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Preface
Many years ago, back in c.4 B.C., on a cold night in December, a child was born in Bethlehem. He was born in a stable, wrapped in clothes and placed in a manger because there was no room for him in the inn. Even though this baby was born in a stable with the sheep and animals, he would grow up to be the greatest king ever. That night the angels and God rejoiced in the heavens for the Son of God was born on that very night.
Mary was engaged to Joseph at the time that an angel came to her and told her she would bear a child. When Joseph found out she was pregnant, he planned to leave her quietly, but an angel appeared to him and told him that Mary would give birth to the Son of God.
Mary and Joseph made a journey to Joseph's childhood town, Bethlehem. There was no room for the two of them at the inn so they stayed in a stable. Jesus was born on a cold night and placed in a manger. In the nearby fields the angels sent the news to the shepard's tending the fields. The angel told them that their savior was born on that night.
In the following story I have used first person narrative to examine this event from a slave girl's point of view. Naomi, who is now older and wealthy, has a flashback memory of the event that shaped the world. Naomi is a small orphan girl who has little hope that her life can become any better. Even with people around her she feels alone. Judea was going through one of the darkest times the nation had ever faced. Naomi had to work extremely hard or she would be fired and be homeless. Naomi, who was only a small orphan slave girl sees first hand one of the most remembered, historic and holy events of all time.
Holy Night
Slowly I walked through the misty pastures of my youth. I had spent many days here in this field working, just to live another day. Back in the days when I was a child Judea had fallen on hard times.1 However I have very little memory of those hard times. The reason I cannot remember very much is because of one cold night in December. That night changed my life forever. It was the night when I saw the grandest miracle this Earth has and ever will see. I can still hear the merry singing of the angels.2 I can still see the brightest star in the heavens. I still can still sense the grassy, stuffy smell of the stable that night. There was a magical feel to the soft winter breeze. It was the sense of holiness and fulfillment.
Back in four BC I lived in the outskirts of a town called Bethlehem. It was a large town back in those days. Bethlehem is now known as the birthplace of Jesus Christ.3 At the time of the birth of Christ, Bethlehem had fallen on hard times. I was a vulnerable orphaned child at the age of ten. Working in the fields for the family that took me off of the streets constantly wore me down to the bone. There is not a day that goes by that I wish and pray to have a better life. I do realize that it is not possible and I guess I am lucky not to be living out on the streets. On the morning of December 25 I awoke on a pile of yellow hay. I found myself being whipped by my master.
"You fool, get out of bed," Martha yelled. I instantly broke down into tears for I was so tired and sore. "Maybe you should just leave now! We have done so much for you and yet you are slacking on the job! You Fool! Leave right this minute we do not need you anymore!"
"What do you mean, I am not needed anymore?" I asked.
" No I do not want or need you now; get out of here slave!" she called. Her viscous look frightened me. Running out of the house, I could not believe I was not needed anymore. My lower back was bleeding from the harsh lashes of the whip. I slowly began to walk away. 'Why does everyone hate me? No one wants me to be a part of their life, am I a bad person?' I thought to myself as I walked. Martha had always disdained me. She had only kept me for the work I was able to do. Still walking, I saw the sun beginning to set over the desert hills. A taste of dry wind caught my breath and I shivered because I knew I would freeze on this night if I could not find somewhere to go. I kept walking and I came to a meadow. 'What on Earth am I going to do now? I am going to freeze and die out here. My life is even worse off then before.' I sat down and looked at the meadow. There in the meadow was a flock of beautiful sheep. I had always had a soft spot in my heart for animals. The sheep at the old farm I had worked at were my only friends.
" Oh sheep come here please!"
"Baaaa," the sheep reported back. A few of them trotted over to me. The sheep started nibbling on the yellow grass I had in my tiny hand. I started to laugh as the sheep's rough tongue tickled my hand. Softly I patted the sheep's rough fur.
"He likes you!" A voice cried from behind a boulder. "You seem to be good with animals, these sheep will never come near me."
"Who are you?" I cried startled from him coming out from behind the boulder.
"I am David, a Shepard boy. I live here on this hill with my family," he said.
"You have a family?" I asked stunned.
"Yes, do you not live somewhere? Who are you and why are you out in the freezing cold anyways?" he asked again.
