It’s Christmas time at St. Paul’s.  The hallways have been full of chatter about breaks from school, presents, and travel plans, and decorations, baked goods, and other treats have appeared everywhere you look.  It has been a time of anticipation and excitement.  

After weeks of hard work and preparation, our Elementary children will once again offer our annual Christmas Pageant. Even though many of us have heard, told, and retold these stories more times than we can remember, each year we have an opportunity for them to come alive again. For our children, many of these stories are new and full of surprise and wonder.  Being with them as they hear about Jesus’ birth in a humble stable and begin to discover what the Christmas story means to them is infectious. Their joy becomes our joy and this is never truer than when we hear them tell us the Christmas story.  With every child’s telling, these ancient stories take on new life.  This is the beauty of the Christmas Pageant.    

Every year adults hear the routine questions and debates: was Jesus really born in December? Were there actually three wise men? What is myrrh, exactly, and why would anyone give it to a baby? Even if we don’t always know all the details, we still pass on the story to our children because despite the questions, there is something simple and pure behind it all. Some 2000 years ago, a young woman and her betrothed had a child. This child’s birth attracted the humble, enraged the powerful, and went on transform an entire empire in the name of selfless love.

 As we spend two weeks away from the School to be with friends and family, let us reflect on the words sung so beautifully by our soloist, Luna, that “Once in royal David’s City, stood a lowly cattle shed, where a mother laid her baby in a manger for his bed.” 

 Merry Christmas!