I Have Seen Him
Benjamin bounded into the quiet house where Gramma sat weaving. “You can’t guess what a great time we had today, Gramma!” he said.
“Then tell me about it,” she said, turning to him with a smile. “Did you see the Master?”
“Oh, yes!”
“And was he the way you had imagined him?”
“Much, much nicer,” Benjamin said with a laugh. “A lot of people were there and He was so kind to everyone and even took some of the little children on his lap.”
Gramma’s shuttle flew back and forth through the loom as Benjamin talked.
“I wish you could have come,” he said finally. “You would have liked to see him, wouldn’t you, Gramma?”
“I have seen him,” Gramma said with a twinkle in her eye.
“When, Gramma? Did Jesus come to our town before? I don’t remember it.”
“Yes… He was in this town. But it was many, many years ago.”
“Were you little like me?” wondered Benjamin.
“Just a few years older,” said Gramma. “I lived with my uncle and aunt. It was the year of the first Roman taxing and people were coming into town from all over the country. Uncle Reuben owned the west inn, so of course we were very busy….
Late one afternoon a merchant man and his servants arrived and I was sent to the well for more water. “They will fill up our last room,” I heard Uncle Reuben tell my aunt. “When the Christ comes, we won’t have to pay Roman taxes. But in the meanwhile, it gives us good business,” he said with a laugh.
I’d rather have the Christ come, I thought, as I made my aching arms pull the heavy pot of water from the well. I hadn’t had a free moment all day. I could imagine an easier life. When God’s promised One came there would be justice and peace in the land and all our troubles would be over. That’s what Uncle Reuben said.
Aunt Salome handed me a jar when I brought in the wash water. “You’d better get the milking done now, Nanni,” she said. “Then I will need you to lay out the bedding while I serve the evening meal.”
I almost skipped down the steps. My goat, Lily, was sure to be waiting for me. I could tell her all my troubles as I milked her, and she always listened. But what I saw standing in the courtyard made my heart sink. More travelers.
“We don’t have—” I began, but the man stopped me.
“Please, the man told me that you are full,” he said quickly. “But there is no other place open tonight. Can’t you at least give us a corner, for my wife to rest?”
I thought of the crowded rooms upstairs and glanced at the woman on the donkey. She sat hunched and didn’t look very well. We didn’t need these kind of customers. I shook my head.
Lily nibbled at my sleeve and I led her into the stable. The musty smell of fresh bedding calmed my nerves as I tied her to the manger. I leaned against her warm side and began squeezing milk into the jar.
Someone darkened the doorway. “Excuse me, miss.” It was the man again. I looked up and frowned. He stepped closer and glanced around the dim room. “Even this corner of the stable could work.” I hesitated. This was Lily’s pen. He pulled out his money bag. “I will pay.”
Of course Uncle Reuben would be glad. I reluctantly held out my hand for the money and went to tell my aunt about the new borders. “Make sure they get some bedding,” she said as she ladled out hot soup. “Did you say the woman looks ill? Take her a bowl of this broth when you go.”
More work. I grumbled under my breath as I trudged back down the steps. The gloomy shades of night seemed to fill my heart and I felt like crying. My back ached. If those people weren’t in the stable I’d curl up with Lily and tell her all about it. Instead I trudged back up to help Aunt Salome lay out the bedding.
It was late when I collapsed into bed. My mat had been moved to the kitchen to make room for borders, but I hardly cared. The dying fire gave off some warmth and I stretched out to sleep. Sometime during the night I remember my aunt bending over me. “You can sleep a little longer, Nanni,” she whispered as she stirred up the coals. I turned my tired body over and gratefully fell asleep again.
It didn’t seem much longer before I opened my eyes to see a rosy glow in the sky. I sat up stiffly. The floors must be swept before the borders started waking, but where was Aunt Salome? She met me in the doorway with a basket of laundry.
“Of all things, that woman in the stable had a baby last night,” she said with a tired sigh. “I don’t know why those crazy shepherds had to show up.”
“Shepherds?”
“They told a fool story about angels singing on the hills….” Aunt Salome shook her head. “They’re gone now and the poor girl is resting. No rest for us, though. Get some water so I can wash these rags, Nanni.”
