The Smell of the Good Shepherd

Let me tell you what it is like to smell like a shepherd. Some in Bethlehem say that we stink. If you ask me, it’s a good smell. Of course, as a shepherd, I have smelled of sheep for all of my life. My mother smells of sheep as she gathers wool in her arms after the shearing. That smell tells me that I am home. 

That dark night, I was afraid. The angels were majestic; they smelled wild. My grandfather? He was not afraid. He said that we should hurry to find that baby in the manger as we had been commanded. The sky in the east was turning pink.

When we entered the cave, I was not afraid. It smelled like sheep.  The baby was lying in the feeding trough. 

“We are blessed to see this day,” the mother said. I nodded as I looked at that child, who also smelled of sheep. A feeling of cleansing struck me in the presence of her purity. I am a good young man. But I  could be better. She looked me in the eye. I sensed a desire for deeper holiness. This young woman had drunk from the well of God’s love;  she invited me to drink more deeply, too. 

She lifted the child. I have never cradled a lamb so tenderly as she enfolded that child. As I looked at that mother and baby, warmth spread through my ribcage. My jaw relaxed. God was near. I did not need to be afraid of this nearness; it enfolded me and surrounded me; it was a blessed nearness. I was home. 

Then I had to run and tell everyone! The Savior has come! 

I wonder, what will she tell him about us? Will she be embarrassed about his smelly first visitors and never mention us? Or will she teach him to hold us in great esteem? 

Consider/Discuss 

• For the shepherd in this story, the smell of sheep evoked a sense of home.  For me, it is the smell of a campfire that brings me home. My “woods coat” smells of smoke. I like to roast marshmallows, which brings back early memories of camping with my family. What smells evoke “home” for you? The aromas of this earth are only a whiff of how good heaven will be. What do you imagine that our ultimate homeland will smell like?  Sheep? Marshmallows? Chocolate cake? 
• Many lifelong Catholics have memories connected with Mary as home,  one might say—from the warmth of the family rosary, the elation of  crowning the Mary statue, or the protection of our Lady of Guadalupe’s  mantle enfolding them. Others who were not raised Catholic may not have  those homey early memories. On this feast day of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, who is the Virgin Mother to you?

Living and Praying with the Word 

Jesus, you called yourself the Good Shepherd. Lift us into your  arms this day. We know that we are smelly with the manure of life.  But bless and keep us this day anyway. You don’t seem to mind our  smelliness. Your birth and your life give us meaning; we are home  when we are with you. 

Mother Mary, you welcomed the shepherds. Wrap us in your  love as well. And then, like them, we will burst out with joy! We  cannot keep it in. Thank you, God, that life has meaning! That we  are loved! That the Savior has come! Shout it out! Merry Christmas!  And happy 2022.