“And the angel said to them, “Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy which will come to all the people; for to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” – Luke 2:10-11
In the weeks leading up to Christmas, books, short stories, movies, and television programs with Christmas themes are almost constantly in our lines of vision. The variety is endless, from the most ridiculous, comedic, and secular stories, to the classic “A Christmas Carol” and everything in between.
A favorite of mine is “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever”, a short book by Barbara Robinson, copyrighted in 1972. It’s told as a story of the narrator’s experience when she was about 11 or 12 years old, and features a family of six absolutely terrible children. They steal, get in fights, smoke cigars, set fires, and are a grubby, hostile bunch. Then they get interested in the local Sunday School Christmas pageant, (they’re told there are cake and cookies served) and they attend rehearsals, eventually getting the lead parts by threatening and intimidating the other kids so that they are the only ones volunteering. Rehearsals are not like they’ve been in the past.
Soon these dreadful children start asking questions — why didn’t anyone give Mary and Joseph a good place to stay? Why didn’t the Three Kings bring better presents? Why didn’t somebody do something about the evil King Herod who wanted to hurt a baby? At the pageant, Imogene, playing Mary, looked confused and uneasy, but ready to protect her baby at all costs. And the writer of this story takes a new look at the story of Jesus’ birth, and begins to understand that going through the motions without much real thought was a pretty shallow approach, and she begins to think of the story as much more than a sweet, sentimental tale.
At the end of the pageant, Gladys, playing the Angel of the Lord, with her dirty sneakers and uncombed hair, comes on stage and yells at the shepherds, “Hey! Unto you a child is born!” And so it is — good news of a great joy to ALL the people — not just the smart, the handsome, the successful, but the lost, the lonely, the sinners, the failures — every last one of us, who need to hear that good news, because it’s for every one of us.
Christmas blessings to you all,
Mary Rogers