ESAU

The night was quiet in the little town of Bethlehem. In the clear, dark sky distant stars shone brightly. A gentle breeze stirring the air made only the slightest whisper as it passed over the land. In a lowly stable a cow mooed and was answered somewhere in the distance by the "baa" of a lamb. "EEEE-SAAWWW!" The serenity of the peaceful night was suddenly shattered. "E-SAW! EEEE-SAAWWW!" The quiet gave way to this raucous noise. Cattle shifted in their stalls, sheep jumped to their feet, a dog began sounding its warning bark, and a flock of crows fled to the safety of the trees, flying off into the distance shouting, "Caw! Caw! Caw!" "Esau, hush!" A mother burro firmly whispered to her little one. "EE-SAA...!" Before he could finish she hushed him once more. Little Esau, so named because of his big voice, stared at his mother in a somewhat shocked, confused way. "She's never done that before." He thought to himself. "We have a visitor," she whispers. "A baby human". Using her eyes she motioned to a woman and a man bent over a feeding trough nearby. Esau was confused and, at the same time, curious. Slowly he walked over to the humans, being careful not to surprise them. He looked into the feeding trough, the manger, and saw a tiny human child. At first, Esau stepped back, shocked by what he saw. His first reaction was to ask his mother, "What is this human baby doing in our stable?" "The innkeeper brought them here last evening because there was no other room in Bethlehem for them," she replied. "Strange," Esau thought. But, slowly and quietly he made his way back to the manger so that he could better see the Child. The little child looked back at him and Esau began to feel a peace in his heart that he had never known before.