Shepherds don’t fit in well at church. Shepherds get the carpet dirty, they smell bad, they don’t know the lingo, their manners are questionable, and they just make us uncomfortable. When they get excited, they shout “Hell YEAH!” and not “hallelujah”.

Jesus taught that holy days were not the end all. They are simply meant to be a tool to help us connect with God. And he certainly didn’t say, “Hey guys make sure you stress yourself out decorating everything and ignore half the stuff I taught so people know that you really love me on my birthday.”