“If only I could become one of them”

Once upon a time,

There was a family that lived on a farm.

There was a mother and father and 3 children.

It was Christmas Eve and a blizzard was coming with lots of blowing snow!

The mother of the family got everyone ready for church.

When she noticed the father of the family not getting dressed she asked him,

“Honey, aren’t you coming to church with us?”

He replied, “I think I better stay home and watch the house while you are away,

I’ll keep the lights on and the house warm for you when you get home.”

She begged him to come with them to church, but he said no,

“It’s better for me to stay here.”

So off the wife and children went to church.

Soon after they left the blizzard roared and snow flew all around,

so much, that you could barely see.  The farmer began to hear strange noises.

Thump!  Thud!  Thump, thump!  Thud!

He went outside to try to see where the noise was coming from

and heard even stranger noises!  Honk, honk, honk!  It was geese!

They were all confused about where to fly and couldn’t see each other.

They were crashing into the side of his barn and some of them were dying!

The farmer thought, I’ll go to the barn and open the doors and turn the light on,

Surely they will see the light.  Surely they will come away from the confusion.

But they didn’t.  They didn’t see the light.  They kept flying into the barn.

Honk, honk, honk.  Thud! Thump! Oh it was awful.

Then he thought, “I know!  I’ll break bread for them and lay it out toward the light.”

And so he did break the bread and gave it to them.

But the geese didn’t come to the broken bread.

They didn’t come to the bread or the light.

Then he got a great idea.

“If only I could become one of them.  Then I could lead them

to the light and food, and away from confusion and death.

Suddenly his eyes were opened, he realized something at a deep place in his heart.

He got dressed to join his wife and children at church.

They had gone to church to celebrate someone who became one of us!

Jesus led us from death to life, to see the light, and broke bread for us.

He hurried to church, hoping to get there to show his wife he understood Christmas.

As the blizzard died down, there they sat together rejoicing,

The geese were going to be ok, and so was he.

God is with us.  Emmanuel.

Glory to God in the highest

And peace on earth to all people.