Walking up the hill near my house, I pass some ducks, a donkey, and some sheep who live near a pond—then after a soybean field, two horses whose lot comes right up to the road, none of whom pay me much attention as I pass by.
About half a mile later, I pass a fenced-in lot, where a rooster and fourteen hens spend their days walking around, pecking in the grass.
I talk to myself during my walk: just loud enough to hear the words, because the spoken word has special power.
I say the “Jesus prayer,” read from a little red Gideon Bible, then just talk to the Lord. Sometimes He answers.
Like the morning I said, “Lord, it’s the second week in December and I got just about as much Christmas Spirit, as a chicken has teeth. I sure would like to have some Christmas Spirit.”
Right then, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” came to mind, so I started singing it as I walked.
C F
We wish you a Merry Christmas
D G
We wish you a Merry Christmas
E Aminor
We wish you a Merry Christmas
F C
And a happy New Year.
I include the guitar, banjo, and uke chord symbols to make a point.
All the chords, but one , are happy, major ones—but the A minor at the end of the third line denotes sadness—the way I felt at the time I began to sing.
After I had sung the tune through a time or two, another thought came: “Wonder why we always sing ‘We Wish You a Merry Christmas,’to each other, but never to Jesus? It seemed natural to wish “Merry Christmas” to the One who made it possible, but I couldn’t remember ever thinking of such a thing, much less doing so.
So I started to sing the song again—but this time to the Lord. And I kept singing for the next mile and a half. It was We in the singular, but the more I sang , the happier I got, and the happier I got, the more I felt the Christmas Spirit. The bit of sadness brought by the A minor chord only made the joy sweeter.
I told Patsy what happened while we had breakfast. The next morning Jose Feliciano’s hit, “Feliz Navidad,” came to mind as I walked up the hill, which I like because of its tune as well as its wish which I interpret : “May you have Joy at the birth of Jesus.”
Feliz Navidad
Feliz Navidad
Prospero año y felicidad.
Unable to remember, I left out “Prospero año y felicidad” : “happy and joyful new year,” I just kept on singing “Feliz Navidad.”
I must have sung the song through three or four times, before I began to take even more liberties with the words. If it was a good thing to sing “Merry Christmas” to Jesus, it would probably be a good thing to sing it to His closest riends. So, I made up a second verse:
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
Feliz Navidad.
Indeed. It wasn’t long until the song brought so much Christmas Spirit that I couldn’t sing softly any more, and had begun singing out loud by the time I approached the chicken pen. What happened next surprised me.
I pass these chickens every other day, but the animals I see made up a wildly enthusiastic audience compared to these birds. The chickens remained totally engrossed in pecking around in the pen, while they tried to steer clear of the rooster.
But this day, as I came toward them they looked up from their grassy breakfasts, then turned their heads toward me and finally began to waddle in my direction.
Then they began to run toward me, every one— even the rooster, to group-up in the corner of the pen, then to to stop, and stand completely still.
I walked over to the fence singing, expecting them to run away.
But no, they stayed so still and quiet, I thought them almost worshipful. Neither a “puck-puck,” a “cock-a-doodle-do”, nor even the rustle of a wing— this little flock stood, seeming to listen, and more than that, to understand. They never moved until I stopped singing, and remained still as I turned and headed toward home.
As I walked, I wondered why the chickens came, until “Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord,” came to mind, and I began to understand.
Like the donkey and the sheep in the manger scene, these humble birds by their coming were praising the Lord. And by their silence they worshipping Him. Watching the chickens left me worshipful too.
The Spirit of Christmas came when I began singing praises, then saw praise in the humblest of birds as the chickens came at Christmas. Perhaps you will decide to sing praises, too, thereby to kindle, or re-kindle the Spirit of Christmas, which brings the joy and peace we so desperately need for the coming year.