When we left off yesterday, Mary had just found out that she was pregnant. Our narrator, Alfred, had just stopped to listen to a group of carolers that were wandering by. Now, on to the exciting conclusion of our Christmas Story:

An Angel’s Christmas Story, Part 2

[Alfred stops to listen to a group of carolers, his thoughts drifting]

That’s really a nice song, isn’t it? I sure have heard a lot of good music down through the years… but that isn’t here nor there.While all this was going on – miracles, you know, and everything – Caesar Augustus decided that everyone should be taxed. And if that wasn’t bad enough, it meant that Mary and Joseph had to go quite a ways to Bethlehem to pay their taxes, since Joseph was a descendant of David, and Bethlehem was the City of David. There’s logic there somewhere. By this time Mary was very pregnant, you understand, so travel was not easy, and when they got to Bethlehem, the city was packed.

Packed cities never seem to bother me, you know, but of course I never have to worry about reservations. Poor Joseph and pregnant Mary went from house to house looking for a place to stay, but their wasn’t one room available in all of Bethlehem. Finally, one kind old innkeeper, noticing how Mary was about to give birth, offered his stables to them. Big deal. But what other choice did they have?

While they were staying in the stable, Mary gave birth to a son, just as Gabriel had told them, and they named him Jesus. You already know this, I know, but you have absolutely no idea as to how fantastically special this birth was. You might think that the conditions of Jesus’ birth were less than ideal, having a manger as a crib and all, but no hospital delivery room has ever been attended like this one was.

You always see those manger scenes with them in the stable, and nothing but animals meandering around, and two angels (not great-looking angels, either, I might add) flying in the air… I’m sure.

Let me tell you, there were more angels there than you could imagine. And we weren’t just sitting around, either. I don’t know whether you realize this, but you’d be hard pressed to find a better midwife or doctor. I’ve looked after quite a few humans in my time, and done a pretty fair job at it, if I do say so myself. Who do you think taught Luke everything he knew? So remember, Jesus’ birth may have been humble from the world’s point of view, but he had nothing but the best care.

Now in the fields outside of Bethlehem were a group of shepherds watching their flocks by night. (Forgive me for borrowing a phrase here and there, but it’s hard to improve on divine inspiration.)

These were godly men, well aware of the prophecies concerning the coming Savior. But this didn’t keep them from being afraid when one of our more dramatic angels suddenly appeared to them, to give them the good news that the Savior had been born in Bethlehem. No sooner had they been told this, than the sky was full of angels, all praising God.

You may not have ever thought of it, but we angels praise God because of who He is, when we see His goodness in His dealings with man. You folks have a much more personal involvement with God, and therefore much more reason to praise God every moment of every day. Remember that.

Whatever the shepherds were feeling, it must have made quite an impression on them, because it didn’t take them long to decide to leave their flocks and hurry to Bethlehem to see for themselves. And you know haw hard it is to get shepherds to leave their sheep! When they got to town, they easily found the little family, huddled in the stable, with Jesus happily lying in the manger, just as they had been told. When they saw that the miracle had truly taken place, they told everyone they met. I guess that makes them the first evangelists, doesn’t it?

Now for a lot of people, the Christmas story ends here, with the new parents and Jesus in the stable. But for Mary and Joseph, it was the beginning of a continuous miracle, as God and us angels were with them, keeping them safe.

In obedience to Jewish law, they took Jesus to Jerusalem to have Jesus circumcised in the temple. There, they heard a prophecy by a man named Simeon who, knowledgeable of the scriptures, had faithfully watched for the Messiah. Mary and Joseph were amazed. This was another in a series of events testifying to the Savior’s birth. I’m sure all of these things were hard to grasp. Remember, only a year ago, they were just ordinary Jewish kids.

Some time later, some wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, having followed a star that signified to them that a great king had been born. They were all prepared to honor Jesus with great and precious gifts, and asked everyone they met where they could find the king. They were soon told by the Jewish priests that prophecies named Bethlehem as the place in which the King would be born.

Now Herod, the Roman king, heard that these men were in town looking for a new king, he was terribly upset. You may think you’ve seen some crooked politicians, but this Herod takes the cake. He tricked them into thinking he wished to pay tribute to Jesus, and told them to let him know where Jesus was when they found him.

