Peasants and Astronomers: Advent poems 3

 Peasants and Scholars
There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks by night. Luke 2:8-22

Not one angel,
which would have been startling enough,
but a numberless host
delivered the message
to this community of sheep-herding peasants.
Overwhelmed by the information
and its bearers, they nonetheless
engaged their rationality
once silence had been restored.
Such a message begged verification.
They left their fields
to do field research
in the town of Bethlehem.
The investigation bore fruit.
They saw for themselves
that the news was true,
although it would be years
for the evidence of its meaning
to be forthcoming. Even so,
they left research behind
for the moment, joyfully
reported their findings
to the wider community
and praised God, voices ringing
in the new day’s dawning

Ancient Astronomers
We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Matthew 2:2

They had been waiting
and watching—for what, they
weren’t sure. When at last
the distant sun throbbed in the west,
it drew them like a lover.
They left their towers and set out,
trekking through desert
and mountain pass.
The star led them
to the backwaters of the empire
where they discovered,
not a new land,
but an invisible kingdom.
They gave their gifts, worshipped,
and began the journey home,
guarding the secret.
Nothing would ever again be the same.