Two Thousand Years Ago

Two Thousand Years Ago

For unto us a child is born

In the stable a new baby enfolded in the arms

of his loving mother, honoured by oxen,

watched over by angels, greeted by the owl’s

hoot and the night hawk’s cry in the long cold night.

A shepherd boy brought his new lamb for the baby,

the Magi brought rich gifts for the infant king,

humble prince of peace who came to lead

us to the peace of our loving God.

The stars sang, the river nudged its stones

and woke the dreaming dragon flies,

soft breezes whispered among the olive trees,

every flower raised its fragile petals to the radiant sky,

all combined as one to join with the song of welcome

to the enchanting baby born this night of nights,

and to recite again the angelic greeting

‘Peace be to all men of good will.’

§§§§§§§§§

I talked to an old soldier, disfigured and lame, 

who fought for five long years in trenches

carpeted with mud, amidst the wire, beneath the gas, 

his young manhood devoured by pain and blood and fear.

‘Did you hate the Hun?’ I asked him.  ‘No,’  he said, 

‘for he was a man like me. Like me he fought 

for what he believed - his emperor, honour,

nation, that all might be strong and free.'

‘When at last you came home’ I said, ‘were you

full of joy,  you, the young proud hero?’

For a long moment he looked into the dying fire.

‘How could I be proud when all I did was to obey orders?

Where was the joy when all my mates were dead?

Closer then to my enemy than to my friend,

I found little peace in that war’s ending,

and little glory in a bitter victory.’

The old warrior slept, while I sat quietly in the dark night

and listened to the echo of sweet celestial voices ringing

once more down centuries of bitterness and cruel war.

And I remembered again those two great commandments, 

to love God and to love our neighbour as ourselves, 

given that we might find his blessed inner peace 

revealed to us by a man born in a stable,

two thousand years ago.

Naomi