Hey you... a child is born.. it's JESUS!

Jonah was in a play this December called "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever". Do you remember this book? Or the old movie with Loretta Swit? We rented it so the boys could see it. I vaguely remembered hearing the story before, but didn't remember it exactly. The basic story line is about a church's Christmas Pageant that has always been the same, year after year... the same girl playing Mary, the same boy playing Joseph. But this year the "bad" kids (a family of 5 kids) want to be in the pageant and EVERYONE thinks that it will be ruined.

Of course, we know that the happy ending must be fulfilled by the pageant being spectacular and the best ever, thus the title. But the story doesn't really come to fruition in the way that we might think it should. It's not just that the play is better than the year before, but that it's seen through different eyes.

The story is the same every year... never changing. It's always about Mary and Joseph and Jesus and the manger and a star and shepherds and angels and wise men. The difference has to be in how we see the story.

I saw this play several times (of course, because Jonah was in it). It's all humor and fun and laughing until the actual pageant begins and even then there is some humor. The wise men bring a ham (from their welfare basket), crisco oil and a fire truck toy. (You'll have to read the book to see why those gifts. The angel is hysterical... shouting "Hey, Hey... unto you a child is born...it's JESUS... go to the barn and see him"! But then the story takes a change in tone and the oldest of the 5 kids who is playing Mary (and these are kids that didn't even know the Christmas story before this) is sitting at the manger and begins to softly cry as she holds the baby Jesus. Since the show had been so humorous I did not expect to be moved, but I was in tears right along with her (as was most of the audience). Here was a young girl hearing the Christmas story for the very first time and reacting to the wonder of seeing and holding the baby Jesus (as though he were really Jesus). To see the wonder and beauty of the story through the eyes of someone seeing it for the first time was incredibly moving.

And so, when I saw the play a second time, I was prepared for this section in the show and knew that I would be fine... but once again I was moved to tears, as was the entire audience (and several moms who were seeing it again:) Each time I saw it I was dissolved into a blubbering mess and as I contemplated this I came to a huge realization.

The reason that this was so moving to me, to see this young girl experience the joy and wonder of the birth of Jesus was that I hadn't felt that joy and wonder surrounding this event for a while. I have found myself becoming more cynical and more hard hearted as I get older and the amazing things about being a Christian do not always seem so amazing. I forget about the wonder of the birth of Jesus and what a miracle it was. Mary and Joseph alone and most likely afraid, giving birth in a stable and wrapping Jesus in "waddled up clothes" and laying Him in the manger. The shepherds hearing the angels, going to worship Jesus. The wise men, following the star and bringing gifts. It's all a miracle.

So this Christmas as I watched our "Christmas pageant" at church (really our Christmas Eve services, but our version of the pageant) I closed my eyes and listened to the story. I listened as though I'd never heard the story before. I heard the message and the music as if I'd never read a word about Mary and Joseph and Jesus! And I could hear the angel shouting "Hey, Hey... unto you a child is born...it's JESUS... go to the barn and see him"!

And I did!! And it was wondrous!