Holy Night

All is quiet in Heaven. Not just quiet. This night is so quiet you can feel it. Hear it. As if all of Heaven and all of Creation is holding its breath.
Muriel, the youngest angel, always curious, always questioning, finds her way to the Great Room and stands boldly before the Throne. There is not a trace of fear in her as she stands in His magnificent Presence.
"Father?"
"Yes, Little One?"
"I know something is happening. Everyone here is shining a little brighter than usual, but no one is speaking. And that star. I've never seen that one before. What is it? What's happening?"
"Something very special. The world will never be the same after tonight."
"Is that good or bad?" she asks.
"It is good."
"Will you tell me about it? May I know it?"
"Certainly, Little One, soon everyone will know it. It is my Son. He is about to be born. Down there, below the star, in that manger."
"Your Son? But he was just here. He's always been HERE. Why are you sending him down there? It's dangerous there, and there is so much the humans don't understand. They may hurt Him."
"I know."
"But that's a stable! He's a King. Why is He being born in a stable? Shouldn't His arrival be a bit more spectacular? Maybe descending from Heaven on a great cloud, with trumpets blaring..."
"All in good time, my Precious."
"I don't understand."
"Right now I need him to come into the world as a baby, the way all humans do. He has to be one of them, has to feel what they feel, experience the same joy, sadness, temptation, pain, grief...."
"Loneliness too?" Muriel asks.
"No. Not loneliness. Because I will always be with Him. As for the stable, it's a fine place to start. He will show the world that it doesn't matter where you were born, or what you own. That's not what counts."
"But why does He have to leave here and go there at all?" Muriel pleads.
"He has a most important job to do. Something only He can do. You see, my people have wandered far away from me, like lost sheep. I need Him to round them up and bring them back to me."
Muriel tilts her head. "Like a shepherd?" she asks.
"Exactly," He says softly. "They've forgotten how it was in the Beginning. They've forgotten that I created them in My own image, and they've gone chasing after meaningless pursuits. My Son will remind them of My Love for them. Show them in ways no one else can. He will Save them. Do you understand, Muriel?"
"Maybe, a little. But why are you doing it? If they've forgotten You, why not forget them too?"
"Because I love them." He says, and sighs.
"But will they listen? Will they follow Him?" Muriel is skeptical.
"Many will. And those that do must tell the others, and with their very lives, show the world what He has taught them. None of it is easy, Muriel, but it must be done."
They are both silent for a long moment. Then a sound rips the air, a sound so startling Muriel jumps a foot. The sound grows louder and louder until it reverberates though all the Halls of Heaven, filling the Universe. It is the unmistakable wail of a baby's cry. Muriel's eyes grow wide. "That's Him!" she cries. In this very moment, suddenly the Angel Chorus begins to sing, a thousand voices proclaiming "Allejujah, He is Come!" A squadron of Messenger Angels swoops down on a field where shepherds are tending their flock, and gives to them the Good News. All of Creation resounds with the Joy of this most Holy Moment.
Muriel bows low before the Throne, and simply says, "Thank you, Father." Then in an instant she is gone to join all the Heavenly Host in the Celebration.
The Father listens to all of it. The chorus, the harps, the shouting, the Baby's cry. Then he closes His eyes, settles back, and whispers, "It has begun."

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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL, AND TO ALL A HOLY NIGHT.
With Love, From Marcy