Angels We Have Heard on High
It was always busy in the pre-existence, Bishop Bernard thought, as he looked out of the window of his office, but just now, things were even busier than ever. The Saviour was supposed to go to earth in only a few hours to be born. If Bernard strained his ears, he could just hear the nearest choir practicing feverishly, every singer no doubt hoping to be called to celebrate the birth with song that even the mortals could hear. There had been a lot of speculation as to who would be selected for the great honour, but although the time was quickly approaching, Bernard had not heard of anybody who'd been picked.
There was a flutter of wings overhead, and Bernard saw the shadow of something swooping down. Only messenger-angels flew like that, and Bernard supposed that somebody nearby, maybe even somebody in his ward, was about to receive the all-important call. He looked away from the window, sighing wistfully with the thought that singing was not exactly his greatest talent, and was surprised to hear a knock on his door. Before he could answer, it was opened from the other side, and a messenger-angel came in, pulling a hovering wagon behind him.
"Bishop Bernard," said the angel. “All things must be done in order, therefore, this task has been delegated to you."
"Of course," Bishop Bernard said. He'd been a bishop long enough to finally learn the concept of delegation. Occasionally, he even delegated something himself.
"Some of the members of your ward have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour. Here's the list of singers, and here are some wings for them to wear. Please gather them together according to the instructions on the left hand segment of the scroll."
"Thank you," said the bishop. He opened the scroll and discovered to his shock that his name was right at the top of the list. "Wait a minute --"
"Many blessings," said the angel. "We'll see you at the fields with all the other singers."
"This can't be right –" Bernard protested, but the angel had already gone.
Bernard looked at the list again, but there was no mistake. Coming around the side of his desk, Bernard lifted a pair of wings from the wagon, and put them on. He'd never worn wings before, and was amazed at how light he suddenly felt. Smiling at the way his feet drifted slowly away from the floor, Bernard took the list in one hand, reached for the wagon with his other hand, then glided through the door to find the next person on the list. Because Brother Friedeman's dwelling was quite close to his office, Bernard took the opportunity to swoop up and down the street once before knocking on the door.
“Greetings, Brother Friedeman,” said the bishop. “You have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour.”
“A short song?” asked Friedeman in arrogant dismay. “I can sing entire operas with one lung tied behind my back! Do I really have to make do with a short song?”
“That's the assignment,” said Bishop Bernard.
“Then I’ll sing so loud that the Saviour himself will hear me in Bethlehem,” Friedeman said, and took a deep breath, as though he were going to start right then and there.
Bernard had sometimes wondered why Brother Friedeman had never been a part of any heavenly choir, but now he had an inkling as to the real reason.
“Here are your wings,” he said quickly, pulling a pair out of the wagon. “You can put them on and practice flying a bit before we start.”
Looking a bit disgruntled, Friedeman put his wings on, scarcely listening to Bernard's instructions, then began to sing as he soared down the street. He was obviously concentrating so hard on his song that he didn't notice how close he was to the roof of the corner building. As his wing flapped up against the overhang and the impact spun him in a completely different direction, his low note became a high note of sheer panic.
Hiding a smile, Bishop Bernard went to the dwelling of the next person on the list. To his surprise, it was young Tiberius who answered the door, but then Bernard remembered that Tiberius went there for lessons.
"Bishop! You've got wings! Have they made you into a messenger-angel? Have you got a message for me? Maybe a calling? Maybe I could help answer prayers?" the boy asked excitedly, all in a rush. He was an eager, but a very young soul, and still needed some knowledge and experience.
"Hello, Tiberius," Bishop Bernard said. "No, I'm sorry, but I've come to talk to Brother Boaz."
He knocked on the door again, giving Tiberius a chance to look into the wagon.
"What have you got there?" Tiberius asked. "What are those things?”
"Those are wings," Bernard explained, flapping his own demonstrably.
"Wings? You mean they don't just grow on you?" Tiberius looked at him in disappointment.
"It'd be a bit hard to get dressed if you had wings sprouting out your back, wouldn't it?" Bernard asked, watching Brother Boaz shuffle towards the door. Brother Boaz never did anything fast, and no doubt patience was a large part of Tiberius' lessons with him.
"Look, Brother Boaz, wings!" Tiberius called out excitedly. "We could have a race!"
Boaz looked at the wings in the wagon, then at Tiberius, and then at Bernard. He said, "I think I'm getting old. I don't remember ordering wings."
"They come with the calling," Bishop Bernard started to explain.
"Now, I do remember that I have a calling, and wings aren't necessary for it," Boaz said.
