The Explanation
Once again it’s Christmas time,
An’ we ponder the old, old story,
How the holiday began
As the Lord came down from glory.
One thing always bothers me,
Bein’ a cowgirl, with cowboy pride–
Somehow, somethin’ went a’wry,
Why were those sheep men in the light??
Here it was, the biggest deal
That would happen on earth in ages–
Why were shepherds picked to be
Written up on holy pages?
Why’d they hear the angel choir?
Why did they get to worship Him first?
Why’d they see the heavn’ly light,
And be told of the Saviour’s birth?
Here’s the reason that I heard
Why such unorthodox things were done’
Cowboy angels were to blame –
They’d been havin’ WAY too much fun!
They’d been pullin’ cowboy pranks,
Messin’ up all the other angels,
‘Till Boss Angel said, “Eee-Nuff!”
“You’re so bad you’ve near de-ranged us!”
First of all he grounded them,
Took away their ropes, spurs and saddles;
Wonderin’ how he’d punish them –
For they’d plumb outgrowed the paddle.
Now, he was bent on ven’gance,
Designin’ a permanent pay-back;
To hurt those cowboy angels
And not cut them one bit of slack.
“What do cowboys hate the most?”
His sinister search sought the answer.
“That’s so obvious, ever’one knows,
They think sheep are rangeland cancer!”
Sheep – of course! The perfect curse!
Just the smell of ‘em made cowboys mad–
How ‘bout if sheep were honored,
And placed in some wonderful plan?
Boss Angel knew the answer
Once the sheep idea lit up his mind;
‘Cuz right then he was plannin’
The night of God’s gift to mankind.
He made song angels practice–
Learn special tunes in choir every night;
While savvy ones were busied,
Riggin’ up a heavenly light.
He’d reached the point of plannin’
Just where all of these things would occur,
So the timing was perfect
For the ultimate cowboy slur.
He’d give center stage to sheep,
An’ put sheepherders in the headlines–
They’d go down in history
As the ones on whom God’s light shined!
Boss Angel called those cowboys,
Sayin, “You’ve got a lesson to learn,
I’m gon’na make you jealous,
Settin’ a fire that will always burn,”
“In your teasing, scheming hearts.
I’ll hopefully make you all humble,
Plus ashamed of all your pranks,
And how you’ve made others stumble.”
Gathered like errant schoolboys,
Boss Angel made ‘em all sit and watch,
While the great announcement came
To shepherds, in fields with their flocks.
No parts for cowboy angels
In that great heavenly production–
It was a total put-down,
Upstaged by wooly ol’ mutton!
The scheme was so successful
Cowboys suffer o’er it yet today–
You’ll notice few young cowboys
Takin’ part in Sunday School plays,
A’dressin’ up like shepherds
Who kept watch over smelly ol’ sheep.
They’re rarely cast as angels.
There’s a character conflict, see?
An’ so the cowboy angels
Got all the punishment they deserved
They lost their place in Christmas,
Aren’t mentioned in God’s Holy Word.
Of course, they’ve been forgiven,
An’ the rest of us have, just the same;
Jesus loves us as we are!
It’s Christmas – let’s honor His Name!
– Rhonda Sedgwick Stearns
From our family at the Wyoming Livestock Roundup to yours, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
