The Song Of Angels -- And The Son Of God
Worship
They Came Together In Bethlehem
Messages for the Advent/Christmas Season
Object:
Fourth Sunday In Advent
Isaiah 9:2-6; Luke 2:6-14
They Came Together In Bethlehem:
The Song Of Angels -- And The Son Of God
Samuel Beckett wrote a play called Waiting For Godot, waiting for God. It is a two-act play in which two men stand on stage. The only thing there with them is a tree with no leaves. One of the men speaks to the other, trying to talk to him about two thieves on a cross and one being saved. But the other man will not talk about that. In the second act there are a few leaves on the tree. One of the men becomes excited because he thinks Godot is coming. But they never see him. At the end of the play they decide they will kill themselves unless he comes. One says, "And if he comes?" The other replies, "We'll be saved!"1
There are people still waiting for God, hoping to find him, see him, hear him, discover him, invent him, always waiting, hoping, wondering. But you need look no further than Bethlehem.
In a church's Christmas pageant a little boy had the part of an angel, and he was to say, "I bring you good news of great joy." But he could not remember the line. So he burst out with, "Boy, have I got some good news for you!"2
I have some good news for you. We need look no further than Bethlehem.
During this Advent season we have been thinking together about the theme, "They Came Together In Bethlehem." Today we look at "The Song Of Angels -- And The Son Of God." We see coming together in Bethlehem the great purposes of God in the song of angels and the Son of God.
Centuries earlier the prophet Isaiah wrote those words which told of his arrival: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy ... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' "
Last Sunday we read about a man named Joseph and his young wife Mary coming down to Bethlehem town. We read a little further in this story today. We learn from Saint Luke that "while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered."
That baby was born in a barn because there was no other place for them to stay. It was a place for animals, cut out of the side of a sandstone hill. Imagine that, the Son of God coming down to this earth not in a palace of honor, but a place of humility; not in the seat of power, but the site of poverty; not in a circle of influence, but a city of insignificance.
Then Saint Luke tells us, "In that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.' "
Here we see coming together in Bethlehem the song of angels and the Son of God.
Did you get it? Did you hear it? The song of angels is all about "good news of great joy for all people." Do you know who that means, who it includes? It is for us. The song of the angels and the Son of God came together in Bethlehem for us.
So here on this Sunday before Christmas let me remind us of some basic things for us to remember, to hang on to, to live by and live for.
I
First, the Savior is here for us. This is the Good News of great joy at Christmas. The Savior is here for us.
That was the message of the angel, and it is for us. "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep down in your heart the Savior is here for all the world and for you.
I remember the most moving sermon I ever preached. It was the Sunday before Christmas. There was a lady in our church expecting a baby any day. About halfway through my sermon she went into labor. And the ending of my sermon was so stirring that at 1:15 that afternoon a bouncing baby boy was born. That is Christmas up-close and personal! He was here.
When our youngest child was born we thought she was arriving on Christmas Eve. But then she waited a little longer and finally was born two days after Christmas. That is why we named her Christie. That is Christmas up-close and personal! She was here.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. Because a Savior is here for us, life takes on a new meaning and is lifted to a higher level. It will never be the same.
The Savior saves us from this world of sin and suffering and death. He puts us in touch with God. He brings us the Good News of God's love for us his children. He transforms the meaning of our existence.
Open your hearts to welcome the Savior. Let him find a place to live in you.
One little boy played the part of the innkeeper in his church's Christmas pageant. When the holy family knocked on his door he said, "No, go away. There is no room in the inn." But they persisted, and he gave the same answer. Still they persisted. Finally, he said, "Oh, okay. You can have my room."
The Savior is here for us. Let him find room with you.
Move further along and let me remind you of this.
II
Second, the sign is given for us. This is the good news of great joy at Christmas. The sign is given for us.
That was the message of the angels, and it is for us. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep in your heart the sign is given for all the world and for you.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. This is the sign -- a child lying in a manger. It is something we understand.
God comes to us in the stuff of life, not in some theory, not in a complicated set of rules to live by, not in any otherworldly philosophy, not in some mystical trance, but in something we can relate to.
