The Bethlehem Star

The Bethlehem Star
Pg. XXII
And then they were upon us. They stood right before
us, with their wonderful singing filling our ears, and
somehow our hearts, with ...with...a song of highest praise
for our God. And, as they sang, we could all, every one of us,
feel the energy, the very warmth of their presence. Nobody
spoke a word; we simply sat there awestruck.
And then one among them spoke. “Do not be afraid.”
I thought to myself, “He’s gotta be kidding.”
But he continued, “Behold, I proclaim to you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
And I thought, “Are they bringing news to everyone
in town like this?” I was shaking, I was so confused.
But the messenger continued. “Today in the city of
David a Savior has been born for you who is Messiah and
Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find an infant
wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.”
“Lying in a manger?” I thought. “Why would anyone
put a baby in an animal’s feeding trough? That’s terrible!”
But, even as those thoughts passed through my head, the man
turned to me and smiled. And his look was a very peaceful
look of ...understanding, ...of gentleness, ...and of a genuine
joy at the news that he had brought to us.
When he had finished telling us of this birth, all of
those gathered with him, maybe XXX or XL strong now,
again raised their voices in the most wondrous song of
praise, and they sang:
Glory to God in the highest.
And on earth peace to those on whom his favor
rests.
And then they departed, ...just disappeared from our
midst, and we listened as their wonderful singing slowly
faded away back toward the town.
Well, we were shaken to the bone. Poor
Benjamin had tears in his eyes, but I really don’t
know if from fear or joy. Little Toby’s eyes were
opened so wide in awe that I thought they looked like
a pair of biscuits popping out of his head! I felt
overwhelmed myself. I really can’t explain all of the
emotions that swirled around inside my heart. All of
us, we just sat there mystified for what had to be
several minutes, trying to comprehend what had just
happened to us.
Finally, my brother John broke the silence:
“Our wives are going to think we were drinking.”
“They won’t believe a single word of this,”
mumbled Thomas, seemingly lost in his own
thoughts beside me to the left.
We waited. We shook our heads slowly in
silence, trying to understand. The warm breeze had
left us when the strangers did, and now the cold of
the winter night was once again beginning to knock
on our door.
At last, I suggested to them, “My brothers,
what we have just witnessed could only have
been ...messengers ...from the Lord. They must have
been ...Angels. Who else can sing His praises with
such ...angelic voices? Who but the Angels of the
Lord can robe themselves in such pure white
garments against the cold of the night?”
We paused then, and we couldn’t help but
turn our eyes to that Star. After a long moment, I said
to them, “Let us go to Bethlehem to see this thing
that has taken place, which the Lord has made known
to us.”
“But,” Benjamin, holding little Toby close to
his side, asked, “where would we go? What would
we look for?”
And I suggested, “If I heard them right, the
long-awaited Messiah, the one who is to bring peace
and freedom to our people, has been born tonight,
somewhere in this ...ramshackle, insignificant town
of ours. And we’ll find him lying, of all places, in a
manger.”
Then Thomas added, “Yes, I heard that too;
and it made me think that, yes, the Messiah, whoever
he is to be, would be born to humble beginnings.
Wasn’t Moses himself born into slavery?”
“Yeah,” John added. “Can you imagine what
kind of man would come out of Herod’s family?
Couldn’t be born in a palace somewhere! Couldn’t
be. It would be a complete waste.”
Then I turned to my brothers and I said,
“Brothers, if this...apparition, ..or...vision that we
have all just had is ...true, then this is what we have