"I don’t have a calling OR wings," cried young Tiberius, hopping excitedly in front of the bishop.
"You have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour," Bernard said, trying to speak to Boaz over Tiberius, but the boy was jumping up and down at eye-level and obviously felt included.
"Hooray!" Tiberius rejoiced.
"I meant Brother Boaz," the bishop said, and Tiberias stopped in mid-bounce. His face fell and his shoulders slumped dramatically.
"Oh, let him," said Boaz with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm too old for that kind of thing."
"Nonsense. You're not as old as you make yourself," said the bishop. He pulled a pair of wings out of the wagon and extended them to Boaz. "Put these on, practice a bit, and be on your way. It'll be starting time soon."
Brother Boaz took the wings reluctantly and held them in his hand while Bernard gave him instructions on where to meet. Then he walked slowly down the street without putting them on.
"There are so many wings!" Tiberius said, looking wistfully into the wagon. "Are you sure that I wasn't called?"
"I'm sure,” said the bishop, looking at the boy's sad face. In a moment of inspriration, he took his own wings off and held them out. "But you can wear my wings and help me to pass these out to the other singers. All right?"
"Yippee!" the boy cried. He pulled the wings on eagerly, almost getting them upside down, flapped up to to the rooftop and swooped down, then circled the bishop until Bernard had to tell him firmly to settle down or he'd have to take them off again. Trying to appear obedient, Tiberius settled for pulling the wagon behind Bernard as he walked. But out of the corner of his eye, Bernard caught enough movement to know that Tiberius was occasionally letting the wagon float and flying loop-de-loops behind his back.
Next, they went to Brother Zacharias, and Bishop Bernard knocked on the door. When Zacharias answered, Tiberius jumped in front of him and exclaimed, "We're here to call you to put on wings and sing about Bethlehem."
Zacharias looked surprised and confused. "I don't think I know any songs about Bethlehem."
The bishop explained everything to him, and Brother Zacharias obediently reached out for the pair of wings that the boy was waving in front of him. While he was flexing his spiritual muscles in the act of pulling on the wings, a sister angel went by at that very moment. She looked once at the brother, looked away, then looked back a second time. This time, she didn't turn her head, and her steps slowed radically.
"Don't run away, Sister Xaviera," Bernard called out, although Sister Xaviera was definitely not in any hurry. "I've got a very special calling for you."
Sister Xaviera noticed him for the first time, blinked, and asked in surprise, "Something special? For me?"
Bernard explained the calling, and watched Xaviera's gaze wander back to Brother Zacharias, and then down to her feet as she protested, "But I can't sing that well."
"But you do look beautiful," Zacharias said suddenly. "So angelic. When the shepherds see you ..."
Embarrassed and pleased, Xaviera put her hands to her cheeks, but started to smile. Zacharias smiled back shyly.
"Well …" said Sister Xaviera. More firmly, she added, “All right, if you show me how to fly.”
Tiberius held out a pair of wings and she took them without looking. Side by side, staring into each other's eyes, she and Zacharias went off down the street.
"Who's next?" Tiberius asked, and Bernard tore his gaze away from the couple to consult his scroll.
"Sister Renata," he announced.
Before the bishop could even knock at Sister Renata's door, however, it was flung open and Renata stormed out, almost running Tiberius down in her hurry. Bernard wondered if she already knew about the calling and was trying to get away, but then, why run straight into the bishop's path?
"You're already got wings on!" Tiberius cried.
"Yes," Renata huffed, "and I'm in a bit of a hurry! The Guardian Angel Emergency Services have just informed me that our protectee is hanging from a cliff. If we don't help him, he'll fall down and break his neck!"
"Don't the Guardian Angels have subsitutes for those people who can't come right just then?" Bernard asked.
"Right now I am the substitute!" Renata cried, trying again to get by, but Tiberius flapped into her flight path and she was forced to make an unexpected landing.
"Don't they have substitutes for the substitutes?" Tiberius wondered.
"We've got a more important calling for you," Bernard said quickly, before Renata could get past the young angel.
"Don't be ridiculous. What's more important than somebody hanging from a cliff? Anyway, can we talk about it later?" Renata asked. Turning in the opposite direction, she took off and soared away. The bishop reached for the last pair of wings in the wagon, pulled them on, and flew after her. Tiberius was already chasing after her as well.
"Sister Renata, this can't wait!" Bernard shouted. "You have to inform someone else!"
"Why? What's going on?" Renata shouted back. Looking over her shoulder and seeing his determination, she flew a bit slower. The bishop finally caught up with her and called out, "You've been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour!"
