The first Christmas

(Joseph)
Just a simple carpenter
Was I the year He came
Not worthy of attention in any way
Beyond my ancestor David’s name.

Plan I had made for a future life
I had engaged to my wife, Mary
We’d prepared ourselves for a quiet simple living
But God had plans to the contrary.

When first I knew of Mary’s condition
I could not trust her word
A virgin conception was impossible
Such a thing had never occurred.

She must have had relations with another man
I thought perhaps against her will
And she is so ashamed she lies
Hoping I will marry her still.

And though hurt and saddened by what I saw
As deception on her part
I wished no scandal or ill will her way
And I chose to quietly depart.

But then dreams of God came to me
And spoke so my doubts were undone
He assured me the truth of Mary’s words-
I was to be the earthly father of His son.

Such astonishment, such awe at His words!
Such remorse, but also relief
And still I trembled in humbleness
For He chose me despite my unbelief.

The night that Mary’s child was born
The most glorious birth to occur
After long nights of traveling to Bethlehem
In the stable of an inn we were

The Son of God was born not among men
But among animals innocent and mild
And it was I who stayed at His handmaid’s side
I who saw the birth of His child…

All through our journey I had worried
About the danger to His little one
The impact the rough trip would have on Mary
Possible exhaustion from the heat of the sun

The travelers who behaved so roughly
Could not be good for a woman with child to be near
And soon her time would come to give birth
Where would we go to then while here?

But God and His will were carried out
His protection over us was spread
And as in our stable we beheld His child
All fears left my head…

Here was His child come to earth
In the form of a mere human babe
He entrusted us with His care-
This child who all of the world would save…

(Mary)
He came to me as a young girl
Who had not yet known a man
An angel, hand of our Lord was sent
To forever change my future plan

Most fearful was I for my sanity
For I had never seen such a sight
A glorious being, tall and strong
And sending off such abundance of light.

But lo He spoke to me
And told me to be not afraid
For I was blessed in the Lord’s sight-
And His favor for me to be displayed.

I was to give birth to a son
For inside me God’s spirit would dwell
He was to be our people’s savior
And to be called Immanuel…

My mind was full of such confusion
And though I did not doubt God’s will
How was I to give birth to a child
When I was a virgin still?

But yet I did not protest
But wished God’s will be done
Such blessing laid upon me
To be the mother of His Son…

And throughout my term of carrying
God looked after me most tenderly
For Joseph my fiancée came to believe
And did still marry me

The journey to the place God’s son was to be born
Was wearying with much noise and rough men
So many of them that when my time came
There was no room for us in an inn.

But directed we were to a stable
And there among the creatures and hay
The Child of God, the Savior was born
And in a feeding trough he lay.

My child, my God, my Savior
All this was my new son
The child I held in tender arms
Would one day give His life for everyone…

And though I knew of the trials that lay ahead
The pain I would no doubt be brought
For now I could only hold this child
The miracle God hath wrought…

(Jesus)
I came to the world on a dark night
When the stars twinkled down upon the earth
Giving news to magi and shepherds alike
Showing them to my place of birth

And the air was still with a suspenseful silence
Even as the streets filled up with sounds
And to only a few was I made known
Those dwelling in humble abounds.

First dwelling with my mother Mary
To fill her with the Holy Spirit
At my birth the angels they sang
Gospel and the shepherds did hear it.

As I came to the world
And my mother held me to her breast
I heard her soft murmur in my ear
And her voice did soothe my distress.

On my first night as a mortal
I lay sleeping in my mother’s arms
For safe in the stable, laid in my trough
I was safe from any harm.

For then  I did not know
Of what I would one day be
Knew not I was the father as well as the son
The Holy Trinity.

I did not know of the miracles
The great things I would one day do
I knew not how my life would end
Of the betrayal I would go through.

All I knew was the comfort
I felt in my mother’s embrace
And as the animals around me softly called
I felt quite at home in this place.