Luke 2: 8-14

And there were in the same country (Which country? Open border or closed? Communist or Socialist?) shepherds (Agricultural laborers. Were they legal?) abiding in the field (In the field? Were they homeless? Part of a caravan?), keeping watch over their flock ("their" flock? One flock? Several shepherds? Sounds Communist if they all owned it together) by night.

And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them (An alien? A provocateur? Was George Soros involved?) and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. (Afraid just like their sheep because as soon as they listened to the angel, they were sheep, believing everything the angel said.)

And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people (Which people? BLM people? Drag queens? Welfare bums? Junkies? People in other countries?).

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord (But, if you're on the road and you're poor, don't go to the city of David. They don't like migrants, and you'll end up sleeping in somebody's hog pen.)

And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. (A manger? Oh, yeah. Like a feeding trough for cows. God wouldn't lie in such a place. God owns a mega church and a Bentley. If you're really going to see God, bring money.)

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Which was fake news, and the shepherds who thought for themselves saw right through it.)

And that was some of the shepherds, the ones who asked questions only to get answers that propped up their own beliefs.

The others kept the sheep calm when the angel fire blazed on the hillside, kept them bunched together so none would be lost.

And when the angel fire was gone, and the voice of the heavenly host stopped booming in the little valley, those shepherds set off for the city of David, walking over the stony, low hills, urging the sheep forward gently, stumbling a little in the dark, using the stars as a map and the moon as a light.

And anyone who works with animals will speak to them sooner or later.

"Is there a savior?" a shepherd said to a brown sheep. "I don't know, and neither do you, but the angel said there was, and I've never seen an angel before, and that star is new. C'mon, just a few more hills, and we'll be there.

"And if there is a savior, we'll be first. No one else. Us. Not those fools back at camp. Us."

People who would see saviours have to walk through stony ground, stumbling in the dark, like sheep.

Merry Christmas!

To find out more about Marc Dion, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com. Dion's latest book, a collection of his best columns, is called "Mean Old Liberal." It is available in paperback from Amazon.com and for Nook, Kindle, and iBooks.

Photo credit: Gareth Harper at Unsplash