This morning, Paul and I went to church with my parents. The service was the “lessons and carols” type; readings of the story of Jesus’ birth from Matthew were interspersed with carols and poetry.
After the reading in which Mary and Joseph have taken shelter in a Bethlehem stable, a woman stepped forward and asked about a dozen young children to come to the front of the church, where a nativity scene stable sat empty. Each child brought forward a figure for the nativity scene, which he or she handed to the woman. She spoke with the children as she arranged the figures in the stable:
Here’s Joseph… and a shepherd… Oh, good, the baby Jesus. Does someone have the manger?
Gradually, the scene took shape: Mary, Joseph and the baby, angels, shepherds and sheep, and, wait… only two wise men:
We’re missing one of the wise men. Does anyone else have a wise man?
A slight jostling in the group of children, a small arm reaching out, and the woman’s voice again:
Honey, that’s not a wise man; that’s a sheep.
You could just about feel every adult in that church trying not to laugh.
Eventually, the missing wise man was located and installed, and the congregation stood to sing Away in a Manger.
To open the advent calendar window for Day 23, click here:
My parents have had these Lotte Seivers-Hahn figures of Mary, Joseph and Jesus for as long as I can remember. Over the years, my parents added other figures to the nativity scene. The scene includes all three wise men, and a sheep. I don’t remember having any difficulty telling them apart.
Thanks to George Frederic Handel for the title of this post.
For Holidailies
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The choir sang the Hallelujah Chorus in church today. After the last strains of the last “hallelujah” were silenced I heard the two year old behind me holding that last hallelujah with a clear and loud voice. She was singing with the choir and didn’t want to stop yet!
Merry Christmas!