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Sister Renata cried. "I can't sing! I've got one single talent, and that's being a guardian angel."
"It's not a joke! This comes from On High!" Bishop Bernard pointed upwards with one finger, then unrolled the scroll and waved it at her.
After a quick look, Renata heaved a sigh of resignation, then pointed in another direction. "There's an emergency trumpet station! I'll land there!"
She flapped her wings a few more times, then landed at the emergency station. Tiberius swooped in to land next to her, but Renata had already lifted up the trumpet and it seemed that she was about to blow it directly into his face. Tiberius could only rescue himself from a full-force blast by banking hard to one side and nearly missing the station altogether. Bernard came in on the other side with slightly more grace.
"Guardian Angel Emergency Services, this is Sister Renata!" she called through the trumpet. "I can't make it to the cliffhanger! I've just been drafted into singing for the saviour's birth."
A voice came out of the trumpet. "HA HA HA HA HA! Good try, Renata!"
Renata glared at the bishop. "You see? They heard me sing once."
The bishop grabbed the trumpet and blew into it. "This is Bishop Bernard and I am speaking the truth! Sister Renata has been called to sing over Bethlehem!"
There was a very long pause before the answer came, and it sounded as though the angel on the other end had just finished with an attack of the giggles. "All right, we will notify another substitute. Many blessings!"
Bernard was just about to call out a thank you when they heard another burst of laughter. Angrily, Renata grabbed the trumpet from his hand and hung it up. The sound died abruptly.
"Now remember that you were called for a reason," Bernard said. "Maybe it's time for you to develop a new talent."
Renata snorted in disbelief. "That'd take a miracle!"
"We're angels," Bernard continued. "Miracles always happen around us. As part of the Guardian Angel Emergency Services, you should know that."
"Yeah," Renata admitted slowly, but it was obvious she believed in miracles for others and not for herself.
"Do your best, and let Him take care of the rest," Bernard said, indicating On High once again. "Now let's go, it's almost time."
"Can I come, too?" Tiberius asked excitedly.
Bernard hesitated, then said, "Of course. You can bring the wagon and wait for us, and then you can help me collect the wings afterwards."
When they arrived at the fields above Bethlehem, all the other angels were there and practicing their flying, even Brother Boaz, who was being very slow and careful. Down below, four shepherds were stretched out around a little camp and a ewe had snuggled up between two of them. Bernard divided up the angels so that they made a circle around the shepherds. He put Brother Friedeman far away – just in case. Zacharias and Xaviera hovered next to each other.
"Does everybody know the song?" Bernard asked.
"Theoretically, yes," Renata replied, snippy with nerves.
"I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots," Zacharias sang out loud to Xaviera. She smiled at him and sang back, "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons."
Bishop Bernard said sternly, "I DO BEG YOUR PARDON!"
Visibly embarrassed, Zacharias and Xaviera murmured simultaneously, "Sorry, wrong song."
"The Song of Solomon can wait. Let's try "Glory to God in the Highest" instead," Bernard said with a sigh, wondering if this were going to work, and what kind of miracle would be necessary to see this through. Probaby the same order of miracle that had parted the Red Sea for Moses and sent fire from heaven down for Elijah. "Now the key word is 'manger.' As soon as you hear that, you start to shine, all right?"
Everybody nodded. Friedeman took a deep breath. Praying for the best, the bishop flew closer to the shepherds and began to shine. Three of the four shepherds woke up and stared fearfully at him. The ewe lifted its head as well, and at first, Bernard thought he heard it bleat, but then realized that it was the fourth shepherd, snoring.
"Fear not," Bernard said quickly, "for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David –"
The bishop lifted his arm in the direction of the city –
"—a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
At the word "manger," the other angels started to shine as well. All amazed, the shepherds glanced around as the angels sang. Bishop Bernard glanced around, too, and discovered that the miracles were already starting to happen. Friedeman was singing loudly, but not unbearably. Boaz had been flying very close to the ground, with small, weak wingstrokes, but now he was lifted up, higher and stronger. Zacharias and Xaviera flew so close that their wingtips were touching – well, maybe that wasn’t exactly a wonder. But Renata was singing and her voice was absolutely beautiful.
The song came to an end. The angels stopped shining and flew away to where Tiberius was waiting with the wagon. Naturally, Xaviera and Zacharias stayed close, grinning at each other as they pulled off their wings and put them back in the wagon. Renata, however, stayed where she was, pressing her fingers to her mouth and throat as though unable to believe that they belonged to her. Having heard an inexplicable improvement in his own voice, Bernard knew exactly how she felt.
