The ABCs of Christmas congregational play (adapted)
 |
| Still shot from a video of adults dressed as characters in a Nativity scene: Mary and Joseph, three wise ones, three sheep, three shepherds, and the star. The video can be found here. |
A is for an angel, named Gabriel, who began the story by telling Mary:
“You are truly blessed! The Lord is with you. …Then the angel told Mary, “Don't be afraid! God is pleased with you, and you will have a son. His name will be Jesus.”
B is for Bethlehem, where our story takes place. People traveled from far and wide to get to Bethlehem, which was not a very big village but a busy place nonetheless.
C is for Census, which means counting all the people. The reason so many people filled the city of Bethlehem.
D is for the donkey that Mary and Joseph brought with them for the long journey to Bethlehem.
E is for exhausted. That’s how everyone felt when they arrived – exhausted from all the traveling.
F is for family: Joseph and Mary, and their new baby Jesus, who was born that night in Bethlehem.
“…While they were there, she gave birth to her first-born son. She dressed him in bands of cloth and laid him on a bed of hay, because there was no room for them in the guest room.”
G is for Good News. Here is what the angels said:
That night in the fields near Bethlehem some shepherds were guarding their sheep. All at once an angel came down to them from the Lord, and the brightness of the Lord's glory flashed around them. The shepherds were frightened. But the angel said, “Don't be afraid! I have good news for you, which will make everyone happy. This very day in Bethlehem a Savior was born for you, who is Christ the Lord. You will know who he is, because you will find him dressed in bands of cloth and lying on a bed of hay.”
Suddenly many other angels filled the night sky and joined in praising God. They said:
“Praise God in heaven!
Peace on earth to everyone
with whom God is pleased.”
Carol: "The First Nowell" (verses 1 & 2)
H is for Hope. Hope is having faith and working to make things better in this world. The birth of Jesus and the birth of every child is a source of hope.
I is for illumination, which means light, brightness. We celebrate Christmas with candlelight and Christmas lights. Illumination also means knowing something more about life and love and God. Jesus shows us more about what is important in life, how to love, and who God is.
J is for Joy. Today we light the Advent candle of Joy. Joy is a kind of happiness that is there even when life is hard. Joy keeps us going. Joy increases when it is shared. The birth of Jesus gives us joy.
K is for kindness, for the relatives of Joseph who made room in their house for Mary and Joseph with the animals.
L is for love. Jesus tells us to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. We share love with one another at Christmas and all through the year.
M is for manger, a place that holds hay for animals but also kept Jesus warm and safe after he was born.
Carol: "Away in a Manger" (verse 1)
N is for Nativity, which means the place, the conditions, and the circumstances of being born. We put up nativity scenes to remind us of how Jesus was born.
O is for offering. There were gifts for Jesus when he was born. We give each other gifts at Christmas. Giving is a spiritual practice. We share what we have to help others.
P is for Peace. Peace is possible when we work for justice, when we listen to what people need to live whole lives. Jesus healed people, fed the hungry, told us to put down our swords, and love our enemies.
Q is for questions. Did Jesus cry when he was a baby? Yes of course he did! What is frankincense and myrrh? Both are resins made from tree sap and they smell really nice when burned together.
R is for reverence, which means to regard something as holy and sacred. The shepherds and the wise ones who brought gifts to Jesus had reverence for him and Mary and Joseph, which is why they kneeled before them.
S is for star, the star that showed the shepherds and the wise ones how to find Jesus the night he was born.
Carol: "The First Nowell" (verses 3 - 5)
T is for togetherness, for gathering with family and friends, just as Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem where Joseph’s family was from.
U is for unity, all different kinds of people brought together by Jesus’ birth to celebrate God’s love.
V is for vulnerable. Vulnerable means “helpless, tender, and in need of care to be safe”. Every baby is vulnerable when it is born and needs to be protected and held. We all feel vulnerable throughout our lives and need love from God and each other and we need to give love.
W is for wonder, like looking up at the night sky at all the stars and planets and the moon, looking at the world around us and how beautiful it is, realizing that we are small in this universe and yet there is no one else like us and we are not alone.
X is for Christ. X is the Greek letter Chi, the first letter in the word “Christ”. The X is one of the most ancient symbols of Christianity. People have been using the letter X to stand for Christ for centuries.
Y is for Yule, which is short for Yuletide, a winter festival from German peoples that was incorporated into our Christmas celebrations. For instance, carol singing is part of Yule.
Z is for Zzzzzz and getting a good night’s sleep on Christmas Eve. Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fell asleep knowing they were safe and warm.
Carol: "Silent Night, Holy Night" (verse 1)
Comments
Post a Comment