Blogtober #31 Short Story Part 3

    The boy stood transfixed for a moment, but then realized that he couldn't hold his eyes still long enough on His face. Something like guilt rose from within, and he felt suddenly ashamed, about everything and nothing specifically. The boy just realized he was so far from being worthy of being here, on this night, while his Savior was being born down the road and also appearing before Him even now. 

    The first question the boy felt brave enough to ask before any other was an honest one, "Did I mess up history? I just wasn't sure if I should answer the shepherds with more than pointing in case I told them something I shouldn't." The Voice spoke, not to usher all of creation, nor to judge it, that would come later, but to give a gentle answer, "No, my dear boy, this was for you, not them. This is what's past, and what's past can't be undone by going back, but by what is to come."  While it seemed to answer the question, the boy thought of something else and blurted out, "Wait, this is for me?! But why!?"

    The one who made the stars and called them by name simply looked at the boy. And the boy, who was only really very good at making mistakes, just looked back at Him. Something stirred when their eyes met, and something unsaid was heard inside of him, as loud and as real as the wind in his ears now. Yes, for you. To experience this moment. To feel the night air and the excitement. This is to help you see me clearer, to know me better!

    All at once, the thousands upon thousands of questions he carried just dissipated, like the marine layer around noon. In this moment, he just took this all in. This night, in this town, and His Savior standing before him. He could see the shepherds he ran into find the child and saw them kneeling there, celebrating the One born to take all sins and shame. No more ritual sacrifices. No more trying to eradicate the space that took up connection between the Holy and the mundane, the incomplete and the perfected, the hungry and The Bread of Life. The Creator stepped into creation to complete it. To satiate its longing for more, its desire to belong and to be known. This night, though, was just the beginning, and so is this boy's story, as is ours.