" My name is Naomi, I am an orphan so, no, I do not have a family. I was a slave for most of my life, but I was banished from my master's house today. I am cold and I do not know what I am going to do." I started to cry horrible tears of sadness.
"I am sorry Naomi. I have to watch the sheep, but if you could look after them for a moment then I can go to my house and bring you some food and a blanket." David looked over at me. I nodded yes and he ran up the hill to his house. Dusk had fallen and it should have been getting dark. The odd part was it seemed to be getting lighter by the minute. I glanced at the sky because I knew it was not a full moon on this night.
"Where is that light coming from?" I asked to myself out loud. I looked towards the heavens again and saw the biggest light I had ever seen in my life. There was a giant star illuminating the night sky. It was sparkling through the night and hovering right above Bethlehem.4 The star was shimmering and was as bright as the sunrays.
"That is a giant star," David said amazed. He walked down the steep hill and handed me some bread. As I put the bread to my lips it smelled warm and delicious. I had never tasted anything as fresh and warm as this bread.
"Why is that star here?" I wondered out loud.
David glanced at the star and then answered, "I am not sure. I have never seen anything like this in my life."
" It reminds me of my dreams… there is something holy about that star." I said.
"You have had such a hard life and yet you still believe in God?" David asked.
" Sometimes I do question, but I know in my heart that God is looking out for me today… and everyday. I cannot see God but I can sense his presence. Sometimes I dream that I am looking up at the sky and angels come down with good news for me. Not just one angel, but thousands, with trumpets and singing merry songs." I told him.
"Wow. What are your other dreams or goals?" David whispered.
"Promise you will not tell," I asked.
"I will not tell." David said confidently.
"Well I would like to find a family that would accept me for who I am. I would also like to witness some sort of miracle," I said hopefully.
"Those are big dreams and goals. Hey maybe…" David's voice was interrupted from the huge bright light in the sky. Quickly we glanced up at the heavens; there was a light that was brighter than the whitest thing in this universe. This light lit up the cold winter's night sky. From that light came figures draped in white clothes with beautiful flowing wings. They carried in their hands shinning gold trumpets and white banners.5
"Naomi, do you see what I see?" David asked shocked.
" David look they look…like…like angels." I said this with great glee and happiness. We both stared up at them and listened to the angels singing beautiful, joyful songs.6 Their voices were perfectly pitched as they sung:
"Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on Earth."7 They were celebrating joyfully for a reason we did not know. Finally an angel spoke to us.
He said, "Do not be afraid for tonight your savior was born to you in a stable. You will find him in a manger wrapped in clothes." The angels exited singing joyful songs and extolling God.8
"Well let us go and see this newborn king," a voice was heard behind me. I looked over and saw a man and a woman.
"Naomi, these are my parents, Peter and Hannah. This is Naomi the orphan I was telling you about." David said. So we began to walk through the brilliantly lit plains of Bethlehem. We arrived at the city and the star shone over the stable. It was brighter then ever so we decided to walk towards the stable.
Our pace quickened as we approached the star. We arrived at a run down brown wooden stable. It looked as though it was hundreds of years old. The large doors creaked as we opened them. Inside of the stable there was hay and various farm animals.
"This is beautiful," I stated. I was not looking at the barn, but at the very end of the room sat a manger. There were two people admiring the child and a few shepard's around. The stable should have been dark, but the bright light from the star had lit the stable up.
"Good evening; you are welcome here," said the woman in the blue cloak. " Please come and look at our son."
"What is his name? Why is the celebration so large? Even the angels are celebrating this child's birth." David said.
" My baby's name is Jesus. My name is Mary. An angel came to me and told me I would bear the child that was to be the Son of God. I was told I should name him Jesus, or Emmanuel, who means our God is with us."9
"So this is the son of God?" I asked. "The most holy human ever to set foot on this Earth?" I thought it was amazing that the Torah was true to its word and the Son of God had really come.
"Aye, that he is," Mary said.
"We are sorry we have no gift to offer the baby Jesus. We are terribly ashamed." Peter said.
"That is fine," Mary answered. "All of you being here is enough. Thank you for coming."
"Wait," I cried suddenly. "It will not be much but I can sing to Jesus maybe he would like that." I had always loved to sing but I had never had an opportunity to sing in front of people. Mary moved over and motioned me to the crib. I crept up nervously and looked down at the baby. I begin to sing timidly at first but the smiles on everyone's faces made my voice grow strong. I sang.
