Characters:
Finney – new resident in Heaven
Zyor – Finney’s guardian angel
Elyon – Creator of the universe, God
Gabriel – angel who visited the virgin Mary and foretold of Jesus’ birth
Michael – archangel
Finney could see the luminous wonder in the deep-set eyes of the mighty warrior, who seemed at times tutor, philosopher, bard, and poet. Suddenly he realized Zyor was gazing deep into his own eyes, as if he saw something equally remarkable within Finney.
“I long to understand what it means that you, my master, were created in his image. There is something of his very essence in you. Something that permits you to see things that elude my grasp. For now, at least.” Zyor’s voice took on a wistful tone as he added, “But I think perhaps forever. For there are things about Elyon’s relationship with you, things which my kind shall always long to look into, which we may never understand.
“At the heart of the mystery, etched forever in my mind is that incredible day,” Zyor’s voice lowered to an intense whisper, “when Elyon stepped through the portal of eternity and left our world for yours. Creation was a wonder, but not a miracle. It pales in comparison to the true miracle, that he would become … one of you. The Creator becoming the creature. It could not be. And yet it was. It could not happen. And yet it did.
“For a long time, as earth’s history progressed, certain things seemed predictable. My comrades and I began to think we knew what would happen next, that we understood Elyon’s plan. Then, in a moment, our presumption lay shattered. We realized we knew nothing of the ways of God. We had not comprehended the unfolding drama of redemption. It was a terrible realization to learn how little we knew, even having been with him for so long. Terrible, yet … wonderful.
“He became one of you. Not merely like you as I myself have done, but one of you. Not for a moment, but for a lifetime … and for eternity. God became man. While Gabriel announced the miracle on earth, Michael announced it to us. I will never forget his words as he pointed through the portal and we gazed upon that teenage girl.“
In a voice that seemed to take on Michael’s texture and tone, Zyor proclaimed the archangel’s unforgettable words of old — “The unborn child now living in this Galilean peasant girl is the Creator of the universe.”
“When Michael saw the shock on our faces,” Zyor continued, “he added simply, ‘Elyon has become a human child. The Son of God is now the Son of Man.’ “
Finney marveled not only at what Zyor was telling him, but that the angel had never ceased to wonder at an event millions on earth affirmed in their doctrinal statements with such little wonder at all, with hardly more than a second thought. To Zyor Christmas was not making a list and shopping at a mall. It was the heart and soul of the cosmos itself.
A beautiful tale! I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas!
Patty
I have never heard of the novel but will be googling it. What a wonderful perspective. I taught the angel message last week in Sunday School. One of the best commentaries came from Spurgeon, who pointed out that the glory to God in the highest wasn’t merely that God himself was the highest, although He is. It was that this act of nativity was God’s highest glory. I loved that.