The wise men found Jesus easy enough, and were overjoyed! They bowed down to worship him, and they gave him many precious gifts from the east. When they had paid their tribute to Jesus and were ready to travel home, God warned them in a dream about Herod’s trickery, and they went back home another way. Now God also knew that Herod was not about to give up his search for Jesus, and sent one of us to tell them to travel to Egypt where Jesus would be safe. They stayed there for about two years, until Herod had died, making it safe to go home. God sent another angel to speak to Joseph in a dream, telling him this. While they were on the way back, again an angel was sent to warn them that Bethlehem may still not be safe, and they went to Nazareth instead, where Jesus lived until he began his ministry.

So as you can see, we angels had quite an important part in the Christmas story. We had front-row seats, as it were, to the whole amazing drama. But whether or not you know it, we will never be able to truly appreciate the story the way that you can. Even though we were God’s messengers to Mary, Joseph, and the others, and could see all of what was going on, we really were outsiders.

Yep, the Christmas story is still one of my favorites. But to you folks, it should be more than just a story. The Christmas story is full of people who have one thing in common – a faith in God. That faith is the basis of a special relationship with God that we angels will never be able to experience or understand. And even though the birth of Jesus in itself is a great story of faith, how Jesus redeemed mankind through his death and resurrection is even a greater story, and the story is still being written today. Oh, yes – God’s as busy today as he ever was, whether you care to believe it or not.

You folks sure have been kind, taking time to listen. So many won’t take time for the important things. Come on back, when you have a mind to. I always have another story.

About twenty years and half a dozen churches ago, I wrote a script for a Christmas pageant that was to be narrated to a slide show. It apparently was, but we moved to California before it was produced (I heard it was great…). Since then, this script has been adapted for use in a few other churches (2 were churches I was involved in), and this year a nice lady found it online at Small Voices and asked if her church could adapt it for their program.

A couple of years ago I rewrote it as a story (rather than a play), and decided it was time to republish it here. The character Alfred is kind of a cross between Andy Griffith and Walter Brennan (it must have made sense at the time). I hope you enjoy it…

An Angel’s Christmas Story

by Alden Swan

(humming, “Angels we have heard on high…”)

Oh, hello there. I just love the Christmas season, don’t you? But it’s not the same as it used to be. And believe you me, I’ve seen my share of Christmases.

Let me introduce myself – Alfred’s my name. I’m what you folks call an angel. My friends call me Alf. Yep, I’ve been around since the beginning, and I’ve seen it all. You know, we all were pretty shocked at the Adam & Eve affair. It was a terrible day for you humans, and it didn’t make our job any easier, let me tell you. That Lucifer, he thought he had the whole thing wrapped up right then, but he hadn’t planned on Christmas, no sir. That really set him shakin’ in his boots.

Well, here, listen to this:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. . .”

Isn’t that nice? Those words were written almost two thousand years ago by a man named John. John was given a very special insight into the birth of Jesus. His book is a beautifully inspired depiction of the Jesus’ life and ministry, and is well named the “Gospel” – the “Good News” of John. I’m sure some of you have read it.

Other writers have also told the story of Jesus’ birth well, and I must be honest in saying that my favorite is Luke’s Gospel, since he did a pretty fair job in telling about our role in Jesus’ birth. I guess even I like to see myself in print. However, I’d still like to tell the story myself, if you don’t mind listening to an old angel reminisce.

The plan had been unfolding for a long, long time. Even at the Garden of Eden tragedy, we began to see hints of great blessings to come for mankind. The prophets of Israel saw glimpses of the plan, but who ever thought that God himself would come down to Earth as a helpless child! Maybe I’d better start at the beginning; well, maybe not the very beginning.

A little over a year before Jesus was born, God had sent Gabriel (a close personal friend of mine) to Judah to bring a message to a man named Zacharias, telling him that his wife Elizabeth would have a son. And sure enough, Elizabeth became pregnant. Her son was to grow up to be known as John the Baptist, a great man, and quite important to Jesus’ ministry.

Now over in Galilee there was a little city named Nazareth. This was an average city back then, except that it, too, was about to have an angelic visit. You might think that this sort of thing happened a lot back then, being Bible times, and all, but let me tell you, it didn’t. Not like this, anyway.

Gabriel was sent there to bring a message to a young girl named Mary, who just happened to be Elizabeth’s cousin, who was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph. Mary, of all the women in Galilee, had found great favor with God. When Gabriel told her this, she was taken aback, and with good reason. As I said, even back then people were not often visited by angels.

