God's splashy announcement of the birth of Jesus did two things. It showed that God came for not only kings, but for the lowliest of them all, the shepherd, who was typically the youngest in the family. During biblical times, birth order indicated importance. Each son grew out of shepherding and on to more important labor until the youngest son eventually became the family shepherd. We see this in king's David life when Samuel went to Jesse's house to anoint Israel's new king and Jesse only presented the 7 older brothers to Samuel. The youngest was forgotten. Second, it reinforced the shepherding concept traced through both testaments. In the Old Testament, we read of Abel Moses David Jacob and God. God was a shepherd to his wayward sheep, the Israelites. In the New Testament, Jesus calls himself the good shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. God esteemed shepherds, hence his night sky announcement to them. The ones who went about their business tending sheep over the same Meadows repeating the same daily cycle were the first to hear the news of the messiah's birth. In our day to today lives, we can get tunnel vision with what's before us. We drive the same route day after day, cook the same set of meals and deal with the same difficulties that don't seem to end. Disappointments with our lives overtake feelings of joy enjoy seems lost. We wonder where our light of the world is.