In a stable in Bethlehem town
Joseph made a bed of straw to lay down.
Mary slept, warm and dry,
while white doves cooed in rafters high.
The grey donkey who had carried her
Now lay resting by the manger.
Following a bright and brilliant star,
came a wise man from lands afar.
He rode a camel tall and brown,
and came to worship and bow down.
He brought with him a bowl of gold
from lands of wondrous wealth untold.
His eyes also on that star,
another wise man came from afar.
He sat on a camel rangy and lean
and came to revere things unseen.
His gift was a jar of myrrh
which he laid beside the manger.
With the first two came a third wise man,
Across the dusty sands where camels ran.
His camel was dark and strong,
with legs to pace for distances long.
Frankincense he brought as a gift,
and hands to heaven he did lift.
Then came a shepherd wondering why
angels had sung in the starry sky.
With the shepherd came a lamb
white and soft was the wool of that lamb.
Leaving the flocks he watched at night,
came another shepherd, that worship he might.
He brought with him a flute
for to play soft and mute.
Blinded by the angel’s light,
the shepherds came running with all their might.
Also game a gentle black sheep,
awakened from her sleep.
For as the wise men had followed a star,
Angels sang over hills yonder.
They sang, “Flory to the newborn Child,
and Peace on earth and mercy mild.”
What did the wise men, shepherds and sheep,
Find that made them dance and leap?
What happened that night in a lowly stable,
that makes this story more than a fable?
Wise men, poor men, far away, close by
All came – you know why!
Because Jesus, only Son of God,
was born in that lowly house of sod.
Here's a beautiful reading of the Christmas story from The Common English Bible:
CEB The Christmas Story, Luke 2: 1-20, read with background music from Common English Bible on Vimeo.
What is your favorite Christmas story, poem or movie?
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