20161224 (Immanuel)

Baby born in Syria after his mother was hit by a barrel bomb.

Spoiler alert! We’ve got Christmas 

Backwards. We know how 

It all turns out. That’s why 

We get so crazy happy for 

What happened. Besides

It’s about a baby. Who has

Trouble with that? So let the 

Joyous bells resound. Let the

Choirs of heaven and earth

Sing alleluia, alleluia till round

The whole world choruses of

Angels join in praise to the

Heavenly King, Gloria, Gloria.

Except it probably wasn’t like 

That at all. Remember this is

About a young woman in her 

First pregnancy enduring a

Long journey as a mere subject

Of a proud and imperial power—

For what? To know how much

To tax the oppressed. Even if

She rode a humble donkey the 

Last miles, she’s near full 

Term and puzzled about how 

Everything will work out.

She's exhausted already at 

The thought of the labor to 

Come. Arriving late to their

Destination they find all the 

Available room taken and her 

Time has come. Grateful to

Be allowed in a shelter where

The simple animals rest, they

Prepare for the night ahead. 

Convinced she was singled 

Out by her God to bear a special

Child for her nation, she thinks 

Now not of glory but of pain as

She readies some straw for

A bed. Assured in a dream,

That all is right with his bride-

To-be and that the child will 

Have a name of authority and

Righteousness, he trusts, and

Does all to provide. Exactly

What the shepherds heard and 

Saw that night on the hills 

Where they tended their sheep,

Wasn’t a bomb going off

Waking everyone in town, 

But they did find a baby

And a mother, finally resting.

They told everyone there was a

Tremendous fuss about a baby

Born last night, but it didn't

Make the morning news. That

Was how God came to us: wet,

Bloody, crying, cold, tiny,

Helpless, desperate for comfort,

Dependent on two bewildered

Youngsters for safekeeping, 

Teaching, feeding, and love, 

Like every one of us, like the

Children born in Aleppo, Gaza,

Yemen, or Fallujah, the most

Wretched of origins, a holy 

Promise of glory to come.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016