Christmas
Carol Service 2002
It
was the day of the Nativity Play. Wally was nine that year, but was in a class
of seven-year-olds. Most people knew that he had difficulty in keeping up. He
was big and clumsy, slow in movement and mind. Still, Wally was well liked by
the other children in his class, all of whom were smaller than he. He was always
helpful, the natural protector of the underdog. Wally fancied the idea of being a shepherd with
a flute in the Christmas Nativity that year. But the director of the play, Miss
Lumbard, assigned him to a ‘more important’ role. After
all, she reasoned, the innkeeper didn’t have too many lines.
So it happened
that the usual large audience gathered for the annual extravaganza of crowns and
haloes, shepherds’ crooks and beards, and a whole stage full of squeaking voices.
But no one on stage or off was more caught up in the magic of the night than Wally
Purling. Then the time came when Joseph appeared, slowly, tenderly guiding Mary
to the door of the inn. Joseph knocked hard on the wooden door of the painted
backdrop. ‘What do you want?’ Wally said, swinging the
door open. ‘We seek lodging. ‘Seek it elsewhere.’ Wally looked straight ahead
and spoke vigorously. ‘The inn is full.’ ‘Sir, we have asked everywhere in vain.
We have travelled far and are very weary.
Wally looked stern. ‘There is no room in this inn for you. Joseph put his
arm around Mary. ‘Please, good innkeeper, this is my wife, and she
is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small
corner for her.’
For the first time, Wally the innkeeper relaxed his
stiff stance and looked down at Mary. There was a long pause— long enough to make
the audience a bit tense with embarrassment. A prompter whispered from the wings,
‘Your line is “No! Be gone!” Wally repeated automatically, ‘Be gone!’ Joseph
sadly placed his arm around Mary, and the two of them started moving away. Wally
stood there in the doorway watching. Suddenly his eyes filled with tears. And
suddenly this Christmas pageant became different from all others. ‘Wait!’ Wally the innkeeper suddenly blurted
out. ‘Don’t go, Joseph.’ His face broke into a wide smile. ‘You can have my room.”
Many people thought the programme had been ruined. A few, however—the thoughtful
ones— considered it the most meaningful pageant of all.
Bishop Riah in
I asked this morning how many people have played the part
of Mary or Joseph in a Nativity play? Did you ever want to?
As a child I can remember asking my Sunday School
teacher why God picked Mary to have baby Jesus. She said it was because Mary was
the best mother in the world. I knew that wasn’t true because my mother was.
What is it about Mary that makes her so intriguing? so
attractive? Who was this Mary, who held the Saviour of the world in her arms?
She was no prophetess of renown. She wasn’t world famous. She probably wasn’t
even known beyond the small neighbourhood where she
grew up. Men and women didn’t seek out her wisdom and advice. She was a simple
young woman. A teenage girl. She wasn’t a princess, and
never enjoyed a fairy-tale life. The rich and influential paid her no heed. In
their minds, it was as if she never even existed. She wasn’t a brilliant scholar.
She may not even have been able to read or write. She never had the benefit of
sitting among the best teachers and philosophers of her day. To be sure, Mary
did have the blood of kings running in her veins. She was of the house of
Even
though her position was humble, God had chosen her above all the other women to
be blessed in a very special way. Christ the King would be born to her, and that
was an honour far beyond any title, certificate, or prominence in the social register.
Does that speak to you today? You may not have had the benefit of going to
You may even have identified with
Wally. But there is something extraordinary about Christmas. That is the promise
that Christ may be born in your heart. There is something special and unique about
having Jesus live within you. And although you may not be wealthy or wise in the
eyes of the world, the very riches of His kingdom have been promised to you. The
Word of Christ can dwell in you richly, giving you His very mind. The Spirit of Christ can fill you, giving you
His very power to become like Him. And if you remain available to Him, He will
use you to accomplish His wise and mighty plans in this dark world. When you think
about it, what worldly honours compare to these? What
privileges stack up alongside those privileges?
Like Mary, you have something
to sing about this Christmas! Because God has chosen you.
Because you’ve been blessed. Christ the King has been
born—not just in a stable, but I pray also in your heart. Tonight is the night to welcome Him in as your Lord and Saviour, your brother
and friend. Tonight is the night to worship the Christ Child who was born to be
the Saviour of the world, and make it your passion to live for Him in 2003. One
thing is guaranteed on the basis of the promises of God’s Word. If you receive
Him, He will never ever leave you, nor forsake you. Life will never be boring.
You will never be lonely. You will never be bored. You will never be unemployed.
With
grateful thanks to Max Lucado for some of the ideas
and content used.