...and I turned and behold I saw in heaven three large thrones which appeared as one. Two were empty and in the middle throne was one who's face shone with the radiance of a thousand suns, and around the three thrones were 24 smaller thrones and in them were 24 elders 12 before the throne and 12 after. And the 24 elders were gathered in prayers to the one whose light illuminated all heaven. And this was the prayer they prayed, "Blessings of mercy and grace be to the blind of the earth." And they were singing "praise be to the one who is Almighty and merciful, just and gracious."

Then suddenly there appeared in the midst of the assembly an angel hovering just above the heads of the elders. The angel's voice was as six thousand trumpets. And the angel said, "The time has come! The Committee meeting has been called to order and those assembled have begun. Let us attend to the work of the Lord." Then there appeared in the assembly a large cube and in that cube could be seen a group of mortals sitting around an old table and talking. And one of the Elders turned to me and said, "Who are these whose lives we are looking upon?" "You know" said I. The Elder replied, "These are a committee of the First Church. They are meeting to discuss their work which concerns Agnus, a child of God."

While the elder was speaking there appeared beside the cube in which the committee was meeting another smaller cube. In it was a woman walking down the street with a baby in her arms. Her hair was matted and she was thin and pale from hunger, shivering in the cold. She was such a pity to look upon that I turned my eyes. Then one of the elders said, "Look! Who is she?" And scared I said, "You know lord." And the elder said, "She is Agnus. Agnus Dee, a child of God."

Then one of the Elders said, "Listen for the time is approaching and if you are unaware or not awake you will miss it for the kingdom comes as a thief in the night!" So I looked and behold I could hear the talking of the people in the meeting: "How is the work coming on the Cantata?" said the one at the head of the table. "Very well. We should be ready by Christmas Eve." "Good! John, have we fixed that leak in the narthex?" "Yes, but the..."

Then I looked up and saw Agnus and her baby walking down the street. As the snow fell she passed brightly decorated windows with lights and brightly dressed mannequins. Then she came to one window with a plastic fireplace and a fake fire letting off a glow. She pulled her baby closer to herself as she stared at the glow of the fire and the snow fell around them like unanswered prayers. She closed her eyes and looked up.

Then in heaven there was a trumpet blast and the elders got up from their thrones and bowed to the throne of the one like a thousand suns. And I looked and on the throne to the left appeared one who was like a Spirit as bright as the one on the other throne. But the throne on the right remained empty. And the elders all sang "Praise to the Holy one who is always with the people of the earth." The one on the throne to the left stood and approached the cube in which the committee appeared. Then the Holy one reached into the midst of the people in the meeting and touched a woman on the shoulder. All of heaven was silent.

"...seems to need more work. I think we should have a training meeting for the group leaders." Then the one speaking turned to she who the Holy one had touched. "Elizabeth, what do you think?" "I'm sorry. I wasn't listening. I have had something on my mind. I hope this isn't out of place, but there's this woman. I've seen walking down the street by the church sometimes. Every morning like clock work she comes by us. She looks as though she hasn't had a bath. I have seen her at the soup kitchen at St. John's, and she's always alone except for her baby boy, and she is always hungry. I'm just wondering if there isn't something we can do for her. She has a little baby with her. He can't be more than six months old." "You said she was headed to St. John's?" "Yes, but I wonder if she has a decent place to stay. She has probably been staying in the shelter for homeless women. It would be good if she had a better place to stay. Especially at this time of the year." "Elizabeth, I know how you feel, but what can we do? We are so small. Big churches like St. John's can afford to take on tasks like feeding the hungry, and we are willing to help. We support the homeless shelter. If you like I could call them up if you want to volunteer there too." "No, I'm not talking about shelters or soup kitchens, I'm talking about a home where a child can be kept warm. Not a cot in a woman's dormitory." "I wish there was something we could do preacher, but we are having problems with our own roof much less providing a roof for every unwed mother on the streets." "I think we need a special campaign to try to..."

At that all the elders rose from their thrones and rent their clothes and said, "If the First Church will not help Agnus Dee who will?" The elders wept and all of heaven was silent except for the weeping of the angels. The silence was six hours.

At the seventh hour there appeared an angel. And the angel spoke with the voice of seven thousand trumpets. And the angel said, "The Lion of Judah has conquered and will redeem the poor of the earth." One of the elders said, "Behold, the Lion of Judah. And I looked and I saw the woman. Agnus Dee. With her matted hair and her worn clothes and she was carrying the child. She approached the throne on the right and opened the child's blanket and its face shown like the light of seven suns. Like the light of burnished bronze it shown. And she laid the child on the throne. And all heaven rejoiced in the day of the Lord.