A light appeared
in the starry
sky as a blazing
torch cutting
space.
 |
Walking down a
dark road, with
difficulty,
little Ishmael
was paralysed. At
that moment, a
deep feeling of
love flooded his
heart, which was
beating rapidly.
An immense
certainty
overwhelmed him.
It was Him, the
Saviour of the
World, who
came! The
long-awaited
Messiah of his
people!
He
raised
his
hands
upward,
while
tears of
joy ran
down his
small
tanned
face. |
Ishmael was a
kid like so many
of his age. His
family was very
poor and barely
had enough to
survive. He was
still small, but
he helped his
father work the
land, and also
his mother with
household
chores.
Hope, however,
had always been
his constant
companion. He
loved God with
all his strength
and his heart
knew that the
good Messiah
would come. He
did not know
when, but he
waited for Him
with much
anxiety.
On cold nights,
while the family
huddled around
the fire, he
liked to hear
his father tell
the prophecies
that spoke of
the coming of
the Saviour. And
he would fall
asleep
peacefully,
dreaming of a
different time,
where everyone
would love
everyone else.
One day, his
mother fell
ill. She was
burning with
fever in bed and
they all feared
for her life.
Not wanting to
move away from
her, his father
told Ishmael to
go look for
Shammah, an old
medicine woman,
who knew about
herbs and that
in the absence
of a physician,
was the only
person in town
who could help
them with that
emergency.
Ishmael did not
hesitate. The
father explained
how to get
Shammah and
placing his hand
on his head,
said:
- May the Lord
bless you, my
son. Be careful
and do not stop
to talk to
strangers,
because the city
is full of
foreigners who
came to the
census.
They lived in
Bethlehem, and
in those days
exactly, under
an order of the
king, who wanted
to know how many
people lived in
the country, all
residents had
left their
homes, leaving
their cities, to
give their
names.
Hurrying through
the streets,
Ishmael tried
not to divert
his attention by
getting
distracted with
the noise of the
foreigners. But
the sound of
music, dancing
groups; it was
contagious. The
smell of
perfume, mixed
with fried fish,
condiments,
baked bread,
reached his
nostrils. And he
was hungry. He
had eaten
nothing yet that
day.
Gradually the
noise of the
city started to
fade, falling
behind. Now,
walking down the
road in the
darkness,
Ishmael was
afraid. The
night with
filled with
sounds of
strange animals
coming from all
sides. And he
cowered with his
eyes wide open,
but went on
nonetheless. He
needed to find
Shammah, the
only person
capable of
helping his
mother.
Looking at the
starry sky,
Ishmael thought:
Why did he
suffer so
much? Why was
his life so
difficult when
other children
had
everything? And
now, his mother
was sick! He was
afraid of losing
her.
- Lord, protect
my mother!
At that moment,
Ishmael saw that
that starry
night was
flooded with a
very bright
light. And a
beam of light
moved across the
sky and down to
meet the earth,
at some point
not far away.
What was most
strange to the
boy was that the
beam of light
seemed to
consist of
endless bright
spots, like
beautiful,
bright and
smiling beings
and that, being
too close
together,
appeared to be a
single light.
Ishmael felt his
chest swell up
with new
hope. Privately,
something
whispered to him
that it was the
Messiah, with
His angelic
retinue, that
came into the
world.
Everything would
be different
from now on. A
New Era for
humanity would
begin.
He quickened his
pace. He had
urgency to find
Shammah. He knew
that his mother
would be cured.
|
With no great
difficulty, he
located the
woman and asked
her to go see
his
mother. Helpful,
the lady
followed him
back to
Bethlehem.
Even though his
heart
celebrated,
Ishmael said
nothing about
what he had
seen. When he
got home, taking
Shammah by the
hand, he knew
that all was
well. He entered
the room and saw
his mother
sitting in bed,
already without
fever, taking a
sip of tea that
a neighbour had
brought her.
With a smile on
his face, he
said:
- Mother! Thanks
to the Messiah,
you're cured!
|
 |
|
- What are you
saying, my
son? - his
father asked,
intrigued. |
And Ishmael
reported, with
earnestness and
emotion:
- Father,
tonight the
Saviour came
into the world.
And before the
amazement of
everyone, he
told what had
happened. And
such was the
wealth of detail
that no one
doubted the
words of the
boy.
Thrilled, they
knelt to pray to
God, thanking
Him for the
blessing to be
living in a time
when great
things would
happen.
Aunt Celia
