Christmas Pageants

Christmas Pageants

“God sees you, not unlike when we see a child in a Christmas play. No matter how well the child acts, whether they remember their lines, pick up cues, or drop the props, we’re full of delight, compassion, encouragement, and gratitude for how well they do. We are all children of God. And God adores us.”—Br. Curtis Almquist, Society of Saint John the Evangelist

I love Christmas pageants. I love seeing the tiny faces behind bathrobes and halos, blue scarves, crowns, and towels as they carry jeweled gifts, sheep and other stuffed animals, stars, shepherd’s crooks from canes, and drums, flowers, tambourines, magic wands, and, of course, a new baby. They have marvelous lines, “Glory to God, Do not fear, Nothing is impossible with God, Yes, Come and See, No room in the inn, For unto you, Christ is born, All is calm, We saw his star, Peace on Earth.”

Frantic directors have no idea what will happen. Nervous parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends conceal illegal flash cameras at most events to capture each starring role in the darkness. Soloists are abundant. Some of the best male singers know their voices are changing and could crack at any moment. The tiniest angels usually steal the production from the silent baby who never cries.  

 Remember Brother Almquist’s message and watch a video of a Christmas pageant from a previous year during the pandemic again, when we could not be at church in person. https://www.facebook.com/stmarkslr/videos/3823187574379067

 It is easy to see and know that God loves every one of these precious children, honoring God in this spectacle about love. God especially loves every member of this Christmas cast. God sees all of us as participants in this messy Christmas pageant that we live in daily, and God dearly loves each of us, just as God loves these children, no matter how well we remember our lines, sing our solos, or keep from knocking down the scenery. 

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

The Christ Child Within Born Out of Our Heart of Stone

The Christ Child Within Being Born out of Our Heart of Stone

Mike Chapman. Christ child

 “I realize that the only way for us to stay well in the midst of the many ‘worlds’ is to stay close to the small, vulnerable child that lives in our hearts and in every other human being. Often, we do not know that the Christ child is within us. When we discover him, we can truly rejoice.”

—Henri Nouwen in You Are the Beloved (Convergent Books 2017).

This image of the Christ Child coming out of the stone by the sculptor

Mike Chapman is under the portico entrance from Trafalgar Square to St. Martin-in-the-Fields. It remains one of our best images of the Christ Child within. When I first saw it, it took my breath away. Unfortunately, my photography does not do it justice. Every time I visit London, I am drawn to it. It represents Christ’s birth to the world and the birth of Christ within us, out of our hearts of stone.

I hear the prayer to Ezekiel, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (36:26).”

When our heart of stone is removed, we find Christ within.

How does this feat occur? First, we are touched by the God of love. Most often, this God of love reaches us through the love of another person. It can also happen in reading, writing, being by water or trees, or any of God’s creations that emit love.

Our job is to put ourselves in a position to connect to the God of love through spiritual practices and our living in community. We are called to open our eyes, live in the present, and look for and see the love of God coming out of stone, healing the stone heart within us and in the world, especially during this Christmas season.

Joanna. https://www.joannaseibert.com/

Neighborhood Christmas Tradition

Neighborhood Christmas Tradition

Mosley Truck at Christmas

 Whenever my family and I turned onto our road at Christmas, our first sight was the decorated truck with a Christmas tree in the driveway of the first house in our neighborhood. There was something magical about the scene, as we all felt an inner warmth of love that we could not explain.

It re-centered us from stress to inner love and appreciation of this "Christmas card" our neighbors offered our street. Then, when we stopped seeing it at the holidays, we missed it. We even bought plates and glasses with the lighted Christmas tree on a truck, but it wasn't the same.

 After several years, we recently received our neighbor's explanation to our neighborhood

Guest Writer:

 A note to our neighborhood from Kent Mosley
Subject: Laurie Mosley from Kent Mosley

Laurie

"My wife Laurie passed away on May 6th.  She had been battling an illness for a long time.  Although her pain and worries are over, I miss her. After we had lived here on the corner together for our twenty-five years of marriage, I thought she deserved to be mentioned in the history of our street.

If anyone remembers the old blue truck we decorated in the front yard at Christmas time, it was her idea. I know if you lived here in those days, twenty-five years ago or so, you will remember. She went with me to cut down the first fourteen-foot cedar tree. She was in charge of decorating, ensuring the wheel light spun in the right direction, and that all the truck's lights were in the right place. She made sure the lights and Christmas balls were hung just right on the tree.

So, this is just a note "to say a thank you and prayer for Laurie Mosley" if you ever enjoyed the "ole blue," all decorated in a Dr. Suess-style Christmas Celebration. Our first year was definitely the best.  After a few more years of setting up, I just got a little old to cut down a fourteen-foot cedar tree on my own, and there were fewer and fewer places to find one nearby. So, I apologize for letting that slip away, as memories do. But let it be known Laurie was the artist, the inspiration, the taskmaster until it was done right."

Kent & Laurie.    NW corner of our neighborhood.

I will never forget how a grieving husband honors his wife and our neighborhood by sharing this extraordinary Christmas story with us, and we now share it with you.

Joanna joannaseibert.com