Poem #3 in my series of 8 Christmas Poems for Jesus, penned as gifts to Him over the past 8-9 Christmases.
Poem #3
What If I’d Lived Back Then? (Based on Luke 2:8-20)
Artificial tree limbs,
Scattered ‘round me on the floor,
This monolith of Christmas,
Adds triangular décor.
The wreathes go up tomorrow
With a string of lights, brand new,
While the hectic pace of shopping
Ramps up a notch or two.
And cars speed by a-honkin’
Spraying slush from out the rear,
While stores blare Christmas carols,
That no one really hears.
‘Til Christmas day is over
and with paper and a pen,
I pause to sit and ponder,
“What if I’d lived back then?”
What if 2000 years ago,
I’d lived in Palestine?
No garland, gifts, or greenery,
No candle scent of pine.
My job: a simple shepherd man.
My crook: a wooden stem,
I use to lead my sheep to graze
Outside of Bethlehem.
In meadows green and luscious
I watch sheep throughout the night,
As my fathers did before me,
And, as all my children might.
Another night, stars take their place,
Like countless nights before;
We’ve waited silent centuries —
God’s voice is heard no more.
Yet Prophets made a promise
That one day a child be born;
The One who would deliver us,
And turn our night to morn.
Instead we face oppression
From the heavy Roman sword;
So where is this Deliverer,
The One David called, “My Lord”?* (Ps 110:1)
Then, the calm was shattered,
As Luke has clearly told,
While laying near my sheep & pals,
The starry sky turned gold.
And a man appeared before me,
If ‘man’ could be his name,
And spoke such words transcendent,
I have never been the same.
“Be not afraid, I bring good news,
And great will be your joy.
Nearby in lowly Bethlehem
Is born a baby boy.”
“Not any boy, nor just a lad,
He is both Christ and Lord.
You’ll find Him in a manger
Near where the hay is stored.”
I raced to find this little lamb
Placed in a feedbox plain;
Just as the angel told me,
In strips of cloth He lay.
A babe and yet a Savior,
A King and yet poor-born;
His homeless parents huddled close,
With faces tired and worn.
“Could this be our Messiah,
Who sleeps so near the ground?”
I mulled the Scriptures long & hard,
And this is what I found:
“One day a virgin is with child,
His name Immanuel.” (Is. 7:14)
And later scorned and crucified,
To save His own from hell.
The prophet said, “A child will bear
The government of man;
And great will be His reign of peace
For all throughout the land.” (Is. 9:6-7)
The Babe moved north w/ mom & dad,
Lived three-and-thirty years.
He spoke and healed the worst despair
And dried up many tears.
The rest seems like a whirlwind,
Recorded by four men.
He died to pay for just demands
And rose to life again.
Well, that’s the way I see it
If I’d been a shepherd man,
If I had watched the birth of Christ,
If I had lived back then.
But that was then and this is now
Can we compare the two?
Back then they wished He would come,
Today the same holds true.
So, despite my Christmas trappings,
There’s one lesson I have learned.
The King will come a second time,
One day He will return!
Happy Birthday Jesus.
Dan
12-25-2003
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