Village Shepherd

I want to read you a poem. It's called "Santa's Secret Wish", and is written by Betty Werth.


Christmas Eve, a young boy with light in his eyes
Looked deep into Santa's, to Santa's surprise
And said as he sat on Santa's broad knee,
"I want your secret. Tell it to me."
He leaned up and whispered in Santa's good ear
"How do you do it, year after year?"

"I want to know how, as you travel about,
Giving gifts here and there, You never run out.
How is it, Dear Santa, that in your pack of toys
You have plenty for all of the world's girls and boys?
Stays so full, never empties, as you make your way
From rooftop to rooftop, to homes large and small,
From nation to nation, reaching them all?"

And Santa smiled kindly and said to the boy,
"Don't ask me hard questions. Don't you want a toy?"
But the child shook his head , and Santa could see
That he needed the answer. "Now listen to me,"
He told that small boy with the light in his eyes,
"My secret will make you both sadder and wise."

"The truth is that my sack is magic. Inside
It holds millions of toys for my Christmas Eve ride.
But although I do visit each girl and each boy,
I don't always leave them a gaily wrapped toy.
Some homes are hungry, some homes are sad,
Some homes are desperate, some homes are bad.
Some homes are broken, and the children there grieve.
Those homes I visit, but what should I leave?"

"My sleigh is filled with the happiest stuff,
But for homes where despair lives, toys aren't enough.
So I tiptoe in, kiss each girl and boy,
And I pray with them that they'll be given the joy
Of the Spirit of Christmas, the Spirit that lives
In the heart of the dear child who gets not, but Gives."

"If only God hears me and answers my prayer,
When I visit next year, what I will find there
Are homes filled with peace, and with giving, and love
And boys and girls gifted with light from above.
It's a very hard task, my smart little brother,
To give toys to some, and to give prayers to others.
But the prayers are the best gifts, the best gifts indeed,
For God has a way of meeting each need."

"That's part of the answer. The rest, my dear youth,
Is that my sack is magic. And that is the truth.
In my sack I carry on Christmas Eve day
More love than a Santa could e'er give away.
The sack never empties of love, or of joys
Cause inside it are prayers, and hope. Not just toys.
The more that I give, the fuller it seems,
Because giving is my way of fulfilling dreams."


"And do you know something? You've got a sack, too.
It's as magic as mine, and it's inside of you.
It never gets empty, it's full from the start.
It's the center of lights, and love. It's your heart.
And if on this Christmas you want to help me,
Don't be so concerned with the gifts 'neath your tree.
Open that sack called your heart, and share
Your joy, your friendship, your wealth, your care."

The light in the small boy's eyes was glowing.
"Thanks for your secret. I've got to be going."
"Wait, little boy," Said Santa, "Don't go.
Will you share? Will you help?
Will you use what you know?"
And just for a moment the small boy stood still,
Touched his heart
with his small hand and whispered, "I will."

No wonder we exchange presents at Christmas. As the poem shows, it's a way of responding to all that God has given us. But the central gift from God, the most important gift of all, was the gift of a tiny baby.

It seems such a strange gift. If I was God, I'd have sent something quite different. Something fantastic. Something so amazing, so awesome, the whole world would know about it. Something huge and glittering and memorable. Something that would make people worship. Something that would make people live in peace and respect each other.

But God sent a baby! And not even a royal baby. Just a baby born to an unmarried peasant girl. Born in a dirty stable, without even the benefit of clean sheets or hot water. And what's so unusual about a baby? Babies are born every minute of every day. Many of them still, to unmarried peasant girls in filthy surroundings.

But this baby was extra special. He was a message from God, which St John refers to in a kind of shorthand as "The Word". ‘In the beginning was the Word. And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ...In him was life, and the life was the light of human beings. ...And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.'

There's no doubt that the message represented by a baby, any baby, is a message of love. You only have to look at the faces of new parents or grandparents. You only have to come to a baptism service and see how the relatives gather. The whole family joins together as one to see and to celebrate a new baby.

Babies bring out such feelings of tenderness and love and care in the most unlikely people. Any politician worth his salt will make sure he kisses plenty of babies in the run-up to the next election. Because the message that gives is: "I care."

So in fact, the gift of a baby was a brilliant way for God to send a message to his people. A message which would bring them together. A message which would bring out perhaps deeply buried feelings of love and tenderness and peace from even the most unlikely people. A message which said: "I love you. I care."

But it was more than that. Not only was this baby a message from God, but in some way, he was also God himself. ‘The Word was God', says St John.

In some way, when that baby was born at Bethlehem all those years ago, God himself became human. ‘The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.' And: ‘The true light which enlightens everyone came into the world.' Somehow, God himself was within that baby who was born in that stable.

At the beginning of the history of the Jews, God's chosen people, God went before them, to show them the way. When they were wandering in the wilderness for forty years, God led them by appearing as a pillar of cloud by day, and fire by night.

Later, in the time of King Solomon, from being far away and inaccessible, God actually came to live with his people, in a temple built by King Solomon. So that he no longer simply appeared in order to lead them, but he made his home amongst them.

Now, at the first Christmas, he comes to live within the baby Jesus, within a human being. And ever since then, he's been within every human being who's been born.

So that we no longer have to wait around to contact God. He's always there. He's always "on tap". Because as well as being "out there" or "up there", he's within. He's that which gives us life itself. Like a kind of light within every human being. A light which can be fanned into a powerful flame. Or which can be virtually snuffed out into just a tiny spark.

What a gift! A gift which goes on and on. The gift of God himself to every individual.

This Christmas, I wonder what you'll do with God's gift, with the light within you? Will you "open that sack called your heart, and share your joy, your friendship, your wealth, and your care?"