[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Friday, December 21 2012

[Paul]

Well folks, the end of the age as we know it hasn't arrived.  I knew it wouldn't, but didn't want to hedge my bets on it.  So now we continue living the life here on earth as God would have us live it.  I hope and pray that we in North America had a good day today, and that the rest of you in other lands are enjoying a good Saturday.

Marguerite Nixon contributes today's short story entitled "Unexpected Christmas," rendered as follows:

We were well over halfway to our farm when the storm broke.  Lightning flashed, thunder crashed, and a tree fell with a great ripping noise.  When the rain poured in such a flood that we could not see the road, my husband drove off on what seemed to be a bit of clearing deep in the piney woods.

As we waited I sensed that we would not get to the farm that night to celebrate Christmas Eve with our family.  We were sitting there, miserable and dejected, when I heard a knocking on my window.  A man with a lantern stood there, beckoning us to follow him.  My husband and I splashed after him up the path to his house.

A woman with a lamp in her hand stood in the doorway of an old house; a boy of about twelve and a little girl stood beside her.  We went in, soaked and dripping, and the family moved aside so we could feel the warmth of the fire.  With the volubility of city people, my husband and I began to talk, explaining our plans.  And with the quietness of people who live in the silence of the woods, they listened.

"The bridge on Caney Creek is out.  You are welcome to spend the night with us," the man said.  And though we told them we thought it was an imposition, especially on Christmas eve, they insisted.

After we visited awhile longer, the man got up and took the Bible from the mantel.  "It's our custom to read the story from St. Luke on Christmas Eve," he said, and without another word, he began: "And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in the manger ...."

The children sat up eagerly, their eyes bright with anticipation while their father read on: "And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night." I looked at his strong face.  He could have been one of those shepherds.

When he finished reading and closed the Bible, the little children knelt by their chairs.  The mother and father were kneeling and, without conscious will of my own, I found myself joining them.  Then I saw my husband, without any embarrassment at all, kneel also.

When we arose, I looked around the room.  There were no brightly wrapped packages or cards, only a small, unadorned holly tree on the mantel.  Yet the spirit of Christmas was never more real to me.

The little boy broke the silence.  "We always feed the cattle at twelve o'clock on Christmas eve.  Come with us."

The barn was warm and fragrant with the smell of hay and dried corn.  A cow and horse greeted us, and there was a goat with a tiny, wooly kid that came up to be petted.  This is like the stable where the Baby was born, I thought.  Here is the manger and the gentle animals to keep watch.

When we returned to the house, there was an air of festivity and the serving of juice and fruitcake.  Later, we slept on a mattress made of corn shucks.  As I turned to a comfortable position, they rustled under me and sent up a faint fragrance exactly like that in the barn.  My hear said, "You are sleeping in the stable like the Christ Child did."

As I drifted into a profound sleep, I knew that the light coming through the old pine shutters was the Star shining on the quiet house.

The family walked down the path to the car with us the next morning.  I was so filled with the spirit of Christmas they had given me that I could find no words.  Suddenly, I thought of the gifts for our family in the backseat of our car.

I began to hand them out.  My husband's gray woolen socks went to the man.  The red sweater I had bought for my sister went to the mother.  I gave away two boxes of candy, the white mittens, and the leather gloves while my husband nodded approval.

I was breathless from reaching in and out of the car as the family stood there loaded with the joy of Christmas packages.  The mother spoke for all of them.  "We thank you," she said simply. And then she said, "Wait."

She hurried up the path to the house and came back with a quilt folded acrosss her arms.  It was beautifully handmade; the pattern was the Star of Bethlehem.  I had to look up at the tall pines; I could not speak.  It was indeed Christmas.

Every Christmas Eve since, I sleep under the quilt--the Star of Bethlehem.  And in memory I visit the stable and smell again the corn shucks, and the meaning of Christmas abides with me once more.

And there you have Marguerite's article.  I hope and pray that it was a good and inspiring read for you.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in these last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul