Thomas J Parlette
“A Christmas Lullaby”
A Story by Dan Schrom (1)
12/24/23, Christmas Eve
She sat at her desk with pen in hand, putting the finishing touches on the anthem she had spent so long completing. This would be her greatest work, her magnum opus – she was sure of it. Note by note, word by word, stanza by stanza, she reviewed the anthem. “Everything must be right,” she thought. “Everything must be perfect.”
Her name was Chara. She was the angelic choirmaster. Her name literally meant “joy”, and it was an appropriate name for her. Over the centuries, the songs her choir of angels sang to women and men of faith brought joy to their hearts, even in the midst of hopeless and desperate situations.
Chara was interrupted by a knock at her chamber door, and she responded with a slightly annoyed, “Come in.”
The door slowly swung open and there stood Gabriel. Chara and Gabriel had worked closely together during recent months. When Gabriel was given an especially important assignment from the Lord, he often came to Chara to ask her to write a special song of praise or rejoicing. Songs had already been written for Elizabeth and Zechariah. She was especially proud of the song she had composed for Mary – people were calling The Magnificat, high praise indeed. Now she was preparing the greatest of all heavenly anthems – the one announcing the birth of the Messiah.
“Gabriel, my friend, what can I do for you?”
“Dear Chara, I am checking to see how the anthem is coming, answered Gabriel, with a touch of apprehension in his voice. He could not remember when so much of Chara’s time had been consumed by one assignment.
Chara smiled an exhausted smile and held up a golden scroll. “It is finished. The choir begins rehearsal tomorrow.”
Gabriel smiled broadly. “Wonderful,” he said, half excited, and half relieved. “Just wonderful. Well, I’ll let you get back to your work.”
With that, Gabriel left Chara’s chamber.
Chara sat embracing the scroll upon which she had written her angelic anthem. She tried to imagine what it would be like to lead the choir in her finest composition. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace.” Chara wondered where the choir would be assigned to sing these words of rejoicing.
She imagined her choir of angels hovering over the temple in Jerusalem. Imagine the look of amazement on the faces of the priests when the birth of the Messiah was announced. The magnificent temple would be overshadowed by the splendor of her angelic choir.
Or perhaps the Lord God had chosen to have her choir overwhelm the sense of the emperor himself and his court in Rome. The one who had the audacity to claim to be a god himself would be quaking in royal robes at the news that God’s son had been born. And what a splendid sight it would be to gaze upon the newborn Messiah! Surely the beauty of his royal nursery would be breathtaking, revealing his glorious heritage. Kings and Queens of all nations would fall to their knees before in fear and trembling. “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace.” Yes, it would be a glorious moment indeed.
Chara’s thoughts were interrupted when her chamber door slowly began to open, and she heard Gabriel’s voice calling to her. She invited in and asked, “What brings you back so soon?”
“Dear, dear Chara” – uh-oh, she knew she was in trouble right away. A double “dear” before her name always meant Gabriel was about to ask a big favor. “When I came to your chamber before, it was to tell you of another assignment. I was so excited to hear that you completed your anthem, I forgot to ask…”
“Another assignment/ Wait a minute. I have worked day and night for weeks on this anthem, I begin rehearsals tomorrow; I’m running short on time, and you come with another assignment? Gabriel, you ask too much.”
“It is not my request,” said Gabriel. “This assignment comes from the very top.” His voice dropped to a whisper, “from the Lord God.”
Chara looked startled and said nothing for a few moments. Then in a soft, measured voice, she asked, “What does the Lord God want me to do?”
“A lullaby,” answered Gabriel. “The Lord God wants you to write a lullaby to calm and comfort the newborn king.”
‘A lullaby,” said Chara. She thought for a moment and her wrinkled brow gave way to a half-smile. “A lullaby,” she repeated, letting herself get used to the idea. Now there was a touch of delight in her voice. “Please tell the Lord God that it would be my honor to write a lullaby for the new born king.”
