The Story of the Field of Angels

The Story of the Field of Angels

In the meadow below Bethlehem known as the Field of Angels, an aged pilgrim sits beneath the ruined shepherds’ tower of Migdol Edar while village children gather flowers. When a girl asks why he has come, he says he seeks not only blossoms but “shining thoughts,” and begins to tell them of his childhood in that very valley. Long ago, when Jerusalem still stood in glory and a marvelous star shone in the sky, he had been a small shepherd boy tending paschal lambs with his father and the other shepherds. On a mild night, while the men spoke of their flocks, pilgrims, and the star that some believed proclaimed Israel’s deliverer, his learned father solemnly recited prophecies of the Lord’s coming. Suddenly, a dazzling angel appeared above the flocks. Though the shepherds fell in terror, the child remained sheltered under his father’s cloak and listened as the angel announced the birth in the city of David of a Savior, Christ the Lord, who would be found wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. The valley and the hills of Bethlehem then filled with shining heavenly beings singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” When the angels vanished, the shepherds resolved to go to Bethlehem. The boy followed them and noticed that wherever the angels’ feet had trod, the damp grass was covered with snowy, star-like flowers. He gathered a handful before continuing. At an inn, the porter initially insists that there is no baby within. The shepherds search the crowded khan, where pilgrims and beasts are gathered, until the boy reminds his father of the angel’s sign. In the place where the oxen are sheltered, they find a young mother and her Babe lying in a manger. The old man recalls seeing and touching the child whom he calls the Salvation of Israel, the Messiah, and the Desire of Nations. Though the Babe was truly like other babies, he seemed wondrously beautiful and heavenly. The boy lays his angel-trodden white flowers at the infant’s feet, and their fragrance fills the place. The old shepherd, moved by the memory, weeps over the flowers in his hands and speaks reverently of the One whom the world did not know, yet through whom all things were created. The children quietly return to their play among the star flowers, while he remains beneath the tower as shadows lengthen across the Field of Angels.

By Maud Van Buren · First published 1927 · Genre: Christian Fiction, Religious Fiction, Biblical Fiction · 2,454 words

First lines

_Florence Morse Kingsley_

In the deep valley below Bethlehem an undulating meadow stretches east / and west, its grass starred thick with blossoms in the days after the / autumn rains. The villagers call it the Field of Angels, though to some / it is known as the Place of the Star. In the days of the Cesars the / turrets of Migdol Edar, the shepherds' watch tower, still looked down / upon the place, though shepherds had long ceased to watch their flocks / there by night.[6]

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The Story of the Field of Angels is listed on Textopian as a short story by Maud Van Buren, dated 1927 CE.

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children's literature · fiction · historical setting · adventure · religious themes · moral lessons · family · community · faith · kindness · courage · friendship

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