"Oh Holy Night! The stars are brightly shinning. It is the night of our dear saviors birth. Long lay the world in sin and error pining. Till he appeared and the soul felt his worth." Then David joined in.
"A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices, for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn." By then the stable was gleaming with bright smiles and happy tears. Then everyone joined in for the last part.
"Fall on your knees! Oh hear the angel's voices! O Night divine, the night when Christ was born! Oh night, Oh Holy night, oh night divine! Oh night, Oh Holy night, oh night divine!" As I sang the last notes of the song everyone in the stable begin to clap for me! They applauded for me! Who could ever believe that? I, a little orphan girl, was in the presence of a king and he and his family loved my singing. Me, a little girl lit up their faces like the star lit up this stable.
"That was the most beautiful song I have ever heard," cried Mary. She walked up to me and gave me a hug. I had never been hugged ever in my whole life. It was an amazing feeling to be liked by someone. "This child is amazing, you are lucky to have her in your family."
"Actually she is an orphan we found in the fields today," David said.
"Oh, the poor child. What is your name dear?" Mary smiled a soft, warm, loving smile at me. At first I was frightened because I really was not supposed to be there. I thought to myself for the first time that night, 'What am I going to do when I leave this stable? I am still homeless and hopeless. I do not want to answer her now when she knows I am a small slave girl.' Mary's voice and smile was so gentle and coxing so I answered her.
"Naomi." I replied softly.
"Well Naomi, I wish you well and pray that you find a family who will love you for who you are," Mary said. "You have brought us great joy today. The gift you gave us all was the greatest gift because it was from your heart."
David's mother looked like she was realizing something. She turned to her husband and whispered for a moment. Then they stood up and walked over to me.
"Naomi, my name is Hannah. We would love it if you would come and live with us at our house." She said.
"Really, you really want a small worthless girl like me?"
"Naomi you are not worthless. Yes we would love to have you in our family." Mary said.
"Okay!" I ran up to them and hugged them each. "Thank you so very much!" We decided it was probably time to head back to our house.
"Wait, please stay here for tonight," Mary said before we left. "It is very late and we have plenty of room in the stable." So that night we stayed in the stable with Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus. We lay down to sleep close to the horses, cows, and sheep in the stable.10 No one really cared though. I tiptoed over to the manger while everyone else was sleeping. Jesus was wrapped in white cloth and was sleeping peacefully in a manger made of wood and hay. The Old Testament had said our savior would come. Now he was finally here!11 Looking through the crack in the wooden walls of the stable, I saw the shinning star in the sky. It was so amazing to me that the brightest, biggest star I had ever seen was sitting right above the very stable where I sat. Glancing up at the beautiful star I realized that my life had changed on this day. I had gone from being a slave to having a family. I had changed because I had seen an angel and the Son of God. I believe in God and everything I ever have learned about him. My dreams came true the night Jesus was born, December 25.12 I had not only gotten a family that loved me but I also saw a number of miracles on this day. My heart was filled with innocent joy. I realized how great life was.
From that point on I preached the good news that Christ our savior was here! My new family and I told everyone we could about that fateful night. We cried, "Joy to the world the lord is here!"13 The night Jesus came into the world in Judea would be forever in my memory. All my dreams had come true on one night. That night was not one of the nights a person can forget about. December 25 was and is constantly in my memory. It is the reason I have so much faith in God. My life here on Earth has been beautiful, filled with many happy memories and moments. I owe all of those moments to my God. The moment I will always have the most gratitude towards him for though will be for the time he let me see first hand the most miraculous event ever to take place on this Earth.
End Notes
1 Jimmy Jones. The Birth of Jesus Christ. 2002. Out reach of Bible Truth
Ministry Inc. 22 Jan. 2003. .
Luke and Matthew. Holy Bible: The New International Version. Colorado Springs:
International Bible Co., 1984.
MaGill, Frank. "Birth of Jesus." Great Events From History. Vol. I New
Jersey: Salem Press, 1972.
Wallace, Daniel. The Birth of Christ. 2000. The Bible Foundation. 22 Jan.
2003. www.bible.org.
Wilson, Ralph. Christmas Stories and Articles. 2003. Joyful Heart Ministries.
22 Jan 2003. www.joyfulheart.com/xmas/.