Gabriel, a little startled by the ease with which he had delivered the message and received a response, left without a word.
A lullaby,” Chara repeated to herself. A lullaby for Mary to sing to her newborn son as she rocks him to sleep for the first time. “What a privilege,” she said out loud and was startled by the sound of her own voice. She reached for another scroll and slowly began to write a lullaby fit for the Son of God.
Weeks passed. The choir of angels was weary due to the marathon practices Chara had demanded of them. The lullaby was ready to bring comfort and reassurance to the newborn king. All that remained were the final instructions from the Lord God and the great event would unfold.
When the moment finally arrived, all the participants were assembled together. There was Chara, standing straight and tall in front of her choir, beaming with anticipation as Gabriel entered the Assembly Hall. Gabriel raised his arm, clearly displaying a golden scroll in hand. All grew silent when they saw the royal seal, meaning these instructions had come from the very hand of God. Ceremoniously, Gabriel broke the seal and began to read. He said nothing. His eyes were fixed on the scroll for what seemed like an eternity.
Finally, Chara could not contain herself any longer. “What is our destination, Gabriel? Where are we going? Please tell us – is it Jerusalem?”
“No, not Jerusalem.” Gabriel muttered.
Chara’s eyes lit up. “Then it’s Rome, isn’t it? We’re going to the very center of the earthly empire to make our birth announcement.”
“No, it’s not Rome. We are going,” Gabriel paused for just a moment, “to Bethlehem.”
“Bethlehem?” blurted out Clara. “But Gabriel, there’s nothing in Bethlehem, nothing but sheep and shepherds.”
Chara hoped her worst fears were unfounded, but the look in Gabriel’s eyes heightened her concern.
Gabriel read the royal decree to the whole heavenly host with clarity and confidence. “You shall go to Bethlehem to announce the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds watching over their flocks. Thus declares the Sovereign Lord.”
Chara tried to hide her disappointment, but her scowl gave away her emotions. Gabriel looked her straight in the eye and walked her direction. He stopped a few feet in front of her. “I know you’re disappointed,” he whispered. “I’m as surprised as you, but maybe this will make up for it.” Gabriel reached into the pocket of his robe and pulled out a small scroll containing the royal seal. “You are to deliver this personally.”
The lullaby. In all the excitement, surprise and disappointment, Chara had forgotten about the lullaby. But just as she was about to open it, an archangel arrived from the presence of God to declare, “It is time. Fulfill your assignment to the glory of Almighty God.”
Chara hurriedly tucked the little scroll in her robe. She turned to give orders to her angelic choir who nervously assembled and prepared for their all-important performance. The plan was this – Gabriel would precede them, announcing the good news of great joy for all people. After the announcement, Chara would move the choir into position to sing their heavenly anthem to the glory of God and in celebration of the holy birth.
When they arrived in Bethlehem, Chara was disappointed to discover that their audience consisted of just 11 shepherds – not what she had in mind. It was growing late by earthy calculations, and half of them were asleep. The others were wandering around, not too far from the campfires, making sure the sheep were safe. At the sight of Gabriel and the glory of the Lord that surrounded him, the shepherds nearly jumped out of their skins. Those that had been asleep awoke with a start. One tried to jump to his feet, but got caught up in his robe and tripped, falling face first to the ground as if he’d been tackled. Another one shrieked and ran off into the night. Those who were left fell to their knees in terror.
“Do not be afraid,” declared Gabriel – but it was too late. The shepherds were visibly shaking. “I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people.” He told them that the Savior, the long-awaited Messiah, had been born that very day in their town of Bethlehem. They would know they had found him when they discovered a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger.
“Swaddling clothes?” Chara whispered to herself. “A manger? You got to be kidding me – This can’t be right.” The Messiah, the Savior, the Son of God should be born in a palace and laid in a crib made of gold – not a simple feed trough for animals.
