Walking home from another hard day at work the man was hungry and tired. He was in a bad mood from all the trouble he was having at work with his boss. Looking up, he saw the same brilliant shining star overhead. He thought to himself, “how long has it been above the village of Bethlehem?”

Thinking, he figured it must be a month or so, but it was shining much brighter it seemed tonight. As he walked along the street he lived on he started to notice more then the usual amount of people moving down the street. Some of the people pushed past him as they hurried on their way down the street. “What now?” he said to himself as he saw a crowd gathered in front of a stable next to an inn he passed every day. “What in the world is this”? he thought as he stopped and looked at all the people gathered around looking in the stable.

He went over to a tall well-dressed man, probably the owner of the inn, who was standing outside the group of people and to the side of the large group. The tall man standing there turned as he got closer and smiled, saying “Hello Mark, it is good to see you here on this most Holy night.” The man, stunned at the strange man knowing his name, first of all, and why was he so friendly towards him? Then he thought “What was this about a holy night?” The tall man seemed to be reading his thoughts as he continued to smile at him and said “Fear not, for I bring you good news this night!

Looking from the man to the crowd and back, Mark said, “What good news is there in that stable that I should care about, and why are all these people here?”

Coming over to where Mark was standing, the tall man took Mark by the hand and lead him into the packed stable. The people in the stable seemed to move out of his way as he lead Mark to where a manger was over in the corner. Mark looked on to see a man and woman sitting by each other as the woman held a baby. Mark turned quickly to the tall man and said “What is this, and what does this have to do with me?” The tall man took his eyes off the baby and said with a low voice that had love and compassion in it, “This little baby you see here is special, very special, there will never be another like Him.” Mark asked “What makes this little one any different than any other baby?”

The tall man replied “I will tell you Mark, and you will see, first of all God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This little baby you see here is the King. He is the light of the world. He is our savior, our Lord, our God! He will do great things in this world when He grows up. He will heal the sick, He will raise the dead. He will teach a new gospel of hope and salvation. He is the Good Shepherd who will lead His flock and give His very life for them! He is the way, the truth and the life.”

Mark looked shocked as he said, “You can’t be serious? He is just a little baby, I don’t even know His name.” The tall man said “Jesus. His name is Jesus, and He is the Christ. He will also be called Emmanuel for He is truly “God with us”.

The tall man cleared his throat and said, “Let me tell you of His future, that you may know why He is here and what He will do for all of you. He will teach and gather disciples to Him, He will spread His new gospel and His disciples will baptize in the Holy Spirit, the comforter that will come. He will weep for those He loves, He will be denied and betrayed. He will be falsely accused of blasphemy, He will be scourged and mocked. He will hang from a cross and die. He will take on all of mens’ sins that they may be forgiven. He will die, I say and then rise on the third day and ascend into Heaven. He will come back and judge all men. Yes, God His Father has given this little boy to judge all men. He is to be loved, worshiped and feared and obeyed. His very Blood will wash away all sin.

Mark turned to the man and asked, “Who are you and how do you know this to be true?”The man answered, “I am called Gabriel and I serve God. This I tell you was a prophecy made a long time ago by Isaiah the prophet. I, Gabriel told the mother of Jesus over there, that she, a virgin, would carry in her a child conceived by the Holy Ghost and she would call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. And after He has finished He will send the comforter unto His flock. He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.

First of sin for they will believe not on Him.

Second of righteousness because He will go back to His Father and man will see Him no more.

Third of judgment because the prince of this world will be judged by Him.

Yes, He has a lot of work to do but for tonight we all celebrate His birth.”

Looking at the baby Jesus Gabriel says, “And after we celebrate, His Father will let Him grow and live with and be among the people of the world. He will get to know compassion, joy and pain and love and see and know and conquer death. He will experience all but sin in His life as He grows up to be a great Man and Savior of the world.” “Yes”, Gabriel said “let Him enjoy His young life and be part of His loving earthly family.”

Gabriel said to Mark, “In thirty years or so you will hear these things from His very mouth. You will learn from Him and ask Him the questions you have in you. You will see the miracles I have spoken of this night. You will see all that I spoke of and more when He walks these very streets as a Man!”

Mark looked on as he witnessed many angles worshiping Him as He was put to sleep that bright starry night. Mark looked up into the sky and saw the star shining bright and a multitude of angels coming down from Heaven and the sky was full of them as they celebrated and sang and worshiped the new born King.

Mark changed that night and thought of the day when he might see this little baby as a man walking the streets of his village of Bethlehem, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed Christmas and God Bless you.

All glory to God

His humble servant Lee M Buchanan