An Advent Storybook and Study: Seeking Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
Copyright 2025 by Lūminé Press, Written by Elsie Lungren, Illustrated by Nicoleta Dabija
Day 20
“Välkomna!” said Mormor. “Welcome! Today we are going to visit the shepherds in the field! Our ancestor, Finn of the Fields, was with them when they heard about the birth of Jesus. Let’s take a look at what it was like for the shepherds in the field.”
Shepherds in the Field Part 1
Finn was enjoying the clear, starry night. He was hanging out with his two closest friends, Shiloh the Sheep and Asher the Sheep. Shiloh, named for being so laid back and tranquil, and Asher, named for being so happy, were very content to stay close to the shepherds and visit with Finn.
“Hey, Finn,” said Asher the Sheep. “What are the shepherds so excited about?”
“Good question,” said Finn. “I’m sure it’s nothing. I think I’m going to find a new picture in the stars tonight and give it a name. If I see a picture of a sheep, I’ll name it after you. How about that?”
“Wait! What?!” said Shiloh. “Why not me? I have a good name!”
“Shhhh…” said Asher. “The shepherds are up to something. Finn, go investigate! I love a good mystery.”
“Okay, fine,” said Finn. “I can look at the stars later.” He got up and scampered over to where the shepherds were clearly getting organized to do something. He listened in.
“I’m telling you. One of the sheep is missing. We have one hundred sheep, and I just counted. There are only ninety-nine. Sheldon is missing.”
“I believe you,” said the other. “You have your lantern? You go look for him, and I’ll stay here and keep an eye on the others.”
Finn quickly returned to Asher and Shiloh and filled them in.
“Oh dear, oh dear,” said Asher. “Who could be missing? I hope it’s not Sheldon. He’s always off exploring.”
“Finn,” said Shiloh, “if you hurry, you can go with the shepherd to look for him.”
Finn thought this was a good idea, so he scurried after the shepherd, clambered up his shepherd’s crook, and hopped into his basket.
As the shepherd searched, he continually called out for Sheldon. It seemed to Finn that they searched for hours, but the shepherd never gave up. Finally, as they were climbing carefully down a steep hill, Finn saw Sheldon. So did the shepherd.
“Sheldon!” exclaimed the shepherd. “There you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you! I am so excited to find you. Let me help you get back to the group.”
Then the shepherd picked up the sheep in one hand, while managing both the lantern and his basket in the other hand, and headed back to join the others.
Mormor said, “Does that story remind you of anything?”
Astrid laughed. “We know that story. It’s just like the Parable of the Lost Sheep. Jesus tells that story!”
“That’s right, Astrid,” said Mormor. “We can find the Parable of the Lost Sheep in two different places in the Bible. One place is Matthew 18:10-14, and the other place is Luke 15:3-7. What does this story tell us about a shepherd?”
“Shepherds are very responsible, and they take very good care of the sheep,” said Linnea.
“Yes, they are,” agreed Mormor. “Do any of you remember who Jesus was talking to and what point He was making?”
Theo answered, “It depends. Jesus told that story twice. In Matthew, He was talking to the disciples, and in Luke, He was talking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law.”
“Good point!” said Mormor. “Let’s look at the one in Matthew first.”
Annika had been looking in Matthew. “In chapter 18 of Matthew,” Annika began, “the disciples want to know which of them is the greatest. I think Jesus is talking about how the people who believe in Him and follow Him should be humble and caring of everyone. Instead of focusing on who is greatest, they should be looking out for those who are the smallest or the weakest and need encouragement and attention. He doesn’t want any of His disciples to be causing another follower of Jesus to stumble or wander off and get lost. He is making the point that everyone matters.”
“Very well said, Annika,” said Mormor. “Everyone matters. Jesus wants us to remember that. What about in Luke?”
“In Luke,” said Theo, “Jesus is telling the Parable of the Lost Sheep to the Pharisees and teachers of the law. They were complaining about Jesus hanging out with sinners. Jesus makes the point that every single person matters to God. If someone does not know God, God sees that person as lost, and He wants to help them find their way to Him. Finding their way to Jesus starts with them recognizing their sin and repenting. When one single sheep is found, there is rejoicing in Heaven. Again, every person matters.”
“Thank you, Theo,” said Mormor. “Let’s look at John chapter 10. In verses 11 and 14, Jesus says, ‘I am the good shepherd.’ Hebrews 13:20 calls Jesus ‘the great shepherd of the sheep.’ Who are the sheep? In John 10:27-28, Jesus says, ‘My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.’ Jesus also says, in verses 14-15, ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me – 15just as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for the sheep.’ Then, in verses 17-18, Jesus says, ‘The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life – only to take it up again. 18No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. l I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.’
“What do you think Jesus is talking about?” asked Mormor.
Annika said, “I think laying down His life was about His death on the cross, and taking it up again was about His resurrection on Easter. He had authority because as a human, He could choose to let His life be sacrificed, and as God’s Son, He had power over death so He could choose to come back to life. And I think Jesus is saying that the people who believe in Him and follow Him are His sheep. Listen to what Jesus says in verses 3-5.
“He says ‘…and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all of his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.’”
“Exactly,” said Mormor. “Jesus knows the name of every one of His sheep. If one of them wanders off and gets lost, He will look for them until He finds them. He will never give up. Not only does He know every one of us by name, He knows exactly how many hairs are on our head (Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7)! And listen to how well He knows us as described in Psalm 139:
1You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
13For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be (Psalm 139: 1-4, 13-16 NIV).
“Jesus is saying that He has known us since before we were born, and He knows every thought in our head and hair on our head! He looks for us if we lose our way. Since we know the sound of His voice, we can tell if it is Jesus, our Good Shepherd, who is calling us, or if it is a stranger who is trying to steal us away and send us in the wrong direction.
“Being called a Good Shepherd is a good name for Jesus because, like a shepherd, He pays attention to every sheep. He takes care of His sheep. He goes looking for any of His sheep who are lost. He guides us and protects His sheep.
“We can take joy in saying, as Psalm 23 begins, ‘The Lord is my Shepherd.’”
Application:
If we are sheep, and Jesus is our Good Shepherd, then we want it to be easy to recognize His voice. If we decide that we’re saved because we’ve accepted Jesus into our heart as our Lord and Savior, and then we think that we no longer need to think about Jesus, we might not make it a priority to spend time with God every day. Think about this. If we aren’t spending time with Jesus, we might not recognize His voice as easily as if we taking some time each day to read the Bible, memorize verses, pray and talk to God, think about all that we can praise God for and be glad about, and spend time with other sheep at church, in a Bible study, or in our friendships. We want to make sure that we know the difference between the voice of Jesus and the voice of a stranger. So make sure Jesus is a big part of your life every day!
Hymn options:
Go, Tell It on the Mountains (An American folk song that dates back to at least 1865, author unknown)
Gentle Shepherd written by Bill & Gloria Gaither in 1974.
Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us (verse 1) written by Dorothy Ann Thrupp in 1836, music by William B. Bradbury in 1859.