A little boy got a treehouse for Christmas. When he and his dad began putting it together, they discovered the directions were for a treehouse, but the parts were for a sailboat. The very next day Dad wrote a letter of complaint. He received an immediate reply. It read, "We are sorry about the error. But it might help you to think about the man somewhere out on a lake trying to sail a treehouse."3
This world would make religion so complicated, but it is really simple. God is not some great theory or set of directions. This child is a sign of who he is, what he is like, what he will do. This is where we find him. We find him in lowly things, in the common things, in a barn, in a feed trough, in the hay, among lowly people. This sign is given for us. Claim it for yourself.
A Sunday school teacher led her children to create a manger scene. Each Sunday during Advent they would add to it the characters. But toward the end of the season the teacher noticed one little girl seemed concerned about it, so she asked her if anything was wrong. The little girl replied, "Where will we find Jesus in all of this?"
To be himself a star most bright
To bring the wise men to his sight
To be himself a voice most sweet
To call the shepherds to his feet
To be a child -- it was his will,
That folk like us might find him still.4
The sign is given for us. Find him for yourself.
III
Third, the song is sung for us. This is the good news of great joy at Christmas. The song is sung for us.
That was the message of the angels, and it is for us. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.' "
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep down in your heart the song is sung for all the world and for you.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. This song is for us. But it must also be sung by us. We are the ones who must carry it on and do the singing. We must be the ones who share this good news.
In order to do that we must remember this is our Savior, our sign, our song.
William Faulkner wrote a story called "Tomorrow." It was televised on PBS years ago. Robert Duvall played the part of Jackson Fentry, a cotton farmer who worked in the winter as the caretaker of a sawmill. He lived there in the boiler room. One night a woman expecting a baby comes to his door. She has no place to go. He invites her in and takes care of her. Her baby is born in that place. Fentry worked all night making a crib, and he takes it in to her. He sits down by the bed, looks at them, and says, "Can I hold the baby?" She hands him over. She knows she is going to die, so she says to Fentry, "Will you take care of him if I die?" He answers, "Yes." Then she asks, "Like he is your very own?" He replies, "Yes."
Will you take care of him like he is your very own? He is, you know. He was born for you.
A family brought home a new baby. He cried a lot that first night. The new mother read through the pages of a baby book trying to find just what to do. Finally, her mother said to her, "For heaven's sake, Sarah, put down the book, and pick up the baby!"5
You pick up the baby. He is yours, up-close and personal.
The Savior is here for you. The sign is given for you. The song is sung for you and by you.
Thanks be to God!
____________
1. John Killinger, The Salvation Tree (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1973), p. xiv.
2. Wallace D. Chappell, The Trumpet's Certain Sound (Nashville, Tennessee: Wallace Chappell Ministries, Inc., 1987), p. 17.
3. James W. Moore, Christmas Gifts That Always Fit (Nashville, Tennessee: Dimensions For Living, 1996), p. 52.
4. Charles L. Allen and Charles L. Wallis, Christmas, "Childhood" by John Erskine (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1977), p. 14.
5. William J. Bausch, Storytelling The Word (Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-third Publications, 1996), p. 145.
Advent 4
Candlelighting And Prayer
Lighting Of The Fourth Advent Candle
Leader: Scripture Reading -- Isaiah 9:2-6
Leader: This candle we light today reminds us of the light of Joy the prophets had in their expectation of a Messiah who would bring good news to the world.
People: Glory be to God.
Prayer
Almighty God, giver of all good gifts and creator of everything that is, we worship thee and sing praises to thee because of the gift of thy Son in whom we are created in thine own image.
We thank thee, O God, for the gift of Christmas, for we know that since that night so long ago nothing has ever been the same. We thank thee for the coming of thy Son into the world and the Good News of his birth, his life, his words, his death and resurrection, and his call to come and follow him.
And we pray that because of this Christmas our lives would once again be touched by him. May it cause us to be more joyful, more helpful, more generous; may our lives take some new roads because we have come near to Bethlehem.