Down below, the shepherds looked at each other, then slowly turned in the direction of the city.
"Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us," the first shepherd said. They all started to march away, but at that moment, the fourth shepherd woke up. "Oy! Whither would ye go?”
They all turned around and the first shepherd said, "A saviour is born this day, which is Christ the Lord."
The second shepherd added, "In the city of David." He lifted his hand and pointed in that direction.
The third shepherd said, "We must see this thing and tell all the people!"
"Suffer me to come with you!" the fourth shepherd called out.
"Nay, for thou sawest not the angels," said the third shepherd. "Thou hast slept a deep sleep."
"And thou hast snored, that not even the song of the angels could awaken thee,” the second shepherd said.
“There must be a man to stay here with the sheep. For behold, the ewe draweth near to her time,” said the first shepherd.
The three shepherds went away, and the fourth sank resignedly to the ground.
Glad that he was not yet on the earth and forced to speak forsoothly, finding all the right verb endings and knowing the difference between "thou" and "thee," Bishop Bernard turned away from the shepherds. A growing feeling of contentment warmed his insides; their task was complete and miracles had happened – even to him! Unwilling to let the moment to end, but realizing that he had to return to the pre-existence eventually, he started to fly away.
Although Bernard extended his hand to encourage Renata along, she remained where she was, staring down at the fourth shepherd. Bernard followed her gaze. The shepherd had started plucking sadly at the grass and flinging it in the ewe's direction. Now he said mournfully, “Had I awoken and seen the angels, yea, behold, I, even I, could go unto Bethlehem and see the saviour.”
He stopped plucking at the grass and knelt down. After he’d pressed his hands together, he bowed his head, and though he did not speak out loud, Bernard could still hear his prayer. "Behold thy manservant, I pray, and send him thy message, too."
In that instant, however, Bernard and Renata had to fly hastily out of the way, because Tiberius came swooping down like a destroying angel. He stood in front of the fourth shepherd, began to shine, and said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
The shepherd stared at Tiberius with his mouth hanging open. All at once, Bernard realized that Tiberius was going to break into song. He flew down quickly to give the boy a little support. To his surprise, Renata came, too, and together, they began to shine and sing. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
As soon as they had finished, Tiberius said to the shepherd, “Rejoice, o shepherd! Now canst thou, even thou, go unto Bethlehem and see the Saviour.”
The shepherd stood up rejoicing, and was just about to set out when the sheep at his side suddenly gave a long, loud bleat. The excitement drained from the shepherd’s face and he said sadly, “Behold, the ewe travaileth in birth.”
"We'll take care of it," said Tiberius excitedly, either not knowing how to translate that phrase into "forsooth speech," or not caring. "We were called especially for this service, weren't we, bishop?"
Unsure of how to answer that, Bernard settled for a feeble, "Uh …"
To his great astonishment, Renata stepped closer and said, "Yes, indeed! I'm even a member of the Guardian Angel Emergency Services and we've been trained to deal with all kinds of sticky situations, especially birth. Your sheep will be in good hands with us. And anyway, we're angels. Miracles always happen around us."
"Right," Tiberius stated and nodded in agreement. Both angels stared pointedly at Bernard, and he had no choice but to nod as well.
"I thank you and praise you!" said the shepherd, grinning. He lifted his hand as though to touch them, then let it sink, and ran towards Bethlehem as fast as he could, repeating it over and over again. "I thank you and praise you!"
The ewe bleated again, and Renata knelt down and patted its head.
"It was a good thing that I came, too, wasn't it, bishop?" Tiberius asked proudly. "I was able to answer his prayer! Did you see how happy he was?"
"Yes, you did that very well," Bernard replied.
"And my voice sounded even better the second time around," said Renata in amazement. "I was only going to pretend that I was singing, but then I started up anyway and … a miracle happened! To me!"
"You really couldn't sing before?" Tiberius asked, kneeling down on the other side of the sheep and patting it as well.
"Not a bit! I was always happy that I could at least be a guardian angel. But now I could almost think about joining the choir."
"I wish I could be something like a guardian angel," said Tiberius. "Or at least have a calling where I could answer prayers. It's such an … exciting feeling!"
"Indeed it is," Renata agreed. "Saving lives, answering prayers, or even helping in any way … that’s the best thing. But singing … isn't bad, either."
She and Tiberius smiled at each other. Before Bernard could mention how well they were doing and how little they needed him, the ewe bleated again and Tiberius called out, "Look, bishop, the lamb is being born!"