I sighed. A baby in our stable? I would have liked to see it anywhere else, I thought, as I trudged down the stairs with my water pot. The dawn was breaking over the hill, and the words of a Psalm came back to me: “The LORD is my light and my salvation.” (Psalm 27:1) The scribe at the synagogue had read it last sabbath. “When Christ comes a new day will break for us. We will be saved from all our troubles,” he had said. Life without trouble? For some reason I had my doubts.
Excited voices came from the corner of the street as I hurried toward the well. “Hey, Nanni!” someone said. “Did you hear about the baby born in the stable last night?”
I recognized Jared, the shepherd boy, and stopped. “Yes,” I said, remembering my aunt’s remarks about their early morning visit. “What do you know about it?”
Jared clutched his shepherd’s staff. “Maybe you won’t believe me, but I swear that I’m telling truth,” he said. He pointed to the dark hills beyond the city walls. “We were up there with the sheep last night when he came,” he whispered.
“The angel,” put in a taller boy.
“We were just shaking and sure that the end had come.” Jared blinked and I wondered what he had seen.
“He told us not to be afraid and that he was going to tell us good news,” Jared continued slowly. “I didn’t hardly know what to think, but I knew I wasn’t dreaming.”
“Then he said that the Savior was born in the city of David,” added his friend.
“Christ the Lord,” whispered Jared.
“The promised One?” I stared at him. “You are making that up!”
“The light of God was shining all around us, I’m telling you the truth,” Jared said. “And then a whole cloud of angels came. They sang praise to God and peace to men. It was wonderful!”
I turned away in disgust. Aunt Salome was right. It was all a foolish shepherd’s tale. I headed for the well, but I couldn’t help hearing Jared’s excited voice call after me. “The proof was that he was lying in a manger. We came early this morning to see, and found him in that stable. It is the Savior all right, just like the angel told us.”
The Savior? If Jared was convinced, I wasn’t. The Christ would be powerful and would come from heaven. He would take away all our troubles. The baby in the stable couldn’t be the Christ.
I was hurrying back through the courtyard when I heard a faint cry. It was the baby. I hesitated at the stable door, and then slipped inside. It wouldn’t hurt to take a peak. Lily bleated and the man lifted a lantern. I could see the woman sitting beside the manger. “You may come and see him,” she said.
There he was, a tiny baby lying in the hay. Lily’s hay. But the goat didn’t seem to mind. I knelt beside the manger and reached out my finger to touch his soft cheek. His mouth opened in a little yawn. Could Jared’s story be true? I looked up at his mother’s face and she smiled. “Did you hear about the angels?” she asked quietly.
I nodded. So she believed it, too! I could see it in her shining eyes, like the glimmer of the sunrise. I looked down at the baby and for a moment I was afraid. Christ would come to save us from trouble. How could this poor baby do anything for me?
I touched his soft hand and I felt the little fist close around my finger. A lump swelled up in my throat. The grasp of that baby hand reminded me of all my aches and loneliness. Poor baby in the hay! His life would be filled with troubles and aches, too. I blinked the tears from my eyes and looked at his peaceful face. He wasn’t worried or afraid.
The first morning light shone into the stable and the words of Jared’s angels came back to me. “Good news… peace to men.” I wanted that. Could it be true that the Christ had come, not in royal robes but as a newborn baby? Had he come, not to take away my troubles, but to give me hope and peace in the midst of them? A happy warm feeling filled my sad heart. Yes, I believed it. Christ had been sent to my stable to shine God’s love on me.
Aunt Salome’s call interrupted my wondering thoughts. “Here’s the milk jug, Nanni. Hurry with the milking!”
The baby fingers relaxed as I pulled my hand away. I looked at the woman and smiled. “Thank you for letting me see him,” I said. Looking around at the cramped little stable, I added, “Please let me know if you need anything. When I finish my work upstairs, I’ll bring you something to eat.”
She smiled back. “Thank you for making room for us,” she said….
“Was it Jesus?” Benjamin asked. “Did angels really tell the shepherds about it?”
Gramma nodded. “Not many people believed them, but that day things changed for me. The angel’s message was really true. He left with his parents the next week, but I knew I would never forget him. When we heard about the Master preaching and healing, I thought that it must be him. Yes, my Benjamin, I have seen him. I believe he is the Christ, our promised Savior.”