December 24, 2008
(Christmas Eve 4:00 p.m.)
Children's Sermon: Gifts to Honor Jesus
By
The Very Rev. Terry White,
Dean
Isaiah 9:2-7 Titus 2:11-14 Psalm 96
Luke 2:1-14(15-20)
(From
The Lectionary Page)
Tonight I want to tell you the story of the Nativity Scene.
Once upon a time, almost 800 years ago, in a village in Italy, a priest named Father Francis was planning his Christmas Eve service. He wanted to show people how much God loved them in sending his Son Jesus to be born for them. He didnt have such wonderful actors put on a nativity play like you just did.
After much thought, Father Francis brought a manger, a feeding trough used by farm animals and set it near the door of his village church. After looking at the manger, he thought that it looked silly without some animals. So he borrowed a donkey and an old ox which looks kind of like a cow and got them to sit on the ground, and Francis put the manger between them. He then took some straw and placed some in the manger and spread some more on the ground for the donkey and the ox, because that was what the animals slept on at night.
When the townspeople came to church for the Christmas Eve Mass, Father Francis met them outside. He told them the story of how Mary and Joseph could not find a room in Bethlehem, so it was in a stable where the Son of God was born, and after his mother had held him, she placed him carefully in the manger. Many people in the village were poor, working hard every day just for some food to eat and a place to sleep out of the cold and rain and snow. Father Francis showed them that Gods Son came to earth just like one of the poor. Though he had no figure of Jesus to put in the manger, Father Francis told the story so well, with such love, that everyone could see the Christ Child. And the fell on their knees and adored the newborn king. That was the first Nativity scene. And Father Francis is now known as St. Francis.
The Nativity scene is called by several names. In some places it is a Crθche, in others the Christmas Crib. Some Nativity scenes are made of wood, others from stone, some from plaster. I even saw one Nativity scene made of chocolate, which I guess is why, when I had done something naughty, my grandmother would say, Sweet Jesus!
Ive seen Nativity sets from around the world which look different from this one.
- In Africa, the stable has mud walls and a thatch roof made of dried grass. The animals would include donkeys and cattle, also and impalas, elephants, a rhinoceros or two, and the giraffes that the Angels have to be careful they dont fly into. The gifts of the wise men would might include diamonds, eucalyptus, and maybe a traditional porridge made of sorghum.
- The Nativity set up by the native people who near in the Arctic Circle, near the North Pole, feature as animals at the manger a polar bear, some seals, and huskies. The Wise Men would have arrived by dogsled or kayak.
- In one part of France, the Nativity set features people from the area doing what they do every day: farmers, teachers, shopkeepers, and lots of children who come to adore the new born king.
Though Nativity scenes may be different, there is one thing they all have in common: they tell us that God loves you and me so much that he gave his Son Jesus to be born. And we should think about what it means that on the night he was born, he slept in a manger, where animals eat their hay. And it was to hard working, poor shepherds, that the angels appeared with the joyous news.
Because the wise men brought gifts to honor Jesus, giving gifts has become a part of Christmas for many people. For several years it has been our custom to give the children of the cathedral at gift at this service. Tonight, your gift is a very special one, and I hope we begin a new custom of gift-giving.
Last month in Botswana a country in southern Africa, Bishop and Mrs. Howe attended a special ceremony to help people stay healthy. In that part of the world mosquitoes carry a dangerous disease, and when they bite people, the disease is spread. An outreach program of the Episcopal Church came up with the idea to protect people while they sleep by attaching a net to the ceiling over every bed. This net is specially sprayed to get rid of mosquitoes, and the program is called Nets4Life.
Your gift tonight is a special card telling you that in your name
and the names of all the cathedral children, a donation of 40
special nets has been made.
Click
here or the photo on the right to see it. These nets will
keep children and adults healthy and stop the disease spread by
mosquitoes. On this special card is a young boy smiling I met
in a day care center for orphans. He has a big smile and waving
Hi. When I showed him the picture I had taken, he smiled even
bigger and gave me a hug. This boy and many other children will grow
up healthy thanks to your gift. You can read more about the program
and the many other ways our Church seeks to serve others. The web
site is on the card.
Lets end our time together by looking one more time at the Nativity scene. Remember that tt tells us that God loves us so much, he sent us a special gift his Son Jesus. He came to live just like us. Tonight, with those Nets4Life, you have given a gift to someone just like you in Africa, to help them stay healthy. That tells our sisters and brothers in Africa that we care about them. And when we love another person, we are also loving God.
Take good care of your card. You might just place it next to your Nativity set at home, for just as Jesus was given gold, frankincense and myrrh to honor his birth, your gift of a net also honors him greatly.
Now it is time to bless this crθche, the Nativity scene. We will place the figure of Jesus in the Manger, and Bishop Howe will pray a special blessing. Listen closely, for he will ask God to bless all of us who look at this Manger.
Remember that God loves you. The love of God is in you, and Gods love changes the world. You can change the world by loving others. And when we love others, just like Father Francis with the first Nativity scene, people can see Jesus because of how we love.
A very merry Christmas to you!