May Christmas this year shine its light upon us in some new ways, and may the light of Christ be seen all over the world. Because of that light may there be no darkness in our lives. May it shine along the roads we follow.
Give us faith, O God -- faith in thee and in thy Christ and in the victory of thy Kingdom.
Bless our sick and sorrowful, and bless all the world for it is in his name we pray. Amen.
Advent 4
Children's Message
Looking At Our Chrismons: An Angel
I am so glad to see each of you today. I'm glad you have come to worship on this Sunday in Advent. And who can tell us which Sunday in Advent this is? That is correct. This is the Fourth, or last, Sunday in the Advent season.
Do all of you remember what a Chrismon is? It is a Christ-monogram. It is a symbol which tells us something about Jesus Christ.
Today the Chrismon I want us to look at is this angel. We have several of these on our tree. Remember that the angel of the Lord came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby, and he would be great. He would be God's Son.
Then, later on in the story, after Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the angels came to the shepherds and told them about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. The angel said to them, "I bring you Good News of a great joy, which will come to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And the shepherds left their flocks and went into town to find the baby.
When you see this angel think about the Good News the angels brought to the shepherds, and not only to them. This is also Good News for each one of us.
Let's have our prayer. Thank you, Father, for the Good News about your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Advent 4
The Beholders
The Old Shepherd
Angels visit me all the time.
So the night the angels came to me out in the field, it sure wasn't the first time. That night, I was out in the field, a little ways apart from the other shepherds, tending my flock. Well, my grandson thinks it's his flock, but he's barely big enough to see over their heads. Anyway, an angel came and told me that the Son of God was being born in Bethlehem. That's where I lived all my life! The Son of God was being born there? I had to ask some questions, like, why Bethlehem, and which angel are you? It was a voice I hadn't heard before.
The angel didn't answer my questions -- just touched my cheek and turned my face toward the East and said there was a huge star. Funny, none of the others had mentioned seeing it. I realized the angel wanted me to go toward that star and I would find the Christ-child. Being blind, I listened carefully to the sounds in the sky, and after a while I could clearly hear where the star was. There was a lovely hum in that direction. I figured out that it was the sound of the angel's wings strumming the night air. I called for my grandson to bring the flock, and we started after the sound.
"Bring the rest, old man," the angel ordered me.
Well, that stopped me. They wouldn't listen to me. I'm old, I'm blind. The last time I told them an angel had spoken to me, they threw mud at me. Perhaps if I could get one of the younger men to believe me, he could persuade the others. I asked my grandson to lead me back toward where I could hear them talking. As we got closer I made out what they were saying. It amazed me. They were terrified.
This was amazing because it meant they had heard the angel, too, and seen the star. So I should have no trouble getting them to go with me to Bethlehem to find the child. That's what I thought, anyway.
"Walk all the way back into town? What about wolves? And what stable are we supposed to go to? What if we can't find the child, old man? We'll look like fools!"
What they weren't saying was, they were scared. So be it. But for me, there was only one choice.
"Fine," I said, "but we're going. This is my hometown, and I know exactly how to find the child." I didn't, but the angels and my grandson would lead me. "We're going. If anybody wants to come, this is the way. We're going to the newborn Messiah." And off we went.
It was chilly that night, I remember. But we didn't feel it much. I had to hurry along to keep up with my grandson. He kept skipping ahead and then running back to tell me about the star, or to let me know how many angels were leading us now. Every so often, I heard the flurry of an angel hovering at my shoulder. "Keep going, old man. You can make it."
All of a sudden, my grandson grabbed my hand and stopped me. "Grandpa!" he said, "Grandpa, they're coming!" I listened: yes, the others were coming! Feet scuffing across wet grass, muffled voices, sheep bleating softly to reassure each other.
I knew it. I knew they would come. If I could find the child, old blind me, they must have figured anyone could. Now here we are, in the presence of the baby King.
You see? Anyone can listen for the quiet hum of the angels' wings. Anyone can find this stable.
