The first thing we felt was the silence. A strange hush seemed to settle over the
landscape. Nights were normally quiet,
but this silence was decidedly unnatural.
We all seemed to notice the silence at the same time, though none of us was
willing to speak. Then, we saw something
strange; a light appeared at the horizon, a light like nothing we had ever
seen. It was impossibly bright, brighter
than the midday sun on the clearest day, and yet we could stare directly at it
without blinking. Fast as a bolt of lightning,
it approached.
As it stopped, it took the form of a man. He was dressed as a soldier, with a sword
attached to his belt. His clothes glowed
white; they were the source of the light.
Though he made no threatening move, each of us knew he could have killed
us in a heartbeat. We were too terrified
to run; we fell to our knees in fear.
Then he spoke.
“Fear not!” His voice
thundered. We found ourselves gaining
courage, though not from ourselves. “I have
been sent to bring you good news, joyful news, for everyone. Today in Bethlehem, your Savior has been born;
he is the Messiah, the Lord. Look for
this sign: look for a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
Thousands of men and women suddenly joined the man, all
dressed as he was. They were each armed;
the least of them would have been terrifying, if not for the command of the
first not to fear.
The army was singing, their voices distinct, but repeating
one message: “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those
on whom His favor rests.”
Without warning, the company disappeared, leaving no trace
of their existence, save the courage that filled each of our hearts, nearly to
bursting. One of us said what we were
each thinking: “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has told us about.”
In Bethlehem, we found everything exactly as the angel had
described. We bowed to worship the child
and marveled that the Lord would choose us to witness arrival of the Savior. We went on our way, continuing to praise God,
and telling everyone what we had seen.