Bernard looked, grimaced, and quickly averted his eyes. Desperately, he looked around for the little town of Bethlehem, where another lamb was also being born – the Lamb of God.
The End
Written December 2004
There was a flutter of wings overhead, and Bernard saw the shadow of something swooping down. Only messenger-angels flew like that, and Bernard supposed that somebody nearby, maybe even somebody in his ward, was about to receive the all-important call. He looked away from the window, sighing wistfully with the thought that singing was not exactly his greatest talent, and was surprised to hear a knock on his door. Before he could answer, it was opened from the other side, and a messenger-angel came in, pulling a hovering wagon behind him.
"Bishop Bernard," said the angel. “All things must be done in order, therefore, this task has been delegated to you."
"Of course," Bishop Bernard said. He'd been a bishop long enough to finally learn the concept of delegation. Occasionally, he even delegated something himself.
"Some of the members of your ward have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour. Here's the list of singers, and here are some wings for them to wear. Please gather them together according to the instructions on the left hand segment of the scroll."
"Thank you," said the bishop. He opened the scroll and discovered to his shock that his name was right at the top of the list. "Wait a minute --"
"Many blessings," said the angel. "We'll see you at the fields with all the other singers."
"This can't be right –" Bernard protested, but the angel had already gone.
Bernard looked at the list again, but there was no mistake. Coming around the side of his desk, Bernard lifted a pair of wings from the wagon, and put them on. He'd never worn wings before, and was amazed at how light he suddenly felt. Smiling at the way his feet drifted slowly away from the floor, Bernard took the list in one hand, reached for the wagon with his other hand, then glided through the door to find the next person on the list. Because Brother Friedeman's dwelling was quite close to his office, Bernard took the opportunity to swoop up and down the street once before knocking on the door.
“Greetings, Brother Friedeman,” said the bishop. “You have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour.”
“A short song?” asked Friedeman in arrogant dismay. “I can sing entire operas with one lung tied behind my back! Do I really have to make do with a short song?”
“That's the assignment,” said Bishop Bernard.
“Then I’ll sing so loud that the Saviour himself will hear me in Bethlehem,” Friedeman said, and took a deep breath, as though he were going to start right then and there.
Bernard had sometimes wondered why Brother Friedeman had never been a part of any heavenly choir, but now he had an inkling as to the real reason.
“Here are your wings,” he said quickly, pulling a pair out of the wagon. “You can put them on and practice flying a bit before we start.”
Looking a bit disgruntled, Friedeman put his wings on, scarcely listening to Bernard's instructions, then began to sing as he soared down the street. He was obviously concentrating so hard on his song that he didn't notice how close he was to the roof of the corner building. As his wing flapped up against the overhang and the impact spun him in a completely different direction, his low note became a high note of sheer panic.
Hiding a smile, Bishop Bernard went to the dwelling of the next person on the list. To his surprise, it was young Tiberius who answered the door, but then Bernard remembered that Tiberius went there for lessons.
"Bishop! You've got wings! Have they made you into a messenger-angel? Have you got a message for me? Maybe a calling? Maybe I could help answer prayers?" the boy asked excitedly, all in a rush. He was an eager, but a very young soul, and still needed some knowledge and experience.
"Hello, Tiberius," Bishop Bernard said. "No, I'm sorry, but I've come to talk to Brother Boaz."
He knocked on the door again, giving Tiberius a chance to look into the wagon.
"What have you got there?" Tiberius asked. "What are those things?”
"Those are wings," Bernard explained, flapping his own demonstrably.
"Wings? You mean they don't just grow on you?" Tiberius looked at him in disappointment.
"It'd be a bit hard to get dressed if you had wings sprouting out your back, wouldn't it?" Bernard asked, watching Brother Boaz shuffle towards the door. Brother Boaz never did anything fast, and no doubt patience was a large part of Tiberius' lessons with him.
"Look, Brother Boaz, wings!" Tiberius called out excitedly. "We could have a race!"
Boaz looked at the wings in the wagon, then at Tiberius, and then at Bernard. He said, "I think I'm getting old. I don't remember ordering wings."
"They come with the calling," Bishop Bernard started to explain.
"Now, I do remember that I have a calling, and wings aren't necessary for it," Boaz said.
"I don’t have a calling OR wings," cried young Tiberius, hopping excitedly in front of the bishop.
"You have been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour," Bernard said, trying to speak to Boaz over Tiberius, but the boy was jumping up and down at eye-level and obviously felt included.
"Hooray!" Tiberius rejoiced.