Isaiah 9:2-6; Luke 2:6-14
They Came Together In Bethlehem:
The Song Of Angels -- And The Son Of God
Samuel Beckett wrote a play called Waiting For Godot, waiting for God. It is a two-act play in which two men stand on stage. The only thing there with them is a tree with no leaves. One of the men speaks to the other, trying to talk to him about two thieves on a cross and one being saved. But the other man will not talk about that. In the second act there are a few leaves on the tree. One of the men becomes excited because he thinks Godot is coming. But they never see him. At the end of the play they decide they will kill themselves unless he comes. One says, "And if he comes?" The other replies, "We'll be saved!"1
There are people still waiting for God, hoping to find him, see him, hear him, discover him, invent him, always waiting, hoping, wondering. But you need look no further than Bethlehem.
In a church's Christmas pageant a little boy had the part of an angel, and he was to say, "I bring you good news of great joy." But he could not remember the line. So he burst out with, "Boy, have I got some good news for you!"2
I have some good news for you. We need look no further than Bethlehem.
During this Advent season we have been thinking together about the theme, "They Came Together In Bethlehem." Today we look at "The Song Of Angels -- And The Son Of God." We see coming together in Bethlehem the great purposes of God in the song of angels and the Son of God.
Centuries earlier the prophet Isaiah wrote those words which told of his arrival: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. Thou hast multiplied the nation, thou hast increased its joy ... For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.' "
Last Sunday we read about a man named Joseph and his young wife Mary coming down to Bethlehem town. We read a little further in this story today. We learn from Saint Luke that "while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered."
That baby was born in a barn because there was no other place for them to stay. It was a place for animals, cut out of the side of a sandstone hill. Imagine that, the Son of God coming down to this earth not in a palace of honor, but a place of humility; not in the seat of power, but the site of poverty; not in a circle of influence, but a city of insignificance.
Then Saint Luke tells us, "In that region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, 'Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people.' "
Here we see coming together in Bethlehem the song of angels and the Son of God.
Did you get it? Did you hear it? The song of angels is all about "good news of great joy for all people." Do you know who that means, who it includes? It is for us. The song of the angels and the Son of God came together in Bethlehem for us.
So here on this Sunday before Christmas let me remind us of some basic things for us to remember, to hang on to, to live by and live for.
I
First, the Savior is here for us. This is the Good News of great joy at Christmas. The Savior is here for us.
That was the message of the angel, and it is for us. "For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep down in your heart the Savior is here for all the world and for you.
I remember the most moving sermon I ever preached. It was the Sunday before Christmas. There was a lady in our church expecting a baby any day. About halfway through my sermon she went into labor. And the ending of my sermon was so stirring that at 1:15 that afternoon a bouncing baby boy was born. That is Christmas up-close and personal! He was here.
When our youngest child was born we thought she was arriving on Christmas Eve. But then she waited a little longer and finally was born two days after Christmas. That is why we named her Christie. That is Christmas up-close and personal! She was here.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. Because a Savior is here for us, life takes on a new meaning and is lifted to a higher level. It will never be the same.
The Savior saves us from this world of sin and suffering and death. He puts us in touch with God. He brings us the Good News of God's love for us his children. He transforms the meaning of our existence.
Open your hearts to welcome the Savior. Let him find a place to live in you.
One little boy played the part of the innkeeper in his church's Christmas pageant. When the holy family knocked on his door he said, "No, go away. There is no room in the inn." But they persisted, and he gave the same answer. Still they persisted. Finally, he said, "Oh, okay. You can have my room."
The Savior is here for us. Let him find room with you.
Move further along and let me remind you of this.
II
Second, the sign is given for us. This is the good news of great joy at Christmas. The sign is given for us.
That was the message of the angels, and it is for us. "This will be a sign for you: you will find a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep in your heart the sign is given for all the world and for you.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. This is the sign -- a child lying in a manger. It is something we understand.
God comes to us in the stuff of life, not in some theory, not in a complicated set of rules to live by, not in any otherworldly philosophy, not in some mystical trance, but in something we can relate to.
