Christmas Eve

 part 1

 

Alistair spent the time after his dinner, or what passed as his dinner, sitting on the large rock across the pond from the mill, watching as the setting sun changed the colors of the old stones from which it was constructed. In England there would be a deep chill in the air, possibly snow. After two and a half years he was still not really used to the fact that in Australia, Christmas came in the warm season. But it was so lovely here in his garden that he found he truly did not wish to change the flowers for ice. In his mind he had come to think of his new residence as Peacefield Mill. Just beyond it on the other side lay a gently-sloping meadow filled with wild flowers where he often walked in the evenings and would stop from time to time and look back at the mill. A great peace always lay upon the land and so the name had come easily to him.

Tonight would be his first sermon in the Glen. He liked that it was to be on Christmas Eve. Christmas Eve had always been even more special for him than the Day itself for it was then the reality of Bethlehem most filled his heart. It was that he intended to speak of tonight.

Going back inside the mill he changed into a neat, dark suit and then walked down the path that led to the church. He had both a bicycle and a compact little car, but preferred to walk in the Glen whenever the weather permitted and often when it did not. It was only seven when he arrived and the service was scheduled for eight so he took his time and let the presence of the little building seep into him. Earlier today Joimus and her husband had brought over quite an array of wreaths, garlands, and flowers. He smiled at the memory, for Ahnna had been with them and the four of them, together, had decorated the building.

Now in the gathering dusk, he sat alone in the back pew and looked around at their handiwork. Every window had a central wreath; every ledge was covered in greenery with a tall candle waiting to be lit. He wouldn't do the lighting until just before people began to arrive. The simple altar at the front was banked with pots of poinsettias and an arrangement of boughs and candles on the altar itself was punctuated by both poinsettias and white lilies. That was because for him, Christmas was the beginning of Easter. The two were inextricably connected. A pair of matching candelabra flanked the altar, each holding seven tall white candles. There needed to be candles on Christmas Eve. It was when the Light had come.

Quietly he rose from the pew and went to the front of the church, kneeling on the low step there, praying for a long time in the silent places of his soul. Hearing the main door behind him open, he stood and turned to greet Bridgid and Captain Aubrey. They were the first to arrive since Bridgid was going to play the piano tonight to accompany him. He hadn't had a chance yet to discover who might be interested in singing in the church and so on this first day, he was simply singing himself.

The two of them helped him with the candles. He kept the electric lighting turned down low so that the candlelight was dominant, creating a lovely sense of warmth in the room. As more people arrived, he stood at the door, greeting each one, asking and committing to memory the names of those he'd not yet had the opportunity to meet. When Ahnna entered by herself, and he took her hand in welcome, he was not even aware that as he held it, he placed his other atop it, nesting it between his palms.

When it was time, he took his place at the front but stood beside and not behind the small wooden pulpit. He never liked the sense of separation that standing behind a pulpit gave him. As his eyes traveled down the pews, his lips curved into a smile. "Welcome," he said, "to a celebration of the night in which the unbegotten God demonstrated His love for us by becoming the only begotten Son. You will find that I am a man of uncomplicated, straight-forward faith, quite in love with the beauty of the great simplicity that is found in God.
This is the first service we have had in the Glen and it is my hope that as I come to know all of you and you come to know me, that we do so in this same straight-forwardness of relationship. Most of us are still in the beginnings of getting to know one another and I believe that creates a special atmosphere of newness in which all things are possible."

The door opened and Sid slipped in, taking the same seat Alistair had occupied earlier in the back pew. He had heard of this man who came bearing such an unbelievably bad reputation. This was a complicated man, who could perhaps use a touch of simplicity. Sid had obviously not wanted to be left out this evening, a fact that Alistair did not miss. "All things are possible," he repeated, "even those we may not believe to be so."

Bridgid left her seat on the front pew next to Jack and came up to the piano on the left side of the raised section of the church. Alistair walked over to it, too, and standing beside it said, "This piece is called simply 'Joseph's Song' and sets the tone for what I'd like to talk with you about tonight. My father died when I was just a baby and I was raised by a wonderful step-father so this song has great meaning for me personally. Joseph was not Jesus' father, nor was he His step-father in the literal meaning of that, but the comparison is there nonetheless.
I have found myself through the years thinking quite often of what it must have been like for Joseph to raise the child that he had placed in his care." He nodded to Bridgid, who began to play and Alistair's beautiful, deep voice filled the church. In the words of the song, Joseph is holding the newborn baby in his arms, lifting his prayer, his concerns up to God. Partway through, Alistair closed his eyes as he sang and raised his chin. "Lord, I know He's not my own...not of my flesh, not of my bone...still, Father, let this baby be, the son of my love."

Watching him, Ahnna's eyes filled with tears. How had it happened that this man had simply appeared so near to where she lived? Her eyes never left his face as he continued, "Father, show me where I fit into this plan of Yours. How can a man be father to the Son of God?
Lord, for all my life I've been a simple carpenter. How can I raise a king...how can I raise a king?"  He sang as if he knew the deep heart of Joseph, as if he were Joseph, and it was so piercingly beautiful she began to tremble.