He Became Man And Dwelt Among Us
by Louis Cassells
Once upon a time, there was a man who looked upon Christmas as a
lot of humbug. He wasn't a scrooge. He was a kind and decent person, generous to
his family, upright in all his dealings with other men. But he didn't believe
all that stuff about incarnation which churches proclaim at Christmas. And he
was too honest to declare that he did.
"I am truly sorry to distress you," he told his wife, who was a
faithful churchgoer. "But I simply cannot understand this claim that God
became man. It doesn't make any sense to me." On Christmas Eve, his wife
and children went to church for the midnight service. He declined to accompany
them. "I’d feel like a hypocrite," he explained. "I’d much
rather stay at home. But I'll wait up for you."
Shortly after his family drove away in the car, snow began to fall. He went to
the window and watched the flurries getting heavier and heavier. "If we
must have Christmas," he thought, "It's nice to have a white
one." He went back to his chair by the fireside and began to read his
newspaper. A few minutes later, he was startled by a thudding sound, It was
quickly followed by another, then another. He thought that someone must be
throwing snowballs at his livingroom window.
When he went to the front door to investigate, he found a flock of birds huddled
miserably in the snow. They'd had been caught in the storm, and in a desperate
search for shelter had tried to fly through his window.
"I can't let these poor creatures lie there and freeze," he thought.
"But how can I help them?" Then he remembered the barn where the
children's pony was stabled.It would provide a warm shelter. He put on his coat
and galoshes and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn. He opened the
doors wide and turned on a light. But the birds didn't come in. "Food will
bring them in," he thought. So he hurried back to the house for bread
crumbs, which he sprinkled on the snow to make a trail into the barn.
To his dismay, the birds ignored the bread crumbs and continued to flop around
helplessly in the snow. He tried shoeing them in the barn by walking around and
waving his arms. They scattered in every direction--except into the warm,
lighted barn. "They find me a strange and terrifying creature," he
said to himself. "And I can't seem to think of any way to let them know
they can trust me. If only I could be a bird myself for a few minutes, perhaps I
could lead them to safety..."
Just at that moment, the church bells began to ring. He stood silently for a
while, listening to the bells pealing the glad tidings of Christmas. Then he
sank to his knees in the snow. "Now I do understand," he whispered.
"Now I see why you had to do it.
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