While Chara struggled with this strange good news, she almost missed her cue. Just in the nick of time she regained her composure and moved her choir into place. At the very first note of the heavenly anthem, the shepherds, whom Gabriel had managed to half-way calm down, went into another panic. Those who had managed to stand up, once more fell to the ground. The anthem continued, but Chara wondered if the tiny audience even heard a note of it. As the choir sang the final stanza, Chara motioned for all to depart. Suddenly the shepherds were alone in the dark and the silence, their hearts pounding, and their heads filled with strange and wonderful good news.
Chara thanked her choir for their fine performance and the choir members quickly dispersed, as confused as their choirmaster. Chara was about to return to her chamber when she felt the little scroll she had tucked in her robe. “The lullaby, I almost forgot. I must go and teach the lullaby to Mary to sing to the new born Messiah.”
Chara made her way back to Bethlehem and found the house where Mary and Joseph were staying. To her surprise, the shepherds were there too. Apparently, despite all the confusion, they had gotten the message and had come to witness this miraculous event.
Chara prepared to approach Mary and whisper the lullaby in her ear, so she could sing it to her child, but she was distracted by the entrance of a man and a little girl. The man bowed before Joseph and said, “Excuse me sir, we live just across the way. My daughter Rebekah found out about the birth of your child and would like to see him. Please excuse her silence, but she can neither hear nor speak. She has been that way since birth. May she just take a quick peek at the baby and then we will leave you.”
Mary nodded and Joseph invited her to come take a peek. The girl looked up at her father and, with an approving smile, he nudged her forward. Slowly, she approached the manger that had become a cradle. She gazed with wonder at the tiny baby lying in a manger. Though she did not utter a sound, the look on her face spoke volumes. She had not received an angelic birth announcement like the shepherds or heard Chara’s anthem sung by the choir of angels. Yet, the wonder in her eyes and the joy upon her face declared that she somehow realized the specialness of this moment. That’s when Chara moved forward, silently, invisibly, as only angels can, to teach her the lullaby. But instead of whispering in Mary’s ear – she whispered into the ears of the little girl who could not hear, at least she could not hear human words. Chara began to sing the lullaby into the silent little girl’s ears. And suddenly, to the amazement of all, the child began to repeat the song, word by word, note by note, line by line. When the last note had been sung, Chara gave the little girl an angelic kiss, and melted away into the night.
A quiet knock announced that someone was at Chara’s door. She sat silently in her chamber and did not acknowledge the visitor. After several more knocks, the door opened and there stood Gabriel.
“Chara is something wrong – why didn’t you answer the door?”
Chara looked visibly shaken. “I think I made a big mistake Gabriel.” She held out the little golden scroll with the royal seal. “I know I was to teach the lullaby to Mary, but I didn’t. I taught it to someone else.”
Gabriel stepped forward and took the scroll. “Chara, I can tell by the unbroken seal, you did not read this.” So Gabriel broke the seal, opened it, and read it. He looked at Chara, then the scroll, then at Chara again. “It says nothing here about teaching the lullaby to Mary. Here, read it for yourself.”
Chara took the scroll and read: “Teach the lullaby prepared for the Messiah to the child Rebekah, whom I have invited.”
A smile broke over Chara’s face as she finally understood. The newborn Messiah had not come into the world to impress high priests or visit emperors. He had come for the sake of the humble everyday people, those who struggle, are frightened or who have obstacles to overcome. And, on this holy night, it was clear he had come into the world for a little girl who could hear angels sing – whose childlike wonder and faith resulted in a surprising Christmas Lullaby.
So on this Christmas Eve, let us be attentive to the angels song.
“Praise be to God, Christ the Savior is born.”
Shall we pray…
1. Dan Schomer, “A Christmas Lullaby” Beyond the Tinsel: Short Stories for Christmas Eve, Resource Publications, 2021.
