O Come! A Sermon for the Young and the Young at Heart

Scripture can be found here….

Come on, Eli!
Come, O come!

Eli had been daydreaming.
As the sun had gotten low in the winter sky,
it turned a beautiful color of pink and purple.
It made the hillside glow.

Eli! Come! O Come!

Eli’s mother called to him.
She was a shepherd; they were part of a family of shepherds, watching a flock of woolly, busy sheep.
Eli’s job was to help the sheep all keep going in the same direction.
Even though he was only 6 years old, he could help by giving them a gentle nudge with his staff.
His father had made him a special staff, just the right size for him.

But Eli had been looking at the sky,
and thinking how pretty the color made the grass on the hillside look,
so now some sheep were going off in the wrong direction.

Eli! Eli! His mother called.
Come! Come along!

Eli gently nudged the sheep and helped them follow the rest of the flock as they ambled down the hillside.

It wasn’t long before they came to the place where they would gather for the night.
It was a safe nook, with a sloping mountain on one side, and some thick shrubs on another side,
and a gentle stream on a third side.
The shepherds would make the fourth side:
Eli, his sisters, his mother, his father, and his uncles would sit, all spread out.
They would make the sheep feel safe, so that they could all get some rest.

Eli’s father made a little fire, so the shepherds would all be warm.
Eli’s uncle passed around good bread from home, and a container of water for the children,
and something else for the grown-ups.
Everyone ate and drank a little, and then they started to settle down for the night.

Come, Eli! His mother said.
And he went to her, and leaned against her,
and she wrapped a part of her long cloak around him,
and her arm, too.
Soon he was dozing off, just like the sheep.


All of a sudden, Eli woke up.

There was a bright light.

Eli was confused.
He thought he’d overslept.
He thought it was the sun high in the sky, but it wasn’t. It was… it was….

“Angels!” Eli’s father whispered.

Angels???

Eli felt tingles run down his spine.
He was frightened.
He tried to look up, but it was so bright his eyes hurt.

His mother had stood up, so Eli stood up, but he leaned against her.
She wrapped her cloak around him again.
He peeked out from under the warm cloak, and he saw that, whatever angels were, they were beautiful.

He thought he saw wings and feathers.

And then he thought he saw robes and gowns.

And then he thought he saw golden crowns and lights.

He heard one thing, and he heard it right in his heart:

Do not be afraid.

And, for some reason, that helped.
Eli felt more calm, he felt more sure.
He didn’t have to be afraid.

Then he heard something else:

This is good news, joyful news.
To you is born this day a Savior: Christ the Lord.

Eli wasn’t exactly sure what it meant,
but it made his heart feel good.

He heard his mother gasp— and then she and Eli’s sisters started laughing,
not like it was funny, but like it was amazing.

His father and his uncles murmured,
and then they laughed, and then they started shouting for joy.

Whatever it meant, the shepherds were all for it.

Then he heard singing, like nothing he’d ever heard before.

Glory to God in the highest,
and peace to God’s people on earth.

This made Eli’s heart feel like dancing….
He could hardly believe it.
And then the angels were gone,
and all the shepherds were talking at once… except for Eli.
He was still listening.

“Come on! Let’s go to Bethlehem now and see this marvelous thing God has done!
Let’s see this baby the angels have told us about!
Let’s see our Savior!

Come! Come, Eli! His mother said.
Come!

And Eli began to run.