Twas Three Days Before Christmas

Poem by Megan L. Garcia

Twas three days before Christmas and all through the church
We gathered to celebrate our dear Savior’s birth
Though not on December 25th He did come,
Yet still our hearts honor this sweet blessed One

We put on our dresses, we put on our ties
The gals did their hair, and waited the guys
For soon they would finally get to retreat
Oh, the sound of the car leaving sounded so sweet

When out of the bathroom, there arose such a clatter
The husband jumped up to see what was the matter
“Just grabbing my perfume” the wife did reply
“I’ll be in the car,” said the man with a sigh

When what to his wandering eyes did appear
His wife beautifully primp; oh that sweet blessed dear
In the car, they drove with zeal and great speed
To church they must get or they’d be late, late indeed.

But in the car, there was bickering afresh
“Why does it take you so long to get dressed?”
“If you’d help me instead of sitting there on your rump
There’d be no discussions, there’d be nothing to trump.”
Along the way, they saw quite a sight
Two men broken down by the intersection light
“Oh me, oh my,” the sightseeing wife yowled
“Get out of the way!” the grumpy man growled.

Finally, at the church they parked in their place
Setting aside their griping, they hurried with great pace
To get to their pew, to get to their seat
The program would start, and they’d miss the first beat.

Faking a smile to get past the front door
They grabbed a bulletin and gave handshakes galore
“Happy Sabbath to you, and to you, and to you”
Was there any more people they had to go through?

Alone on the pew they settled right in
Picking up their hymnals, the service did begin
They sang “O Holy Night,” they sang “We Three Kings”
They sang “Joy to the World” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”

They laughed with the children, they prayed with the men
They listened and thought, they shouted, “Amen!”
And then it was over, just as quick as it began
And they were off to their home, the holidays to plan

Finally at home, they scurried and raced
Hurrying to prepare the feast and their place
For soon their kids, grandkids, and friends
Would come to enjoy the pleasant amends

At 5 o’clock the doorbell rang with delight
Guests opened the door to begin the fun night
But just as soon as festivities began
To the store to get napkins the husband had ran

As he progressed towards the big sliding doors
The man walked aside a lady on the floor
She was sitting crisscrossed, no jacket, no shoes
Just a sad expression, hair matted and two tattoos

“Why should they allow this bum on the floor?”
The man thought to himself, as he passed through the door
And after grabbing napkins, he was astonished to see
The lady still there, but not just her, there were three.

“Oh great, a whole posse!” He yelled in his head.
Around the strong-smelling group he raced and he sped
Back home to his party, with happy delight
To enjoy blessed times for the remainder of the night

They sang Christmas carols, they drank some hot tea
They opened some presents, they smiled with glee
They happily praised the first advent birth
Declaring Christ’s love for the people of earth

And when all was over, they hugged and they kissed
They thanked everyone, for they all would be missed.
After shutting the door, they talked face to face
Praising God for His goodness, praising God for His grace

Is there anything wrong with this Christmas story
Of forgetting who’s life should really be gloried?
While we stay warm and full on this Christmas season
We mustn’t forget Christ’s coming’s true reason

Jesus made clear the importance of service
It might be hard, and we might feel a bit nervous
But if we were to truly honor the coming of Jesus
We first must help the poor and the lonely who need us

For we say we are Christians, we say we believe
But we honor ourselves, and dismiss those in need
So my challenge to you and my challenge to me:
Be the kind of followers that Christ would receive

Luke 14: 12-14 says, “Then Jesus said to His host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

And Matthew 25:42-45 says “For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’

I pray that we all will find some way to serve this Christmas season.

 

Garcia is a member of Pennsylvania Conference's Hillcrest church in Wellsboro.