On the first day of a new job, one of the first tasks is to introduce the newbie to everyone. It’s part of the orientation, part of saying to the newbie, “Here are our heroes, here are your colleagues, here is what the job looks like, here is the heritage you are joining.”

On the night Jesus was born, an angel stood in front of some shepherds, telling them that a baby had been born in Bethlehem, the city of David, the shepherd king.

The angel was inviting the shepherds to the ultimate in new job orientation events. They were being called to visit the newbie who would ultimately define what it means to be a shepherd.

In thirty years, Jesus was going to describe himself as a shepherd, talking about his work with people in images that would have been completely familiar to these guys that were visiting him that night. He would talk about the risks they take, the devotion they show. He was going to look at crowds of people and feel the compassion a shepherd feels when looking at sheep who have no shepherd, wandering around, vulnerable, hungry.

In thirty years, Jesus was going to talk about a shepherd. This shepherd realized that one sheep is away from the others, at risk, alone. This shepherd left a flock of 99 sheep and headed off looking for the one. He was going to talk about finding the one sheep being worth risking everything. After finding the one, this shepherd was going to have a party and tell everyone that the lost sheep was found, everyone.

When Jesus told that story, though he didn’t remember it, he knew he had been the object of searching shepherds, obeying an angel. He knew he had been greeted by his people. Shepherds.

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adapted from a post originally published as part of an advent series.