There are some moments when even those of us who are charged with the mission of proclaiming become the ones who receive the message. In the case of the liturgies for Christmas, this 'other' message was provided courtesy of the little ones who were present.
From the front of the gathered congregation, I was asking the children to help me understand what Christmas was all about. They were quick to tell me that it was the celebration of Christ's birthday, so I drew a parallel between Jesus' birthday and our birthday. We decorate for a party with balloons and we share some time with friends. We cut a cake and we bring presents for the person who is being feted. When Christ's birthday is being celebrated, lots of his friends come to visit. We decorate with special flowers and colours, we get dressed up and we spend time with friends, learning more about his love for us.
We don't cut a cake for Jesus' birthday (I'd be worried about how many candles we'd have to light), but we do share a special meal, and we do bring presents. When I asked what kinds of gifts we bring for Jesus, I heard a little voice (not originating from the children immediately before me, but rather from another little voice somewhere else in the crowd), 'Barbie!' the voice called out. I wonder how many others heard it. I wonder how many around her might have chuckled to themselves.
Elsewhere in the crowd, there was another contributor who was providing answers to all my questions. When I asked about what we were celebrating, she answered Snow. Apparently this offering was repeated numerous times, so she must have been convinced of her answer. In truth, we had thought that we would be celebrating a green Christmas, until the snow began to fall shortly after noon on Christmas Eve. Snow continued for the better part of 10 to 12 hours, so by the time the Children's Mass began at 5:00pm, the entire landscape had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Wisdom from the little ones.
When I spoke with the children about celebrating and asked them what kinds of foods they might bring to the party, our unknown contributor offered her ideas: Meatballs and pizza. I love the idea of inviting Jesus and his friends to a pizza party, and what better accompaniment than meatballs (juicy and tender ones, little bite sized ones, or huge tasty ones, perfect for meatball subs).
It appears that our anonymous contributor kept her listeners quite well entertained. Her answers were appropriate for each of the questions that was posed, and of course they added her own unique perspective to the celebration.
What a wonderful gift. I wonder if she realizes the profundity of her wisdom. With gratitude to the unknown little one for sharing this amazing gift.
From the front of the gathered congregation, I was asking the children to help me understand what Christmas was all about. They were quick to tell me that it was the celebration of Christ's birthday, so I drew a parallel between Jesus' birthday and our birthday. We decorate for a party with balloons and we share some time with friends. We cut a cake and we bring presents for the person who is being feted. When Christ's birthday is being celebrated, lots of his friends come to visit. We decorate with special flowers and colours, we get dressed up and we spend time with friends, learning more about his love for us.
We don't cut a cake for Jesus' birthday (I'd be worried about how many candles we'd have to light), but we do share a special meal, and we do bring presents. When I asked what kinds of gifts we bring for Jesus, I heard a little voice (not originating from the children immediately before me, but rather from another little voice somewhere else in the crowd), 'Barbie!' the voice called out. I wonder how many others heard it. I wonder how many around her might have chuckled to themselves.
Elsewhere in the crowd, there was another contributor who was providing answers to all my questions. When I asked about what we were celebrating, she answered Snow. Apparently this offering was repeated numerous times, so she must have been convinced of her answer. In truth, we had thought that we would be celebrating a green Christmas, until the snow began to fall shortly after noon on Christmas Eve. Snow continued for the better part of 10 to 12 hours, so by the time the Children's Mass began at 5:00pm, the entire landscape had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Wisdom from the little ones.
When I spoke with the children about celebrating and asked them what kinds of foods they might bring to the party, our unknown contributor offered her ideas: Meatballs and pizza. I love the idea of inviting Jesus and his friends to a pizza party, and what better accompaniment than meatballs (juicy and tender ones, little bite sized ones, or huge tasty ones, perfect for meatball subs).
It appears that our anonymous contributor kept her listeners quite well entertained. Her answers were appropriate for each of the questions that was posed, and of course they added her own unique perspective to the celebration.
What a wonderful gift. I wonder if she realizes the profundity of her wisdom. With gratitude to the unknown little one for sharing this amazing gift.
1 comment:
Sweet!!!
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