Every Christmas Eve, mother would gather us around the fire She would then tell us the story ,that for years still inspires; Mother put on her glasses, and from the book she read: "An angel appeared before the virgin,and this is what she said, 'Fear not blessed Mary, for I bring you tidings of joy the Lord has chosen you, to give birth to his only boy' Mary,quite confused, said,'How can this be, for I am pure as a dove that is white' The angel went on to explain,the Holy Spirit would visit her that night 'You see dear Mary the Lord sent me to deliver this message that you are the chosen one And the earth will patiently wait for her king to come Mary asked,'How will I explain?' The angel replied,'Dont worry about a thing' And the next night the angel appeared to Joseph, in a dream 'Dear Joseph',the angel spoke, 'Your beloved Mary is with child, she is chosen to bare God's son' 'Please take care of herand wait for your king to come' Joseph obided by God's will and he went to Mary to see and told her that,'Jesus is what His name shall be' Joseph said,'Dear Mary this is the will of God and it shall be done' Joseph and Mary then waited for their king to come And it was the year of Augustus - a long journey lay ahead of them For Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethelehem Joseph cried,'My beloved,you are with child this I know but we have to register,so we must go' In deed --it was very close to Mary's time But she didn't complain, and on the mule she climbed As they reached the city they looked for a place for Mary to rest her weary head He talked to the Inn Keeper,'All our rooms are full,but you are welcome to use the stable',he said At this time an angel appeared unto three shepherds guarding their herd She sensed their fear and told them,'Fear not', for she brought them comforting word She told them,'You will travel tonight and see the babe who came by virgin birth A savior will be born tonight and he shall inherit the earth He will be wrapped in swaddling clothes and in a manger is where he lays You must go now, and be on your way' The shepherds asked,'How will we know which way to go, this journey could be far?' The Angel reassured them,'Just follow the star' And all the angels in heaven sang the praises of God, Rejoice! Our lord sends his son We can hardly wait for our king to come So the shepherds went on their way-and followed the star to the manger All was welcome to worship our Lord,man,woman,child,and stranger Mary held the babe in her arms-who would one day reign as King The heavens opened up, and the Angels began to sing This is what we are celebrating when we gather with family and friends She then closed the good book and ended with Amen And one day my children after many centuries have turned This babe that lay in the manger promised he would be back, and we now wait for our King to return. (c)copyright 2006 all rights reserved. Christmas Poems The Poetic Seasons Of My Soul |