence. Asher and Micaiah moved on, each carrying his shepherds crook, each wrapped in his own thoughts.
At first, the men did not notice the change. The sky, which should have been getting darker, began to lighten. The outline of the hills slowly became more distinct, the shapes of distant shepherds and their flocks became more identifiable.
And then they saw Him. He stood in the midst of the sheep, his hand resting on Asher's lamb. His face glowed from an inner light and his raiment was as white as the stars. Micaiah clutched his crook in defense and then paused, standing frozen in place. Across the fields, other shepherds raced toward their friends and the strange apparition; but their running became less energetic; and, as they approached the fold, they too slowed and stopped. Their weapons hung from limp arms; their open mouths were soundless.
The stranger smiled, patted the lamb as if to comfort it and stretching his arms toward the group of shepherds, he spoke.
"Fear not!" the angel declared "For behold, I bring you good news of great joy." Slowly, the angel turned his head and, looking straight at Asher, he continued, "Joy, which shall be for all …." He emphasised… "All the people. Today, in the city of David, there was born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you; you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
The angel paused and Asher heard his own breath burst noisily from his lungs. He and the other shepherds stared, motionless in their amazement. Suddenly, the skies became as bright as noonday, filled with the radiance of a multitude of angels saying, " Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
As abruptly as the angels had come, they were gone. When Asher finally turned back to look at the flock, the messenger was no longer there. The skies became black again and the sheep moved closer together as if suddenly aware of the cold night air.
Asher stared at his companions. Had they heard what he had heard, seen what he had seen? Their astonished faces told him it was so. Had they understood the words? "A Savior for all the people.... all the people." Inside his heart he sang, "Including me! Including me! A Savior for me… for me!"
Now, the shepherds spoke as one man. "We must go straight to Bethlehem to see this thing which the Lord has made know to us." Each man called his sheep and the strange procession moved forward, half-running, half-stumbling over the uneven ground aware of nothing but their haste and their hope.
The village of Bethlehem lay below in the valley. Asher, himself, lived on the outskirts. But, as if by some unspoken instruction, they hurried past their homes, past the darkened shops, to the stable behind the inn. There in the soft light of candles in a rough feeding trough lay the promised Babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths.
The men crowded the entrance of the stable, gazing in awe at the scene before them. Finally, Asher stepped forward. Nodding to the baby's mother, he entered the cave. No longer aware of the cold, his frustrations, or his fears, Asher knelt beside the manger. In his mind he could still hear the angelic promise repeating, "A great joy shall be for all the people ... Born for you a Savior, who is Christ, the Lord." In wonder he grasped the rough edge of the makeshift cradle and the small fingers of The Child stretched upward and gently grasped Asher's hand.