This may be a little unorthodox because I’m just a cow, Mildred the cow, to be exact.  Most people don’t care at all about what cows think.  They think we’re just dumb animals.  But 2000 years ago my home was the hills around Bethlehem.  The life of a cow was good around Bethlehem in those days.  There was plenty of land to roam, lots of grass to eat, and the weather was never too harsh -- even in the dead of winter.

 

Good thing, too, because my shelter wouldn’t have been much good by modern standards.  The roof leaked; there were open holes in the sides; and there was no front door for protection.  In fact, the front door of my stable opened out onto a courtyard located right behind the inn.  On a cold night the whole thing was a bit drafty to say the least.

 

Perhaps by now you’re wondering just who I am.  I grant you that my place in history has been one of the most carefully guarded secrets of all time.  Now is the time you are celebrating Christmas and I know that many of you have nativity scenes in your homes.

 

If you look very carefully at your nativity scene, you will see at least one or two cows in it.  I’m the one on the left who looks like she’s chewing her cud.  Sometimes it’s hard to see me because the shepherds and the wise men get in the way.  That’s why my version of what you call the Christmas story might be a little different.

 

I wasn’t in a very good humor that night.  You wouldn’t have been either if you had such a motley crew invade your stable, especially on a night when you had planned to lay around and relax and enjoy your straw.

 

From my point-of-view, this grand event you call the Christmas story began innocently enough.  The innkeeper came out at the usual godforsaken pre-dawn hour to take my milk, and I proudly gave him more than usual.  He was happy about that since the day before had been very busy.  As it turned out, that proved to be the beginning of something of an economic boom for our little town.  It seems that Governor Quirinius under the edict from Caesar ordered everyone to return to their home town to register, primarily for tax purposes.

 

Who would have thought that a small insignificant town like Bethlehem would have added so many people to the population.  In fact, our city council was totally unprepared for the masses which flooded in to respond to Caesar’s edict.

 

The whole thing pressed the resources of our community to the limit.  And that’s really how I came to be part of this great story.  All during that day people flooded to the inn to obtain lodging.  It was completely filled by early afternoon.

 

You really have to know my master, the innkeeper, to fully appreciate what happened later.  He was a crusty old gentleman whose attitude toward people had hardened over the years.  His view of life had taken a cynical turn, after having been taken advantage of and manipulated and used once too often.  He was a fair man, and he ran a good clean business, but he never would have been elected the most popular innkeeper in Bethlehem.

 

Because the inn filled up early that day it was necessary for him to turn hordes of people away, which he did without remorse or pang of conscience, all the while secretly cursing the stupidity of a government bureaucracy which was allowing something like this to happen.

 

Knowing all of this, you could have knocked me over with a milk pail when early in the evening I saw him leading a young couple with their donkey behind the inn in my direction.  The woman was obviously pregnant, and as it turned out she was ready to deliver any minute.  Seeing this sight I thought to myself, “What an old softie.  He really does have a heart.”

 

I have already told you the kind of man my master was.  That’s why I was so surprised by this action.  However, sometimes I think you may have the mistaken impression that spending a night or two in a stable was something like putting your sleeping bag down in a gutter.  The habits of people in those days were much simpler than the luxury which you enjoy today.  In fact, in such crowded circumstances, my stable may have been looked upon as the best lodging in town.  At least it wasn’t overcrowded and it did afford a great degree of privacy.

 

Mary and Joseph didn’t pay much attention to me.  Joseph went quickly to work to make the stable comfortable for his wife.  Within the hour Mary’s time to deliver had come, and soon the sounds of a crying, bawling baby filled my serene refuge.  Even though my home had been disrupted, I took silent pleasure in being a party to the coming of new life.  Little did I know at that time exactly what this new life represented!

 

However, I was soon to find out.  By this time I was very tired.  The events and the excitement of a full day made me feel like hitting the hay a little bit early that night.  But it wasn’t to be.  No sooner had I settled down and begun to drift off than I heard a commotion on the other side of the courtyard.  “What now,” I thought.  “If I don’t have a chance to relax, my master is going to be very disappointed in my milk tomorrow morning.”

 

It soon became apparent that a small group of shepherds were insisting that they be permitted into the stable area.  To explain their conduct they were telling some outlandish story about angels, and a Savior, and some sort of heavenly choir.  My mind was whirling.  It was so out of character for a group of shepherds to behave in such a manner.  They were usually quiet, passive types who contented themselves with looking after their sheep out on the hillsides.  This kind of hysteria was so unlike them.

