Advent: First to Know

Not to kings

not to rulers

not to wealth

not to merchants

not to priests

not to soldiers

not to fame

or celebrity

not to power

but to those

on the edge, those

unclean, those

who were outcast,

those, who knew

the need for

forgiveness.

Painting: Adoration of the Shepherds, by Rembrandt or pupil of Rembrandt (1646). National Gallery of Art, London. For a discussion of who the artist may have been, see the National Gallery’s article on the painting.