"I meant Brother Boaz," the bishop said, and Tiberias stopped in mid-bounce. His face fell and his shoulders slumped dramatically.
"Oh, let him," said Boaz with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm too old for that kind of thing."
"Nonsense. You're not as old as you make yourself," said the bishop. He pulled a pair of wings out of the wagon and extended them to Boaz. "Put these on, practice a bit, and be on your way. It'll be starting time soon."
Brother Boaz took the wings reluctantly and held them in his hand while Bernard gave him instructions on where to meet. Then he walked slowly down the street without putting them on.
"There are so many wings!" Tiberius said, looking wistfully into the wagon. "Are you sure that I wasn't called?"
"I'm sure,” said the bishop, looking at the boy's sad face. In a moment of inspriration, he took his own wings off and held them out. "But you can wear my wings and help me to pass these out to the other singers. All right?"
"Yippee!" the boy cried. He pulled the wings on eagerly, almost getting them upside down, flapped up to to the rooftop and swooped down, then circled the bishop until Bernard had to tell him firmly to settle down or he'd have to take them off again. Trying to appear obedient, Tiberius settled for pulling the wagon behind Bernard as he walked. But out of the corner of his eye, Bernard caught enough movement to know that Tiberius was occasionally letting the wagon float and flying loop-de-loops behind his back.
Next, they went to Brother Zacharias, and Bishop Bernard knocked on the door. When Zacharias answered, Tiberius jumped in front of him and exclaimed, "We're here to call you to put on wings and sing about Bethlehem."
Zacharias looked surprised and confused. "I don't think I know any songs about Bethlehem."
The bishop explained everything to him, and Brother Zacharias obediently reached out for the pair of wings that the boy was waving in front of him. While he was flexing his spiritual muscles in the act of pulling on the wings, a sister angel went by at that very moment. She looked once at the brother, looked away, then looked back a second time. This time, she didn't turn her head, and her steps slowed radically.
"Don't run away, Sister Xaviera," Bernard called out, although Sister Xaviera was definitely not in any hurry. "I've got a very special calling for you."
Sister Xaviera noticed him for the first time, blinked, and asked in surprise, "Something special? For me?"
Bernard explained the calling, and watched Xaviera's gaze wander back to Brother Zacharias, and then down to her feet as she protested, "But I can't sing that well."
"But you do look beautiful," Zacharias said suddenly. "So angelic. When the shepherds see you ..."
Embarrassed and pleased, Xaviera put her hands to her cheeks, but started to smile. Zacharias smiled back shyly.
"Well …" said Sister Xaviera. More firmly, she added, “All right, if you show me how to fly.”
Tiberius held out a pair of wings and she took them without looking. Side by side, staring into each other's eyes, she and Zacharias went off down the street.
"Who's next?" Tiberius asked, and Bernard tore his gaze away from the couple to consult his scroll.
"Sister Renata," he announced.
Before the bishop could even knock at Sister Renata's door, however, it was flung open and Renata stormed out, almost running Tiberius down in her hurry. Bernard wondered if she already knew about the calling and was trying to get away, but then, why run straight into the bishop's path?
"You're already got wings on!" Tiberius cried.
"Yes," Renata huffed, "and I'm in a bit of a hurry! The Guardian Angel Emergency Services have just informed me that our protectee is hanging from a cliff. If we don't help him, he'll fall down and break his neck!"
"Don't the Guardian Angels have subsitutes for those people who can't come right just then?" Bernard asked.
"Right now I am the substitute!" Renata cried, trying again to get by, but Tiberius flapped into her flight path and she was forced to make an unexpected landing.
"Don't they have substitutes for the substitutes?" Tiberius wondered.
"We've got a more important calling for you," Bernard said quickly, before Renata could get past the young angel.
"Don't be ridiculous. What's more important than somebody hanging from a cliff? Anyway, can we talk about it later?" Renata asked. Turning in the opposite direction, she took off and soared away. The bishop reached for the last pair of wings in the wagon, pulled them on, and flew after her. Tiberius was already chasing after her as well.
"Sister Renata, this can't wait!" Bernard shouted. "You have to inform someone else!"
"Why? What's going on?" Renata shouted back. Looking over her shoulder and seeing his determination, she flew a bit slower. The bishop finally caught up with her and called out, "You've been called to appear over the fields of Bethlehem and sing a short song for the birth of the Saviour!"
"Is this some kind of a joke?" Sister Renata cried. "I can't sing! I've got one single talent, and that's being a guardian angel."
"It's not a joke! This comes from On High!" Bishop Bernard pointed upwards with one finger, then unrolled the scroll and waved it at her.