A little boy got a treehouse for Christmas. When he and his dad began putting it together, they discovered the directions were for a treehouse, but the parts were for a sailboat. The very next day Dad wrote a letter of complaint. He received an immediate reply. It read, "We are sorry about the error. But it might help you to think about the man somewhere out on a lake trying to sail a treehouse."3
This world would make religion so complicated, but it is really simple. God is not some great theory or set of directions. This child is a sign of who he is, what he is like, what he will do. This is where we find him. We find him in lowly things, in the common things, in a barn, in a feed trough, in the hay, among lowly people. This sign is given for us. Claim it for yourself.
A Sunday school teacher led her children to create a manger scene. Each Sunday during Advent they would add to it the characters. But toward the end of the season the teacher noticed one little girl seemed concerned about it, so she asked her if anything was wrong. The little girl replied, "Where will we find Jesus in all of this?"
To be himself a star most bright
To bring the wise men to his sight
To be himself a voice most sweet
To call the shepherds to his feet
To be a child -- it was his will,
That folk like us might find him still.4
The sign is given for us. Find him for yourself.
III
Third, the song is sung for us. This is the good news of great joy at Christmas. The song is sung for us.
That was the message of the angels, and it is for us. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.' "
Make this up-close and personal for yourself, and know deep down in your heart the song is sung for all the world and for you.
Make Christmas up-close and personal for you. This song is for us. But it must also be sung by us. We are the ones who must carry it on and do the singing. We must be the ones who share this good news.
In order to do that we must remember this is our Savior, our sign, our song.
William Faulkner wrote a story called "Tomorrow." It was televised on PBS years ago. Robert Duvall played the part of Jackson Fentry, a cotton farmer who worked in the winter as the caretaker of a sawmill. He lived there in the boiler room. One night a woman expecting a baby comes to his door. She has no place to go. He invites her in and takes care of her. Her baby is born in that place. Fentry worked all night making a crib, and he takes it in to her. He sits down by the bed, looks at them, and says, "Can I hold the baby?" She hands him over. She knows she is going to die, so she says to Fentry, "Will you take care of him if I die?" He answers, "Yes." Then she asks, "Like he is your very own?" He replies, "Yes."
Will you take care of him like he is your very own? He is, you know. He was born for you.
A family brought home a new baby. He cried a lot that first night. The new mother read through the pages of a baby book trying to find just what to do. Finally, her mother said to her, "For heaven's sake, Sarah, put down the book, and pick up the baby!"5
You pick up the baby. He is yours, up-close and personal.
The Savior is here for you. The sign is given for you. The song is sung for you and by you.
Thanks be to God!
____________
1. John Killinger, The Salvation Tree (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1973), p. xiv.
2. Wallace D. Chappell, The Trumpet's Certain Sound (Nashville, Tennessee: Wallace Chappell Ministries, Inc., 1987), p. 17.
3. James W. Moore, Christmas Gifts That Always Fit (Nashville, Tennessee: Dimensions For Living, 1996), p. 52.
4. Charles L. Allen and Charles L. Wallis, Christmas, "Childhood" by John Erskine (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1977), p. 14.
5. William J. Bausch, Storytelling The Word (Mystic, Connecticut: Twenty-third Publications, 1996), p. 145.
Advent 4
Candlelighting And Prayer
Lighting Of The Fourth Advent Candle
Leader: Scripture Reading -- Isaiah 9:2-6
Leader: This candle we light today reminds us of the light of Joy the prophets had in their expectation of a Messiah who would bring good news to the world.
People: Glory be to God.
Prayer
Almighty God, giver of all good gifts and creator of everything that is, we worship thee and sing praises to thee because of the gift of thy Son in whom we are created in thine own image.
We thank thee, O God, for the gift of Christmas, for we know that since that night so long ago nothing has ever been the same. We thank thee for the coming of thy Son into the world and the Good News of his birth, his life, his words, his death and resurrection, and his call to come and follow him.
And we pray that because of this Christmas our lives would once again be touched by him. May it cause us to be more joyful, more helpful, more generous; may our lives take some new roads because we have come near to Bethlehem.
