Walking the Bethlehem Beat

 Here’s a repeat from last Christmas, a fictional spin on a fantastic occasion.  May God shine His light down on you this holiday season.

Walking the Bethlehem Beat

Think back with me to some 2000 years ago.  Somewhere in the dark of the night, stood a soldier just outside his garrison headquarters.

Thinking to himself, “Wonder what tonight will bring?  Probably the usual – loud noise complaints or perhaps a sheep theft.  Wish I could sit down and take off this armor…it’s killing my back.”

In the distance, a group of shepherds inched their livestock up the rocky hillside.  The metal bells around the sheep’s necks tinkled as they walked.

To his left he spotted people moving about in the town square.  The business of the day was wrapping up.  It had been quite hectic for awhile as people from all over the countryside were lining up to be counted for the census.  Crazy!

All the soldiers hated these types of events.  Not one was allowed to take time off during such occasions, but each expected to make their presence known, just in case someone got a little unruly during the process.

Just then, as the soldier collected his thoughts, he noticed a star in the sky seemingly shining directly down upon a lowly stable.  “Hmmm. Very peculiar.” He thought to himself.  The star seemed brighter than usual, but he chalked it up to loss of sleep or a bad fig cake.

He weerily sat down on a nearby stone, grumbling under his breath about not being at home with his family, when all of a sudden it was as if time stood still.  A baby’s cry was heard in the distance.  Then an array of color splashed across the sky like a comet. 

He couldn’t believe his eyes.  Matter of fact, the hair on the back of his neck began to stand straight up as he made out the figures of a whole host of angelic-like beings in the night sky! 

The soldier now shaking in his sandal straps, rose to his feet while his hand firmly rested on the handle of his side-sword, ready to draw at a moment’s notice. 

The shepherds, who he had noticed earlier in the field, gathered together in a circle as they listened intently to the melodious voices singing, “Glory to God in the highest; peace and goodwill toward men.”

“There’s no way the Commander is ever going to believe this,” he thought to himself.  Somehow, the old soldier almost wanted to run to the field in order to grasp the glory that was surrounding the shepherds, yet at the same time, welcomed the shadowy darkness from the tree branches above him.

Curiously, he stepped forward as if drawn by an invisible magnet to the humble stable that the great star illuminated.  “What or who could possibly be hiding in the inner dwelling of this common sheep pen?” He thought. 

A soft light was burning in the rear of the stable.  He could faintly make out two figures…one of a man standing near the light with a staff in his hand, the other, a woman kneeling before a livestock feeding trough.  It looked as if she was wrapping something up…it was moving…a baby!

The soldier looked around taking note of the shepherds slowly making their way up the hillside to the stable.  He quickly entered, startling the young couple inside.  “Who are you and what business do you have in this dwelling?” he asked. 

“My name is Joseph and this is my wife, Mary.  She has just given birth to a son…er, our Lord…Jesus!  Please, sir, there was no room in the inn and we couldn’t wait any longer.”

The soldier peered down into the dingy straw-filled manger, to see a sleeping newborn, wrapped tightly in swaddling clothes.  For a moment, a tear glistened in his eye as he thought of his own son, not much older than this wee babe.

“Your Lord?” he asked.  “Yes.  God’s Son.”  About that time, the shepherds entered the tiny stable.  As each one took turns kneeling at the foot of the manger and giving thanks to God, the soldier turned and made his way out of the building.

“Could it be?  This certainly was no ordinary night.  Could this be the one that he had heard about all his life?” 

As he took one last look back at the stable, the whole place was bathed in an array of starry brilliance.  The soldier realized that he had just witnessed something wonderful, but for now, would have to find common words to describe this unusual sight.

Logbook stated: At approximate 1200 hours, I noticed a strange light above stable number 5.  I quickly investigated and found a Hebrew couple who had just given birth to a son.  The light source, though unknown, was more-than-likely cast by their lantern reflecting off the walls of said stable.  They are temporarily without other shelter provisions.  The owner has agreed to allow them stay until the mother is able to travel.  No further incident reported.

As the soldier ended his duty for the night, reflective of the evening’s events, he quietly pulled out an old leather book neatly tucked away in his knapsack.  In it, he wrote these words…”Tonight I witnessed God’s love on mankind.  I saw Him!  The Christ!!  Never again will I doubt the awesome power of my Heavenly Father.  Merry Christmas, sweet baby…Merry Christmas!”

“What Child is this, who, laid to rest On Mary’s lap, is sleeping? Whom angels greet with anthems sweet, While shepherds watch are keeping?  This, this is Christ, the King, Whom Shepherds guard and angels sing: Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary!”

Merry Christmas everyone!

Kristi