Village Shepherd

"Oi!" said the angel.

Clara looked at Bernadette. "Did you hear that?" she asked.

Bernadette nodded. "Someone said 'Oi', but I don't know where it came from." She glanced all round, but there was nothing to be seen.

"Oi!" repeated the angel, adding, "up here."

The girls gazed up into the leafy branches of the Christmas tree. They could just make out a flash of light, but it wasn't very clear. "Who are you?" asked Bernadette. "We can't see you very clearly. Are you a fairy?"

The angel laughed. "Certainly not. I'm a messenger."

"Could you possibly come down out of the Christmas tree to deliver your message," asked Clara politely. "We'd really like to see you."

The angel sighed, but fluttered down out of the branches. "There," said the angel. "Is that better?"

The two girls gasped. "You are a fairy," Bernadette said firmly. "I thought you said you were a messenger?"

"Well, really!" replied the angel. "Don't you know the difference between a fairy and an angel? What do they teach you in school these days? Fairies live in woods along with elves and sprites and pixies and goblins. Angels live in heaven with God, and every so often they're sent to earth by God to deliver a message to human beings. That's why I'm here."

"You've come to the wrong place then," retorted Clara, "because there's only us here. Our parents have gone shopping because we ran out of mince pies. They'll be back in about an hour. You'd better speak to them."

"Not scared, are you?" taunted the angel.

"No," answered Bernadette, a little too quickly. Actually, she was shaking inside because she'd never met an angel before, and she certainly didn't want to hear a message from God. All that God stuff was for grown-up people in her opinion. She glanced nervously at Clara, but she could see that Clara was shaking too. In fact Clara looked as though she was trying not to cry.

"Now then," said the angel in a more kindly tone. "Don't you worry at all. You needn't be afraid, you know. God would never hurt you. Why, God's madly in love with you, so there's no way God could possibly hurt you."

At the thought of God being in love with anybody, let alone them, the two girls burst out laughing.

"That's better!" said the angel. "And how about a song to cheer you up even more? Hang on a minute, I'll call the Heavenly Choir." The angel put two fingers into his mouth and let out a piercing whistle. Immediately the air was filled with fluttering wings and radiant light. The girls blinked, but before they could say a word the air was filled with music. To the girls' surprise, it sounded remarkably like the latest pop song. They found themselves loving every minute of it.

"That was great. It wasn't a bit boring," exclaimed Clara. "I thought a Heavenly Choir would sing all church music, but that was terrific."

The angel grinned. "You'll be telling me next that you think God is boring. But you'd be wrong. God has a great sense of humour. Why else do you think God sent me to you two?"

The girls grinned back. They could see the angel had a point. "This is fun," said Bernadette, happily. "This is even better than Christmas presents. Can you stay and play? And your choir could stay too. I'm sure Mum wouldn't mind."

The angel smiled and inclined his head. "That's nice of you. I'd like to stay and play, but I have to deliver the message. Tell you what, though. If you get to know God a bit better, God might send you more messages. Then I'd have to come back."

The girls thought that was a good idea and asked the angel how to go about getting to know God. The angel told them to talk to God and listen to God. He said they could do that inside their heads at any time they wanted, and that God would always hear them the moment they began to think about God. "Go on," urged the angel, "try it now."

The girls both shut their eyes and tried it. As they began to talk to God inside their heads, they both became aware of a wonderful feeling of love and peace inside themselves. "It works!" cried Clara, her eyes shining.

"Of course it works!" said the angel. "Now, do you want this message or don't you?"

The girls nodded and waited eagerly. "Tell other people what you've learned today," said the angel.

"Is that it?" asked Clara. "That's not much fun. Anyway, nobody will listen. All our school friends will laugh, won't they Bernadette?"

"Don't look at me," said the angel. "I'm just the messenger. But I'll tell you this for free. God never asks anyone to do anything they can't manage. And lots of people discover that their lives change and become just terrific when they do what God asks them to do. Remember the story of Christmas? Everybody's lives changed then, the shepherds, Mary and Joseph, the wise men. And they all changed for the better. But it's up to you. God never makes anyone do anything, God only asks. You can say no if you want. It's your choice."

While Bernadette and Clara were looking at each other, trying to decide what to do about God's message to them, the angel disappeared. The two girls rubbed their eyes, wondering whether they'd dreamt it all. But they were each still filled with a feeling of love and excitement and happiness, and somehow they knew their minds were made up.

God was brilliant, and this year, they wanted to be on God's side.