Nativity

by Lori Hershberger

And it came to pass in those days
there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus,
and David, wearing Dan Hershberger’s bathrobe,
got up from the ping pong table
where Edith the unanticipated angel in bedsheets
had told him not to be afraid;
and he went to Bethlehem to be taxed with his espoused wife, Susan,
who was great with child and rode on Keith the donkey,
and there was no room for them in the inn,
but Loren the temperamental innkeeper let them stay in the stable.
And so it was while they were there that Susan brought forth a doll
wrapped in rags from the cleaning closet
and laid it in the homemade manger with straw from William Beachy’s barn;
and in the same country Regina and Julia and Darlene were keeping watch
over cardboard with cotton stuck on it with superglue,
and lo, Edith came upon them,
and the light from the makeshift bulbs
in the rafters shone bright around her,
and Regina and Julia and Darlene were really afraid.
And Edith said unto them
fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy
for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior which is Christ the Lord;
and suddenly Barbara and Rachel and Kimberly and Tina started singing
glory to God in the highest,
and Larry and Darren and Davon came walking up the aisle
tripping over their dads’ bathrobes
with cardboard crowns on their heads
and painted bottles and chests in their hands,
following Keith the donkey turned into a star,
and saying where is he that was born King of the Jews
for we have come to worship him.
And we gathered around David and Susan and the doll
and gave them gifts and then
we sang Away in a Manger
until the rafters and basement walls and bright lights over the wooden stage
shivered and shone with the glory of God.

Lori Hershberger lives in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand, where she teaches EFL and dreams of traveling across the Salawin River into Burma. You can find her book, Dustbeams, on Amazon.

Photography by Kenneth Godoy