Call me Benji

 

 

Benji, as you know,

Is the short for Benjamin

As in the Animal Farm satire

Also made into a film.

 

Call me Benji if you like

Since this case is not formal

And as you know,

Donkeys are not people.

 

I played a support role

In a number of Bible events

But two in particular

Better illustrate my intent.

 

 

I could speak of Saul

Who became Israel’s first king

And his search for asses…

Oh boy, isn’t that a thing?

 

 

 

I could talk of Balaam

And about his talking jackass

That had more sense than he,

Boy, wasn’t that class?

 

I carried a king twice:

To his birth and to his death,

If you read the Bible often

You’d know the rest.

 

I belonged to Joseph;

He was a respectable man

Thus, one of my supporting roles

Was in redemption’s plan.

 

Mary was pregnant

But they had a problem

And because of a Roman census

They went to Bethlehem.

 

 

I had to carry Mary

And her unborn child

Whom many would refer to as,

Jesus meek and mild.

 

At the time of the census

I did not know this

But carrying the Christ child,

I’d never want to miss.

 

That was some honour,

Oh, it was so sweet,

God’s mode of transportation

Was Benji’s footsure feet.

 

Call me a jackass

But I felt like a king

When I carried the King of kings!

Wasn’t that something?

 

I was in the stall too

When the shepherds came,

They were joyful and happy

Praising Jehovah’s name.

 

No wisemen were there;

Not in that stall,

Contrary to popular belief,

There were none at all.

 

Some years after

A close relative of mine

Also played a supporting role

In an event in his time.

 

 

His name was also Benji

Just like most donkeys

So, I will let him tell his experience

For posterity.

 

I was tied up

When these men came,

I believe they spoke to my owner

And mentioned a name.

 

All I heard was master

And having need of me,

And then thy took me away

This master for to see.

 

None had sat me before

So this was an honour,

Just four spindly legs

But I was carrying all power.

 

Jesus was fully grown then,

Not a baby anymore

But Benji, the second, back then,

Was just as footsure.

 

At Jesus’ birth

The town was Bethlehem

But this was the capital city,

Specifically, Jerusalem.

 

I walked on palm leaves

And on people’s clothes,

Nothing like as with Balaam

Delivering those blows.

 

I can still hear shouting

As the people rejoiced

Not knowing a few days later

They’d be another choice.

 

 

“Hosanna,” they shouted,

As I carried him

But later it was “Crucify him!”

Though he had no sin.

 

 

 

No fault had been found

But Jesus had to die

And so, “Hosanna in the Highest”

Changed to “Crucify!”

 

Two life-changing events

In fulfilment of prophecy:

The latter: The Triumphal Entry

The former: The Nativity.

 

Two premiere events

In which Benji took part

So next time you see a jackass,

Please have a heart.

 

Stewart Russell © December 10, 2024

 

Shepherds Quaked

 

 

Out on a lowly hill

While their sheep attending

Shepherds quaked in great fear

Seeing angels descending.

 

“What could this mean?”

They thought to themselves

For surely it couldn’t be Santa

And his fairy tale elves.

 

Tales of Santa Clause

Was not back then rife

So why the presence of these angels

At this time in their life?

 

Fearing the worst

They huddled together

When words of the angels hinted

No need to bother.

 

 

“Fear not,” they said,

Stilling the shepherd’s fear,

And told to them the promise

We still hold dear.

 

For God so loved

That He selflessly gave

His only begotten Son, Jesus,

Our lives to save.

 

In a manger he lay

Right up the shepherd’s street

For unhindered they could go

And at Emmanuel peep.

 

I used peep for rhyme

But their eyes feasted

On the King of kings, Lord of lords

Whom they had visited.

 

 

With fear they had quaked

But not for long,

“Let us go and see,” they said,

Reminding us of a song…

 

A song we love to sing

At this yuletide season

About who it was that came

As well as the reason.

 

“While shepherds watched,

All seated on the ground”,

From heaven there came singing

As angels came down.

 

Shepherds quaked

At that wondrous sight,

When into this world of darkness

Came Jesus, the Light. 

 

To you, is born this day,

In the city of David,

The Saviour,

Who is Christ the Lord.

 

They had endured long

Expecting the Messiah

But in fullness of time he came,

Sing Alleluia.

