[pgyanke]

For your consideration and criticism.

[No name given]

Jesus said it best: those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

[pax_et_bonum]

Humility is knowing who and what we are before God.

[Varda]

This is pretty good. I like your take on why shepherds were chosen rather than the elite.

The shepherds were even more ordinary than you think. They were not providing anything for the temple. Archeological digs in Jerusalem have studied the animals sacrificed at the temple and it was found that they weren't generally local but were brought there by the people who were offering them.

Perhaps the shepherds were still there by Passover but that would have been late. Shepherds follow the grass. The grass around Jerusalem is losing it's nutrition by spring as it prepares to go dormant for the dry season.
It's at it's best in December through March, the rainy season. That tells us the shepherds were near Bethlehem in winter.