Boom da da boom

A story for Vava.

There once was a little boy who lived long ago. Like you, he was curious about God, and like you, he loved snuggles and stories before bed. Every night, when his parents snuggled down with him in bed, they would tell him a story from the Torah. Noah. Deborah. The ax-head that swam.  Jonah. Jael. Balaam's donkey.

"Do miracles like that still happen, mama?" He would ask.

"Not that I know of," she would whisper, "but maybe they will when the Messiah comes."

"Does God still talk to prophets, papa?" He would ask.

"Not that I know of," he would reply, "but maybe He will when the Messiah comes."

And every night those words would beat like a little drum in his heart. When the Messiah comes. When the Messiah comes. When the Messiah comes.  

Sometimes he was cold, and sometimes he was hungry. His family did not have a lot of money. But he was rich with hope, because the Messiah was coming.

He went to Torah school and learned all the stories from the priests. After every lesson, he would say goodbye to his teacher. "Goodbye, rabbi. Maybe tomorrow the Messiah will come." The rabbi would smile.

One day, the priest seemed different. His eyes were bright and his cheeks were red.  "Goodbye, rabbi," said the little boy when the lesson was over, "maybe tomorrow the Messiah will come."

"He will come," the rabbi gasped, "He will come! And soon."

The boy stood still.

"I am an old man," said the priest, "but God spoke to me. He told me I will not die until I see the Messiah."

The boy's heart leaped.

"God spoke to you?" he whispered.

"He spoke to me," the rabbi replied, and tears slid over his wrinkled cheeks. He could not stop smiling. God spoke to him.

The Messiah will come! The Messiah will come! The boy's heart drummed along very fast as he ran home and told his mama and papa what the priest had said.

One night, the boy woke up. He could hear hooves and soft bleating; a flock of sheep was passing by. The moon was full and bright and the night was warm and inviting. The little boy crept out of bed and followed the flock.

The shepherds stopped the sheep on a grassy hillside, and stretched out on the ground. The boy sat down between two lambs and stroked their soft fleece.  The night was still and silent, but underneath it all he could feel the bright drumbeat singing in his heart. The Messiah will come! The Messiah will come!

Suddenly, the darkness burst with gold light. An angel appeared and the shepherds yelped in fear.

"Do not be afraid," the joyful angel beamed, "there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign: you will find him lying in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes."

And then a choir of angels appeared, like backup singers, praising God.  The boy's eyes were as big as saucers. Was he still awake? Was he asleep?

Born to you this day! The Messiah is come! Born to you this day! The Messiah is come! Born to you this day! The Messiah is come!  Boom da da boom. Boom da da boom. His heart pounded.

And as suddenly as they had come, the angels were gone. The boy's eyes swam in the moonlight, which seemed now so dim.  There was something in his hand, something firm and round and hollow - a little drum.

"AHHHHHHHH!" yelled the shepherds, "AHHHHHH!" And they leapt up and raced down the hill toward Bethlehem.  

The boy ran after them, as fast as his legs could whirl.

They peered into all the stables in town. All was still. They could smell the pungent odour of cattle. Sheep. Goats. Cows. There were no babies here.  They tiptoed through the sleeping town.

Really, had it all been a dream?

Until they came to one stable with a light inside. The air was expansive. Laughter and delight rang out. The boy heard a little mewling cry. A baby!  THE baby!

The shepherds walked in without invitation, eagerness precluding manners. The boy followed them.

"We've come to see the Messiah," a shepherd explained. The baby's parents looked at one another, eyes shining. "He's here," they replied. And there he was, lying in the manger ("what a funny place, God," thought the boy). 

The shepherds knelt, the boy knelt.

The Messiah is come! Born to you this day! The boy's heart drummed. He picked up the little tambourine that was in his hands and drummed along softly. Boom da da boom. Boom da da boom. The baby smiled. His mother smiled. His father smiled. The shepherds smiled. 

When the sun began to rise, the boy ran home.  

"God even speaks to shepherds," he told his parents, "and the Messiah is come."  And he played for them. 

On his drum.