Day 20 The Christmas Thief: An Advent Calendar in Prose

 

The Christmas Thief

An Advent Calendar in Prose

Day 20

Lt. Reilly jiggled the doorknob on 106. Locked up tight. He stopped to light a cigar. Smoke drifted up into the star-filled night. Dim lights glowed in the windows of the two upper apartments. The basement apartment was dark. All was calm. Glancing up at the stars brightening the night, Reilly thought of his little girls who brightened his days and their dear mother Jenny. He prayed that they were sleeping in heavenly peace as he crushed his cigar and continued on his rounds. His shift was over at midnight. He couldn’t wait to get home.

Barnaby eased the door shut and tripped up the stairs. A few coins jingled in his pockets as he stepped out into the early morning. Christmas twinkled in silent streets. He paused a moment to look up at the starry night. No angels sang. No shepherds or camels wandered down King’s Ave. One baby slept in a chipped manger in 1A. Three babies slept with their tired mother in a single bed.

Barnaby tipped his hat as he passed the 57th precinct and removed it as he passed into Saint Anthony’s. An air of expectancy filled the hushed sanctuary. A few homeless bums slept in the pews. A priest walked among them dropping blankets over their sleeping forms.

Barnaby stepped up to the votary and dropped a few coins into the box. He lit four candles then turned toward the creche. The baby now slept in the manger. The same sorrowful Jesus hung on the cross. Barnaby winked up at him then turned and walked down the center aisle and out into the dawning morning. 

He wondered if Maggie’s was open this early. 

Where Shall We Find Him? Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 

When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.         (NRSV)

Challenge: Where do you see Jesus in our story today? In the starry night? In the manger? On the cross? In the prayers of Reilly? In the votary candles? In the mercy of the priest? In the homeless men sleeping in the pews? In Barnaby’s springy step? In Reilly’s thoughts of home? The wise men expected to find a king in a palace; they found a Savior in a humble house. Where do you look for Jesus? Do you see him in a child’s smile? A willing hand? A generous gift? A quiet prayer? Look for Jesus in the places you don’t expect him. He will be there.