May Christmas this year shine its light upon us in some new ways, and may the light of Christ be seen all over the world. Because of that light may there be no darkness in our lives. May it shine along the roads we follow.
Give us faith, O God -- faith in thee and in thy Christ and in the victory of thy Kingdom.
Bless our sick and sorrowful, and bless all the world for it is in his name we pray. Amen.
Advent 4
Children's Message
Looking At Our Chrismons: An Angel
I am so glad to see each of you today. I'm glad you have come to worship on this Sunday in Advent. And who can tell us which Sunday in Advent this is? That is correct. This is the Fourth, or last, Sunday in the Advent season.
Do all of you remember what a Chrismon is? It is a Christ-monogram. It is a symbol which tells us something about Jesus Christ.
Today the Chrismon I want us to look at is this angel. We have several of these on our tree. Remember that the angel of the Lord came to Mary and told her she was going to have a baby, and he would be great. He would be God's Son.
Then, later on in the story, after Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem, the angels came to the shepherds and told them about Jesus being born in Bethlehem. The angel said to them, "I bring you Good News of a great joy, which will come to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you. You will find a babe, wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger." And the shepherds left their flocks and went into town to find the baby.
When you see this angel think about the Good News the angels brought to the shepherds, and not only to them. This is also Good News for each one of us.
Let's have our prayer. Thank you, Father, for the Good News about your Son and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Advent 4
The Beholders
The Old Shepherd
Angels visit me all the time.
So the night the angels came to me out in the field, it sure wasn't the first time. That night, I was out in the field, a little ways apart from the other shepherds, tending my flock. Well, my grandson thinks it's his flock, but he's barely big enough to see over their heads. Anyway, an angel came and told me that the Son of God was being born in Bethlehem. That's where I lived all my life! The Son of God was being born there? I had to ask some questions, like, why Bethlehem, and which angel are you? It was a voice I hadn't heard before.
The angel didn't answer my questions -- just touched my cheek and turned my face toward the East and said there was a huge star. Funny, none of the others had mentioned seeing it. I realized the angel wanted me to go toward that star and I would find the Christ-child. Being blind, I listened carefully to the sounds in the sky, and after a while I could clearly hear where the star was. There was a lovely hum in that direction. I figured out that it was the sound of the angel's wings strumming the night air. I called for my grandson to bring the flock, and we started after the sound.
"Bring the rest, old man," the angel ordered me.
Well, that stopped me. They wouldn't listen to me. I'm old, I'm blind. The last time I told them an angel had spoken to me, they threw mud at me. Perhaps if I could get one of the younger men to believe me, he could persuade the others. I asked my grandson to lead me back toward where I could hear them talking. As we got closer I made out what they were saying. It amazed me. They were terrified.
This was amazing because it meant they had heard the angel, too, and seen the star. So I should have no trouble getting them to go with me to Bethlehem to find the child. That's what I thought, anyway.
"Walk all the way back into town? What about wolves? And what stable are we supposed to go to? What if we can't find the child, old man? We'll look like fools!"
What they weren't saying was, they were scared. So be it. But for me, there was only one choice.
"Fine," I said, "but we're going. This is my hometown, and I know exactly how to find the child." I didn't, but the angels and my grandson would lead me. "We're going. If anybody wants to come, this is the way. We're going to the newborn Messiah." And off we went.
It was chilly that night, I remember. But we didn't feel it much. I had to hurry along to keep up with my grandson. He kept skipping ahead and then running back to tell me about the star, or to let me know how many angels were leading us now. Every so often, I heard the flurry of an angel hovering at my shoulder. "Keep going, old man. You can make it."
All of a sudden, my grandson grabbed my hand and stopped me. "Grandpa!" he said, "Grandpa, they're coming!" I listened: yes, the others were coming! Feet scuffing across wet grass, muffled voices, sheep bleating softly to reassure each other.
I knew it. I knew they would come. If I could find the child, old blind me, they must have figured anyone could. Now here we are, in the presence of the baby King.
You see? Anyone can listen for the quiet hum of the angels' wings. Anyone can find this stable.
