A is for the angels, winging their way across the earth;
To announce with heavenly melodies the Savior’s birth.
B is for the baby, born so weak and poor,
God’s own proof that less is more.
C is for the cradle that held the boy-king;
A rude feeding trough brushed by rushing angel’s wing.
D is for David, the King whose line would rule,
Now divine DNA in the royal gene pool.
E is for the extra players in this timeless tale,
The unknown whose names fade and faces pale.
F is for the forgotten lambs and sheep,
Left in the fields with no company to keep.
G is for the gold brought by a wise man,
Useless to a baby but helpful when they ran.
H is for the highway, crowded and gritty,
Everyone rushing to their own native city.
I is for the inn where there was not a single room,
But out in the barn the baby Savior comes very soon.
J is for Joseph the nervous quiet Dad,
His first child born in a forsaken, forlorn and sad.
K is for the kneelers around the manger bare;
Paying homage to a fragile salvation so rare.
L is for the ladies serving restaurant food in the inn,
To unsuspecting customers with no idea where they’d been.
M is for Mary who submitted her will,
To the cold plan of the Lord in a winter’s deep chill.
N is for Naphtali, and every place beyond their sight
Where on the darkness shined an everlasting light.
O is for the ointment given to begin the healing,
Though this birth forewarned a tragic death-dealing.
P is for the perfume given as a gift,
The masking foreshadowing evil’s great rift.
Q is for Quirinius, the governor unknown
Whose powerful irrelevance is here clearly shown.
R is for reconciliation, of God to man,
Throwing our guilt away as far as we can.
S is for the star, shining so bright and strange,
Only with faithful vision does it come into range.
T is for treasures brought by the kings,
As useless for gifts as kids’ decoder rings.
U is for the unconditional love here shown,
Mercy beyond measure, pardon unknown.
V is for the victory over death and sin,
One little moment for our souls to win.
W is for the wise men, so winsomely dumb,
Tragedy in their wake, but glad they had come.
X is for Xerxes, the King in Cyrus’ line,
Who also freed God’s people from their captive time.
Y is for the Year of God’s gift of redemption,
And nobody was else even paying attention.
Z is for Zechariah, the man whose vision made him dumb,
Yet his son was the voice heralding The One.
RONALD P. SALFEN is the minister at St. Stephen’s Presbyterian Church in Irving, Texas.