 

Finally the shepherds made their way in.  At first they gawked, overcome by shyness and inability to explain their presence.  But as they became more comfortable, a most bizarre story unfolded.

 

They had been tending their flocks as usual when suddenly the sky exploded with light.  The only thing I could compare it to are the kind of displays which you have on the 4^th of July.  Whatever it was, it so took them by surprise that they recoiled in fear.  However, a reassuring voice came out of the brightness telling them not to be afraid because good news was coming to them.

 

The angel then added some specifics to the announcement, telling them that the good news was that God was sending a Savior for the world.  He even gave the location of the child’s birth as being Bethlehem.  It was soon after that that the shepherds dropped what they were doing and headed for town.

 

As they explained this to Mary and Joseph, I was surprised at how calmly the young couple accepted the news.  Could it be that the shepherds were right?  Could it be that the helpless, crying baby in the manger was really the Son of God?  Could it be that these young people, who certainly weren’t more than teenagers had been given the awesome responsibility for raising the long awaited Messiah?  It was almost too much to grasp.  And yet their remarkable poise exhibited a confidence that the hand of God was upon them.

 

I mentioned earlier that by this time I wasn’t in very good humor.  Too much excitement is like too many cups of coffee -- it’s hard to settle down, to relax, and rest even when you want to.  My mind was spinning, trying to sort out the events of the day.  But if I had only known!  Something else was about to happen that night for which I was totally unprepared.

 

You always have to keep in mind as I’m telling this story that we in Bethlehem were off the main highway, so to speak.  The really impressive people, the cosmopolitan visitors from foreign lands, the leaders in trade and commerce, scholars, and the great religious teachers were all attracted to Jerusalem and never got out as far as Bethlehem.

 

That’s why, when three exotic looking characters mounted on camels rode into the courtyard, I almost fainted.  They were dressed in the finest robes and silk.  They radiated an air of assurance and importance.  Unlike the coming of the shepherds, their entrance was determined and purposeful.  They obviously knew what they were doing.

 

They dismounted their camels and approached my little stable as if it was the throne of a king.  They were not put off by the shabby surroundings, but addressed Mary and Joseph with a tone of deep respect befitting the kind of address reserved for royalty.

 

They introduced themselves as Melchior, Balthazzar, and Gaspar -- travelers from a land far to the East.  They were Wise Men employed in the courts of kings.  Each possessed a special kind of wisdom which enabled him to read the events of history in the stars.

 

It seems that one day Melchior had been observing the stars when he discovered a new one which he had never seen before.  It was so bright that its light dominated the sky.  Puzzled by its significance, Melchior immediately called for two of his friends and colleagues, Balthazzar and Gaspar, hoping that they could help him find the meaning of this new star. 

 

The three of them searched and searched and searched in an effort to discover some clue, until finally Melchior read an ancient Jewish scroll and cried out with great excitement, “I’ve found it!  I’ve found it!  See, it says here, a star will come from Jacob which means the Jews.  Their King will rule the world in peace.  This is the message of the star.”  So they ordered a caravan of camels to be prepared, and set out on their long journey.

 

They explained to Mary and Joseph that the star led them to Bethlehem, and that they came with gifts to worship the new King.  So with their camels they took their place among the shepherds and sheep to attend a baby whom they believed was God’s Savior.

 

That’s it -- the most unusual and the most important night of my life!  I hope you understand why I felt compelled to share my story with you this morning.  Christmas is a regular event for you.  You celebrate it once a year.  You decorate your Christmas trees and you put up your nativity scenes.  It’s easy for you to fall into the routine of the holiday season without realizing that the people and the animals in those nativity scenes were real.  I know because I was there.  God did become human that night.

 

Perhaps it was not by accident that Mary and Joseph came to my stable.  Perhaps it was in the plan of God that there would be no room in the inn in order to give us a hint about what would happen to Jesus.  There was no room for him in the inn.  It was over crowded.  In fact, that seems to have been the story of his life.  He was always meeting people whose lives were over crowded, who had no room for him.  In fact, the only place where there was room for him was on a cross.  He sought entry into the over crowded hearts of men, women, boys, and girls, and they turned him away.  This Christmas reminds us that Jesus is still seeking room in the hearts of men and women and boys and girls.  I hope you will let him into your heart just as I did into my stable.

 

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