When Gabriel assured Mary that she had nothing to fear, she relaxed a bit and listened with awe at what he had to say. And Whoooeee! What she heard was enough to make a girl fairly nervous. She found that she also was going to have a son, which was a very unusual miracle, seeing as Mary was not even married. Now I don’t approve of all these unmarried women today having babies. But this was not your ordinary pregnancy.

Mary’s child was going to be the Son of God, and she was to name him Jesus. Gabriel said later that this had to be the greatest moment of his existence; to bring to Mary the news that the Son of God would live and grow within her so that someday he could dwell within all who asked him. Of course I’m not envious of Gabriel, you know. We all have our own responsibilities, and all that. But, even still, I kind of wish it could’ve been me to carry that news…

Well, that’s water under the bridge, as they say. I’d better continue.

When Joseph, who was engaged to Mary, heard that she was pregnant, he thought perhaps that he should quietly call off the whole thing. But God sent another angel (also a friend of mine) to him in a dream to assure him that what Mary said was true, that her son was indeed the Christ.

Personally, I think Joseph’s part in the birth of Jesus has been really downplayed by many people, but the story would read much differently had Joseph not been the great man of faith that he was. Even with an angel in a dream, it took a lot of guts to be obedient to God. It is hard for me to imagine human feelings, but I know, though, that this was quite a bit of responsibility for a couple about to be married…

[Alfred stops to listen to a group of carolers, his thoughts drifting]

To Be Continued …

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year
………………

Christmas time is here
We’ll be drawing near
Oh, that we could always see
Such spirit through the year…

Michael Krahn posted the other day on the issue of joy, and it got me thinking specifically about joy at Christmastime. As I’m sure we all know, “joy” is something that is usually identified with the Christmas holiday. Go to any store selling Christmas paraphernalia, and you’re sure to find ornaments, decorations and wrapping paper with “joy” (and “rejoice”) written all over it. However, our experience at Christmas is often anything but joyful. They should start marketing Christmas ornaments that say “stress.”

I was speaking with someone a week or so ago about how fast Christmas seems to be coming; it always seems to catch me by surprise, which just adds to the stress. It reminds me of Jethro Tull’s Locomotive Breath:

He picks up Gideon’s Bible
Open at page one
Old Charlie stole the handle and
The train, it wont stop going
No way to slow down.

Then, it seems that there are always unanticipated expenses that put an additional assault on our bank account. And, there are too many things to do, and not enough time to do them in. Where’s the joy in that? It seems that there are two ways to deal with the oncoming train: either we live in denial (and get creamed), or we run headlong into it. That, I believe, is where we find the joy. And, I’m thinking that those who we often accuse of missing “the Christ in Christmas” may have in reality discovered the joy.

A part of my response to Krahn’s afore-mentioned post was this:

I think that’s why Christmas is such a big deal to me and so many people – it’s a celebration of joy, of extravagance, or sheer silliness and excess. It may look at times like materialism (and I don’t deny that materialism is an issue), but could it simply be a breaking out of joy, expressed in a culturally acceptable manner?

As discussed a couple of weeks ago, America is a place where we don’t know how to dance. We have no traditional expressions of joy. Even our partying seems to be more of a way to avoid and cover up stress and depression more than expressions of joy, as may be found in other cultures.

So, here we have Christmas, which is by any account a knock-down, drag-out kind of holiday. We simply have nothing else like it. Every other holiday gets one day – Christmas now begins in late October or early November, and by December it’s in full swing, with parties, decorations, music, movies, concerts, shopping and food. It is an all-out celebration, involving all aspects of our lives. Those who are of other religions (or no religion) have by now realized that “the train, it won’t stop going…” and they either join in ignoring the religious aspects, or live in misery.

Eating, drinking, singing, spending lots of money buying gifts, giving to charity, all can be expressions of joy, even if we don’t realize it.

For those of us who are Christians, I don’t think we need to detract at all from the secular aspects of the holiday; I think that joy, even the non-spiritual version, is something that humans need to express for their emotional health. In America, we’re a pretty joy-constipated bunch. So, let everyone celebrate. But, Christians indeed have a joy which is of a different nature than that of the world (I think it’s okay to have both), and we get to express that, too.

I relish the purely human joy of Christmas, as I relish the joy that comes from knowing God. We can certainly recognize one without diminishing the other. So, let’s pull out the stops, and run headlong into the madness. Who knows, we may actually enjoy ourselves.