That village was in the periphery of the world. Its fame lied in the fact that a boy who grew up as a shepherd in that village later became the king of that kingdom.
Two people who were engaged to be married. They were not famous. Financially, they were very poor. They had no fan following. The man was a carpenter.
His betrothed bride was carrying a pregnancy that was not his.
They had undertaken that long journey lasting four or five days on foot just to obey the emperor's order.
The decree came from an emperor who was living thousands of miles away, who had no knowledge of the ground reality.
He had ordered such a census in order to collect a tax based on the head count.
Though a little town, it had a small inn. Probably it might have had two or three rooms. And that was all full.
On that night, the young woman gave birth to a pale, underweight baby. In a stable!
None of the locals knew it. Only the shepherds who were staying up all night guarding their sheep came to know! How many of them? Probably three or four people!
How many flowers bloom around us every night! Do we come to know that!
Tens of thousands of seeds sprout around us?
How many eggs get hatched in bird nests!
How many comets fly across the sky!
The dawn breaking in the east and the moon setting in the west are not accompanied by great commotion. We don't get to know any of that!
The same with the Lord of the universe sprouting on the land!
The poor on this earth are always invisible. The invisibility that poverty entails was not the only component of that birth. It must have been also out of some divine plan.
I believe that the Gospel has much more nuance of their poverty when it speaks of the shepherds.
They were keeping watch. There is vigilance and care in watching. And responsibility too. They had their eyes and ears open to the nature around them. Observing every shadow; Listening to every wind and leaf rustle...!
It is a kind of meditation.
Not everyone sees everything. Most don't see most things. Some see what most don't see. And they must be vigilant, caring, and meditative.
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