After a quick look, Renata heaved a sigh of resignation, then pointed in another direction. "There's an emergency trumpet station! I'll land there!"
She flapped her wings a few more times, then landed at the emergency station. Tiberius swooped in to land next to her, but Renata had already lifted up the trumpet and it seemed that she was about to blow it directly into his face. Tiberius could only rescue himself from a full-force blast by banking hard to one side and nearly missing the station altogether. Bernard came in on the other side with slightly more grace.
"Guardian Angel Emergency Services, this is Sister Renata!" she called through the trumpet. "I can't make it to the cliffhanger! I've just been drafted into singing for the saviour's birth."
A voice came out of the trumpet. "HA HA HA HA HA! Good try, Renata!"
Renata glared at the bishop. "You see? They heard me sing once."
The bishop grabbed the trumpet and blew into it. "This is Bishop Bernard and I am speaking the truth! Sister Renata has been called to sing over Bethlehem!"
There was a very long pause before the answer came, and it sounded as though the angel on the other end had just finished with an attack of the giggles. "All right, we will notify another substitute. Many blessings!"
Bernard was just about to call out a thank you when they heard another burst of laughter. Angrily, Renata grabbed the trumpet from his hand and hung it up. The sound died abruptly.
"Now remember that you were called for a reason," Bernard said. "Maybe it's time for you to develop a new talent."
Renata snorted in disbelief. "That'd take a miracle!"
"We're angels," Bernard continued. "Miracles always happen around us. As part of the Guardian Angel Emergency Services, you should know that."
"Yeah," Renata admitted slowly, but it was obvious she believed in miracles for others and not for herself.
"Do your best, and let Him take care of the rest," Bernard said, indicating On High once again. "Now let's go, it's almost time."
"Can I come, too?" Tiberius asked excitedly.
Bernard hesitated, then said, "Of course. You can bring the wagon and wait for us, and then you can help me collect the wings afterwards."
When they arrived at the fields above Bethlehem, all the other angels were there and practicing their flying, even Brother Boaz, who was being very slow and careful. Down below, four shepherds were stretched out around a little camp and a ewe had snuggled up between two of them. Bernard divided up the angels so that they made a circle around the shepherds. He put Brother Friedeman far away – just in case. Zacharias and Xaviera hovered next to each other.
"Does everybody know the song?" Bernard asked.
"Theoretically, yes," Renata replied, snippy with nerves.
"I have compared thee, O my love, to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots," Zacharias sang out loud to Xaviera. She smiled at him and sang back, "As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons."
Bishop Bernard said sternly, "I DO BEG YOUR PARDON!"
Visibly embarrassed, Zacharias and Xaviera murmured simultaneously, "Sorry, wrong song."
"The Song of Solomon can wait. Let's try "Glory to God in the Highest" instead," Bernard said with a sigh, wondering if this were going to work, and what kind of miracle would be necessary to see this through. Probaby the same order of miracle that had parted the Red Sea for Moses and sent fire from heaven down for Elijah. "Now the key word is 'manger.' As soon as you hear that, you start to shine, all right?"
Everybody nodded. Friedeman took a deep breath. Praying for the best, the bishop flew closer to the shepherds and began to shine. Three of the four shepherds woke up and stared fearfully at him. The ewe lifted its head as well, and at first, Bernard thought he heard it bleat, but then realized that it was the fourth shepherd, snoring.
"Fear not," Bernard said quickly, "for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David –"
The bishop lifted his arm in the direction of the city –
"—a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
At the word "manger," the other angels started to shine as well. All amazed, the shepherds glanced around as the angels sang. Bishop Bernard glanced around, too, and discovered that the miracles were already starting to happen. Friedeman was singing loudly, but not unbearably. Boaz had been flying very close to the ground, with small, weak wingstrokes, but now he was lifted up, higher and stronger. Zacharias and Xaviera flew so close that their wingtips were touching – well, maybe that wasn’t exactly a wonder. But Renata was singing and her voice was absolutely beautiful.
The song came to an end. The angels stopped shining and flew away to where Tiberius was waiting with the wagon. Naturally, Xaviera and Zacharias stayed close, grinning at each other as they pulled off their wings and put them back in the wagon. Renata, however, stayed where she was, pressing her fingers to her mouth and throat as though unable to believe that they belonged to her. Having heard an inexplicable improvement in his own voice, Bernard knew exactly how she felt.
Down below, the shepherds looked at each other, then slowly turned in the direction of the city.
"Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us," the first shepherd said. They all started to march away, but at that moment, the fourth shepherd woke up. "Oy! Whither would ye go?”
They all turned around and the first shepherd said, "A saviour is born this day, which is Christ the Lord."
The second shepherd added, "In the city of David." He lifted his hand and pointed in that direction.
The third shepherd said, "We must see this thing and tell all the people!"
"Suffer me to come with you!" the fourth shepherd called out.
"Nay, for thou sawest not the angels," said the third shepherd. "Thou hast slept a deep sleep."
"And thou hast snored, that not even the song of the angels could awaken thee,” the second shepherd said.
“There must be a man to stay here with the sheep. For behold, the ewe draweth near to her time,” said the first shepherd.
The three shepherds went away, and the fourth sank resignedly to the ground.
Glad that he was not yet on the earth and forced to speak forsoothly, finding all the right verb endings and knowing the difference between "thou" and "thee," Bishop Bernard turned away from the shepherds. A growing feeling of contentment warmed his insides; their task was complete and miracles had happened – even to him! Unwilling to let the moment to end, but realizing that he had to return to the pre-existence eventually, he started to fly away.
Although Bernard extended his hand to encourage Renata along, she remained where she was, staring down at the fourth shepherd. Bernard followed her gaze. The shepherd had started plucking sadly at the grass and flinging it in the ewe's direction. Now he said mournfully, “Had I awoken and seen the angels, yea, behold, I, even I, could go unto Bethlehem and see the saviour.”
He stopped plucking at the grass and knelt down. After he’d pressed his hands together, he bowed his head, and though he did not speak out loud, Bernard could still hear his prayer. "Behold thy manservant, I pray, and send him thy message, too."
In that instant, however, Bernard and Renata had to fly hastily out of the way, because Tiberius came swooping down like a destroying angel. He stood in front of the fourth shepherd, began to shine, and said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
The shepherd stared at Tiberius with his mouth hanging open. All at once, Bernard realized that Tiberius was going to break into song. He flew down quickly to give the boy a little support. To his surprise, Renata came, too, and together, they began to shine and sing. “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
As soon as they had finished, Tiberius said to the shepherd, “Rejoice, o shepherd! Now canst thou, even thou, go unto Bethlehem and see the Saviour.”
The shepherd stood up rejoicing, and was just about to set out when the sheep at his side suddenly gave a long, loud bleat. The excitement drained from the shepherd’s face and he said sadly, “Behold, the ewe travaileth in birth.”
"We'll take care of it," said Tiberius excitedly, either not knowing how to translate that phrase into "forsooth speech," or not caring. "We were called especially for this service, weren't we, bishop?"
Unsure of how to answer that, Bernard settled for a feeble, "Uh …"
To his great astonishment, Renata stepped closer and said, "Yes, indeed! I'm even a member of the Guardian Angel Emergency Services and we've been trained to deal with all kinds of sticky situations, especially birth. Your sheep will be in good hands with us. And anyway, we're angels. Miracles always happen around us."
"Right," Tiberius stated and nodded in agreement. Both angels stared pointedly at Bernard, and he had no choice but to nod as well.
"I thank you and praise you!" said the shepherd, grinning. He lifted his hand as though to touch them, then let it sink, and ran towards Bethlehem as fast as he could, repeating it over and over again. "I thank you and praise you!"
The ewe bleated again, and Renata knelt down and patted its head.
"It was a good thing that I came, too, wasn't it, bishop?" Tiberius asked proudly. "I was able to answer his prayer! Did you see how happy he was?"
"Yes, you did that very well," Bernard replied.
"And my voice sounded even better the second time around," said Renata in amazement. "I was only going to pretend that I was singing, but then I started up anyway and … a miracle happened! To me!"
"You really couldn't sing before?" Tiberius asked, kneeling down on the other side of the sheep and patting it as well.
"Not a bit! I was always happy that I could at least be a guardian angel. But now I could almost think about joining the choir."
"I wish I could be something like a guardian angel," said Tiberius. "Or at least have a calling where I could answer prayers. It's such an … exciting feeling!"
"Indeed it is," Renata agreed. "Saving lives, answering prayers, or even helping in any way … that’s the best thing. But singing … isn't bad, either."
She and Tiberius smiled at each other. Before Bernard could mention how well they were doing and how little they needed him, the ewe bleated again and Tiberius called out, "Look, bishop, the lamb is being born!"
Bernard looked, grimaced, and quickly averted his eyes. Desperately, he looked around for the little town of Bethlehem, where another lamb was also being born – the Lamb of God.
The End
Written December 2004