The Shepherds’ Prayer

The Shepherds’ Prayer offers a unique perspective on the Christmas story. The author allows us to experience the birth of Jesus retrospectively through the eyes of another man born at the same time. Barry thoughtfully enhances the circumstances surrounding the well know nativity story by lending voice to some of the other characters. How did Christ’s birth affect the shepherds? What impact did the slaughter of babies have on the people of Bethlehem? What customs and attitudes affected family culture during that time? What beliefs were developed as a result of Christ’s birth?

On the jacket cover, Barry suggests reading his book each year as part of a Christmas tradition. With this book, it just might be possible. The Shepherds’ Prayer would be a great read-aloud in a family setting with children of various ages. The book would help initiate reflective dialogue rich with curiosity. Overall, the main character and his experiences are compelling. The story line and the depth of research is well balanced allowing for a variety of readers to be engaged. The theologically driven will find the freshness and detail enough to be stimulating, yet the scholarly level is such that the relaxed reader won’t be bogged down or confused.

As a gift, it could be given to anyone on your list. For an adult, leisurely reading straight through, it would take about two hours. A family could easily read one of the eight chapters every night. Although the book is subtitled “a Christmas novel,” and promoted as a holiday experience, this should in no way deter the reader from reading it in any season. The characters themselves are drawn together by their experiences at the time of Christ’s birth, however, the actual story does not take place during Christmas.

Review contributed by: A. V. Warkentin. She attends Reedley First Baptist Church in California, is a full time mom and wife, and enjoys tutoring, reading novels and analyzing just about every part of life.