While shepherds watched their flocks by night first appeared in a hymnal in 1696, the first hymn to be allowed by the Anglican Church, other than the Psalms of David. The story comes from the Gospel of Luke 2:8–14. Since early childhood, this has been my favorite Christmas hymn. The words themselves, plus the music, combine into a strong, uplifting, community singing celebration of the coming of Christmas, having a depth and human involvement not present in other Christmas songs.

The eternal beauty in this hymn lies in the pastoral scene that is presented. Envision yourself on a cold night away from your village, alone with other shepherds as you watched over a flock of sheep. Suddenly, an apparition appears in the night sky, an angel proclaiming to you, just to you and your colleagues, that God has sent you the long-awaited savior.

Imagine the fear, the overwhelming experience of being in the presence of a spiritual being, shortly to then be accompanied by a multitude of angels, all praising God. Such a staggering event it must have been, as the first people to hear that God was now among them. The proclamation surely knocked them to their knees, and they must have gasped for breath on having seen and heard the angels. Being full of excitement and joy, they immediately hurried to find the child, and afterward shared their excitement with others.

Is the story true? Why didn’t Matthew speak to it? And why did Mark and John bypass the entire birth story? Did Luke just make up the story from whole cloth? Would there be untruths in the Bible? I have also heard such questions, but they all miss the point. Whether true or not, the story shares the exuberance of the author’s belief and faith, the beginning of a life that would affect people everywhere. We do not need this story of the shepherds to be true because the essence of the story lies in each of us. Think back to when you first heard the Christmas story and how it captivated your interest and enthusiasm for a better world and a better life. The story of the shepherds is in our hearts. We are the shepherds.

So, when you next hear the hymn, internalize it to your life, your experiences, your hopes, and expectations. Enjoy the revelations in your hearts of what was experienced by those shepherds on that lonely night.