 

Stewart Russell © December 9, 2024

 

A Sunday Christmas

 

 

Just a mere week away

We’ll be celebrating Christmas Day,

This year will be somewhat different

As it will fall on a Sunday.

 

Sunday carries a more spiritual focus

Than any other day in the week

And compared to Monday thru’ Saturday

There are fewer people on the street.

 

Of course, this is not as pronounced

As it was in years gone by

When stores and shops were closed

And not a soul could buy.

 

When Christmas fell on a Sunday

It was particularly different,

A lot of the activity was scaled down

As this was considered as reverent.

 

Of course, two holidays followed

And people made up for lost time

As throughout the Monday and Tuesday

Celebration was on their mind.

 

This is not likely to happen

This coming Christmas Sunday

For quite a lot has changed over the years

And there is a totally different way.

 

To the party animal

It won’t make the slightest difference

For they will revel in their festivities

Until they are totally spent.

 

Some churches will change a bit

From the early service to a later one

And their services may exceed two hours

Before from church they’re gone.

 

Work will recommence on Wednesday

But not much will be done

For it will take a while to readjust

After three days of fun.

 

 

Such is the fallout

When Christmas Day falls on a Sunday

And given COVID-19’s lessened affect

This year is likely to be a big affair.

 

But in whatever way you celebrate

And in all the things you do,

Spare a thought for the Christ child

Who left heaven for me and for you.

 

Though no longer a babe in a manger

This is what Christ had to become

To save humanity from the curse

Regarding what our fore-parents had done.

 

For having disobeyed God’s directive

They chose to go Satan’s way

And as simplistic as that may seem,

Out of it came the first Christmas Day.

 

For while shepherds kept watch

Over their sheep that night

There came from that heavenly host

An exceeding bright light.

 

 

Angels heralded the Saviour’s birth

To startled shepherds filled with fear

And they hurried to the animal stall

Which must have been quite near.

 

There on that first Christmas Day

Lay the Saviour in a manger of hay

And what a joy it was for the shepherds

That very first Christmas Day.

 

Was it a Sunday Christmas?

Perhaps, it could have been

But far more import than the day

Was the manger scene.

 

For God was with man

And with man had come to dwell

And thus, to both shepherds and kings

The good news did tell.

 

For on to you is born this day

In the city of David

A Saviour,

Who is Christ the Lord!

 

And this should be a sign to all

Even in our time,

That Jesus, the Saviour who came,

Came to pay off Adam’s fine.

 

 

A life we could not live,

A death we could not pay,

My Savior and your Saviour paid

From that first Christmas Day.

 

For ‘tis there the journey began

As he executed the Father’s plan

To bring “so great salvation”

To fallen man.

 

And so, I recall the words

Of that glorious refrain

When Jesus left heaven’s splendor

And to wretched man came.

 

“He came from heaven to earth

To show the way,

From the earth to the cross

My debt to pay.

 

From the cross to the grave,

From the grave to the sky,

Lord,

I lift your name on high!”

 

May we lift the name higher still

Of the one who came that Christmas,

The name by which I was saved!

That name is Jesus!

 

Stewart Russell © December 18, 2022

 

The Little Child in Me

 

 

 

There is a little child in me

That long for Christmas time,

Months before this time arrives

Christmas is on my mind.

 

I have come to realize

It’s not so much about things,

It’s definitely not about parties

And getting to have a fling.

 

It’s not really about the eating

And looking kind of rotund

When all year I’ve been struggling

To get rid of the extra pounds.

 

It’s not about the Christmas lights

Well, maybe a little of that,

But it’s something more, I think,

That provides the crowning cap.

 

Definitely, the nativity story

Still stirs the heart and mind

As we take that Bethlehem journey

The wonderful Christ child to find.

 

 

Away in a Manger,

Once in Royal David’s City,

O Come to My Heart Lord Jesus,

These wonderful songs of nativity!

 

Coming closer to the point!

Yes, therein is the wonderful fact!

That this little child in me

Connects with that Divine act.

 

Bringing meaning to the lights

And to the bounteous food,

To this unique sense of goodwill

That goes with the Christmas mood.

 

So that it’s not any one thing

But an amalgamation of realities

That arouses that little child,

Yes!  It is the little child in me!

 

 

And it doesn’t matter, my friend,

That I am almost seven decades

For I have discovered the older I get,

The less this reality fades.

