“ONE, TWO, THREE”

Suggested Scripture Reading ; Isaiah  11; 1 – 9

New Living Translation – Isaiah 11:6

In that day the wolf and the lamb will live together; the leopard will lie down with the baby goat. The calf and the yearling will be safe with the lion, and a little child will lead them all.

 

One, Two, Three (1)

By Henry Cuyler Bunner

It was and old, old, old, old lady
And a boy that was half-past three,
And the way that they played together
Was beautiful to see.
She couldn’t go romping and jumping,
And the boy, no more could he;
For he was a thin little fellow,
With a thin little twisted knee.
They sat in the yellow sunlight,
Out under the maple tree,
And the game that they played I’ll tell you,
Just as it was told to me.
It was hide-and-go-seek they were playing,
Though you’d never have known it to be–
With an old, old, old, old lady
And a boy with a twisted knee.
The boy would bend his face down
On his little sound right knee,
And he guessed where she was hiding
In guesses One, Two, Three.
“You are in the china closet!”
He would cry, and laugh with glee–
It wasn’t the china closet,
But he still has Two and Three.
“You are up in papa’s big bedroom,
In the chest with the queer old key,”
And she said: “You are warm and warmer;
But you are not quite right, “said she.

“It can’t be the little cupboard
Where mama’s things used to be–
So it must be in the clothes press, Gran’ma,”
And he found her with his Three.
Then she covered her face with her fingers,
That were wrinkled and white and wee,
And she guessed where the boy was hiding,
With a One and a Two and a Three.
And they never had stirred from their places
Right under the maple tree–
This old, old, old, old lady
And the boy with the lame little knee–
This dear, dear, dear old lady
And the boy who was half-past three.

A Prayer To Follow This Reading (3))

Father,  Thank You for directing the gaze of our world towards the face of a Baby. How  refreshing it is to turn away for a time from the  many overbearing ,self- aggrandizing individuals who profess  to possess the knowledge of all that is best for the human race. What a jolt of surprise it was on the first Christmas morning:

‘They all were looking for a king
To slay their foes, and lift them high:
Thou cam’st a little baby thing
That made a woman cry.”(2)

Give us Grace once more we implore You , to look into the face of innocence .We need to learn anew the genesis of Human trust in You our God. It is here before us that the only Hope for this world is wrapped, and lying in the manger in Bethlehem. Give us the humility of spirit to confess the limitation of our knowledge, but also give us the trust in You to realize that where the first on-lookers saw a Baby, You could see the Savior of the World.

Every new born Baby brings Your renewed hope into this world, O God. And where the seeds of trust and love are permitted to germinate in the soil of the child’s birth , there is found Your dream of a brighter and more beautiful tomorrow. Open our eyes to see You, our hearts to love You; and our souls to trust You. Through Jesus, Joy Of our desiring . Amen

Editorial Note

(1)  Poem:  Henry Cuyler Bunner,    “One, Two, Three”

(2)  Poem:  George MacDonald, “That Holy Thing”

(3) Prayer: Franklin D. Curtis