| What Child is This? - article by Joel Hempel
Tears fill my eyes as I sit in my grandmother’s rocking chair. I’m listening to Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige sing What Child is This? It may seem silly to some that I shed tears over a song, but this song is so powerful, so overwhelmingly poignant in its simplicity! Then I listen even more closely: This, this is Christ the King, whom shepherds guard and angels sing . . . Can you imagine the honor of being chosen to guard the Son of God? As angels, I guess it’s their job to sing Hallelujahs to their Lord. But the shepherds are just doing what is expected of them, faithfully working the fields at night when they are summoned to keep watch, not over sheep, but to guard this infant child called Jesus. Of course, they will drop everything and rush to the child’s side. But why were they called to be among the first to receive this most extraordinary revelation? It’s not in the song, but it is in the sacred text: “For unto you is born this day . . . a Savior, who is Christ the Lord (Luke 2).” Unto you! Of all the people to whom God could have first announced his presence, he chose shepherds. The Bible gives us the names of Mary and Joseph. Tradition gives us the names of the Wisemen from the east. But these shepherds, who are they? Why do they get to be the chosen ones? God only knows, but this is my guess. They are you and me. God has chosen you and me to answer the question: What child is this? Bocelli and Blige don’t sing the second verse of the hymn, but verse two is the most telling answer: “Nails, spear shall pierce Him through the cross be borne for me, for you . . .” Those who only want feel-good songs at Christmas may not want to sing this verse. But this verse, which is all about the pain our Lord came to bear, is the most important answer for us to own. What child is this? It is like the question Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” It’s not a rhetorical question. It’s a question that goes to the heart of the Christmas story. It’s a question each of us is called to answer on our own. What child is this? Who is he to you? Then there is a critical follow-up question. We know who we are to Jesus: We are his forgiven ones and his beloved friends. We are his brothers and sisters made whole by the blood of the cross and made to be victorious by the power of the resurrection. That’s who we are to Jesus. So, the remaining question is: Who will we be for him? | 