 

And so, like some people I know

The countdown is really on

And there is a sense re the fight of time

This Christmas will soon be gone.

 

So, from one Christ child to another,

Enjoy this festive season!

It’s the child in you and me that knows

Christ’s nativity is the reason.

 

While shepherds watch their flock

They saw a shining star

And wise men bow in great delight

Having journeyed from afar.

 

Two old ones past eight decades

Anticipated that Holy Child,

And the child in them became excited

When that moment arrived.

 

Like them there’s this child in me

That just longs for Christmas time

And months before December comes

Christmas is on my mind.

 

If there is one single regret I have,

It’s that the day passes so quickly

And just around the evening hours,

I feel profoundly melancholy.

 

 

Perhaps it’s what the disciples felt

When Jesus went away,

But he gave them the wonderful assurance

That he will be back someday.

 

And so, if my life be spared,

There’ll be another Christmas too

And that little child in me will rejoice

And hopefully in you too.

 

Stewart Russell © December 2, 2022

God with Man

 

 

Yonder in cattle stall

Lay a baby most fair,

God with man has come to dwell

Among the cattle there.

 

The shepherds as invited

Kneel before his bed,

A crude manger for his body

And dried hay for his head.

 

The animals low in tandem

Sometimes in unison too,

No harmony could be detected

But they never knew.

 

Wise men would visit later

But for now only shepherds came,

Having been told by the angels

In a glorious refrain.

 

 

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth, peace!

Meanwhile the wise men were noting

A peculiar star in the east.

 

When they finally saw him

The baby Jesus, I mean,

He was then resting in a house

This was not the manger scene.

 

I wonder what it was really like

To have been present at his birth,

What a wonder that must have been!

“God has come to earth.”

 

Today I remind my readers

It can be a dream come true,

For the Holy Spirit has come to dwell

In persons like me and you.

 

 

No, not in a manger stall

But in temples as we are,

So we can be near and dear to him

Just like the wise men that came from afar.

 

What a privilege for the highest

And the lowest of all the earth!

We can be one in Christ Jesus

On account of the “new birth”.

 

To be “born again”, as Jesus said,

In his discourse with Nicodemus,

Today that can be you and me

By simply accepting Jesus.

 

There is room for the simple shepherd

And for kings and wise men too,

God’s great gift was sent to all

And if you are a skeptic, even you.

 

Stewart Russell © September 2019

 

These All Saw and Believed

 

 

 

A few people saw baby Jesus

And all that saw him believed,

Whether in the stall or at the house

These persons were received.

 

First it was the shepherds

That rushed to the Saviour’s side,

It mattered not their lowly state

They were not to be denied.

 

 

There was the devout Simeon

Who eagerly anticipated the event,

As soon as he laid eyes on the child

Simeon knew he was God-sent.

 

Right then he was ready to go

For his eyes had seen God’s salvation:

To the Jew first and the Gentile;

The ushering of their redemption.

 

 

There was Anna, the prophetess

That served in the temple at Jerusalem,

She too, “coming in that instant”

Testified of man’s redemption.

 

Not only were there Jews

But some Gentiles had followed a star,

After about two years they saw the child

Proving they had come from afar.

 

 

Nativity scenes showed them in the stall

But this could not have been so,

Matthew said they saw him “in the house”

And surely Matthew would know.

 

Herod had decreed the slaying

Of all males two years old and under,

Matthew chapter 2 verse 18

Gives an indication of this slaughter.

 

 

The magi gave the Christ child gifts

Of gold, frankincense and myrrh,

This child born to be both king and priest

In a tomb would be later interred.

 

These all saw the Christ child

And no doubt they were filled with joy

And still today that opportunity is open

To every man, woman, girl and boy.

 

Let this Christmas be an opportunity

When you also will see and believe

That Jesus came to call the unrighteous

And hence, sinners he will receive.

 

 

Such is the status of every man and woman

Until they have been born again,

Jesus, sinners will receive

Let us raise this joyous strain.

 

Like the message of the first Christmas

It is still the message for today,

Were it not for that natal star

The wise men would have gone astray.

 

May this Christmas tide find you

Believing in the reason for Christmas

And like the magi that followed his star,

Seek out the Saviour, Jesus.

 

A Christ filled Christmas to all

Do not over-stuff yourself,

You will be needed again in 2021

So please stay in good health.

 

Stewart Russell © December 25, 2020