Christmas Pageant 2022
This is the text of the Christmas Pageant I wrote for this year, which was performed by the children at the 10am service at St. Mark’s on December 18th.
Continue reading “A New Song”
Tag: Magi
Arise, Shine
Sermon for Sunday, January 6, 2019 || Feast of the Epiphany || Isaiah 60:1-6; Matthew 2:1-12
The twelve days of Christmas have come and gone bringing us to an often overlooked feast day of the church. Today we celebrate the Feast of the Epiphany, the coming of the Wise Men, the Magi, to the Christ child. Then we have a long stretch of Sundays between now and Ash Wednesday in which we hear the stories of the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. And at the end of the season of the church year that follows today, we find ourselves standing on the mountain with the disciples Peter, James, and John.
The Best Christmas Pageant Never (A New Christmas Pageant Script)
Performed at St. Mark’s in Mystic, CT on Sunday, December 18, 2016
In an homage to the preferred story-telling method of one of my writing heroes, Aaron Sorkin, this new Christmas pageant takes place during a rehearsal for a traditional Christmas pageant. Over the course of the play, the traditional elements of the pageant get untangled from each other and we distill the stories as told by Matthew and Luke. Continue reading “The Best Christmas Pageant Never (A New Christmas Pageant Script)”
Going Home
Sermon for Sunday, January 4, 2015 || Christmas 2
I’ve lived a lot of places in my life. In my nearly thirty-two years, I’ve resided in Maine, New York, Wisconsin, Rhode Island, Alabama, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. And I spent two summers in Texas, which I count in the total because it was summer…in Texas. For the bulk of those years, home for me was wherever my parents lived. I even had to get directions to a new home once when they moved during my junior year of college. (Let me tell you, it’s a strange experience – needing directions to your own house.) But when Leah and I got married, my definition of home changed. Now home is wherever Leah is, and more recently where Leah and the twins are. But, as with most things we hold dear, the concept of “home” is much deeper than the surface definition: “house where my family lives.”
You see, we live in a world of dislocations and disenchantments, and too often we forget where home is. We are constantly on the move from here to there or are stuck in traffic on the way from here to there. We are constantly harvesting the disappointments of a world that makes rash promises and fails to deliver. We are constantly sprinting, speeding, gorging, guzzling – but we rarely stop to catch our breath. We rarely pause to find our bearings. We rarely go home.
Few undeniable truths remain in this world, but one is this: you’ve got to know where you are to figure out where you are going. Look at any map at a rest stop or fire safety plan on the back of a hotel room door, and you will find a dot and the words “You are here.” Your destination is 60 miles down I-95. Your nearest exit in case of emergency is the stairwell at the end of the hall. These maps come in handy when you are trying to find your physical location.
But there are so many other ways to become lost, for which “You are here” stickers are nowhere to be found. You used your credit card to make your mortgage payment last month and now the Visa bill is due. Your new relationship burned fast and hot for a few months and now you are wondering if there’s anything left to fuel the fire. Your job is eroding your will to exist, but there’s nowhere else to work. I doubt any of us have to dig too deeply into his or her own soul to find a similar situation. When we are lost, retracing our steps to home will help us find ourselves again.
But only in the narrowest definition of the word is “home” a physical place. More expansively, home is where we center ourselves. Home refreshes us and reintegrates us. Home propels us to where we are going next by being the one space that assures us of where we are now. When we find ourselves “at home,” we allow ourselves the space to breath, find our bearings, and achieve the quiet stillness that nurtures new possibilities.
Speaking of home, the people of Israel have been away from theirs for a long time. They’ve been in exile in Assyria and Babylon for decades stretching into centuries. Their home is their identity, an identity they lost when they were taken by force to their conquerors’ kingdoms. They weep by the rivers and hang up their harps. They cannot sing the songs of Zion in the strange land. But in this morning’s first reading, we hear a note of hope from the prophet Jeremiah: “See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth…With consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble…They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion…I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.”
The prophet tells of the imminent return of the people to their own lands and homes, where they will reclaim their identity and sing once again on Zion’s height. Today’s psalm would not be out of place on that long journey back to their home: “How dear to me is your dwelling, O Lord of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord.” The psalmist sees the sparrow and swallow making nests and reflects on the happiness of those who dwell in God’s house: “For one day in your courts is better than a thousand in my own room.”
The psalmist longs to be in God’s presence. In our world of dislocations and disenchantments, some deep, inexplicable energy drives us to seek this same presence. When we pause long enough to figure out where we are, we open ourselves up for an encounter with the presence of God. This presence constantly encounters us, but we rarely tear ourselves away from our sprinting and guzzling long enough to notice. But when we do, when we accept the God-given gift of stillness in our souls and embrace the encounter with God’s presence, we will find ourselves at home. St. Augustine says, “You have made me for yourself and my heart is restless until it finds rest in you.” We find that rest when we are at home in God’s presence, which refreshes us and creates in us the space to figure out where we are going next.
The wise men in this morning’s Gospel find this presence when they follow the star to Bethlehem. They enter the home of Mary and Joseph and find the Christ child with his mother. In the presence of the infant King, they offer their gifts. Like the wise men, when we notice the signs pointing to an encounter with Christ, we too can find ourselves at home with Jesus. In that shimmering moment of encounter, God gives us the opportunity to discern the gifts we can lay at Christ’s feet. Centered and nourished by God’s presence, we then go out, use our gifts, and join in the work of building God’s home here on earth.
As we begin another new year, I encourage you to dwell on your understanding of “home.” What does it mean for you? How do you cultivate the welcome, openness, and rest that the home inspires? For those in our midst who have no home – physical or otherwise – how is God calling you to use your gifts to welcome them back home? Finally, what new ways can we at St. Mark’s make this community even more of a nurturing home for those who are new and for those who have been living here their entire lives?
When you go home today, actively heighten your awareness for Christ’s presence awaiting you there. Find your rest. Find you center. And then go out and be a beacon of that presence to those who are dislocated and disenchanted in this world. And as God will do with each of us one day, do unto them: Welcome them home.
Say “Yes”: A Christmas Pageant
Performed at St. Mark’s in Mystic, CT on Sunday, December 21, 2014
This version of the Christmas pageant employs two sets of main characters, one younger and one older. The older versions sit on stools flanking the main action. They stand up to deliver their monologues. During the monologues the younger versions pantomime the action and speak at the end of each speech.
Prologue
NARRATOR
Before the universe existed, there was God. There was no time and no space, but there was God. Then God spoke and Creation came to be. One of the things God created was freedom, which was the ability to say “yes” or “no” of your own free will and not be compelled to answer one way or the other. God yearned with all of God’s heart that the Creation God made would say “yes” to a deep relationship with God its creator. But more often than not, parts of that Creation said, “No.” People said, “No.” We said, “No.”
Saying “No” to relationship with God led people down some dark paths. They dominated each other instead of serving each other in love. Fear ruled the day. And yet God did not give up. God decided to send God’s own Son into this wayward Creation to show us the path back to the God who never broke the relationship like we had done. All God needed was someone to say, “Yes.”
Scene 1: The Annunciation
While the OLDER MARY speaks her monologue, YOUNGER MARY and GABRIEL pantomime their conversation.
OLDER MARY
Until that day, nothing had ever happened to me. I grew up like everyone else in my town. I worked my father’s farm with my brothers and sisters. I watched the sun set. I watched the sun rise. That was life. Even getting engaged to be married to Joseph was just another day. It was expected. I always did what was expected.
Then Gabriel appeared to me, and every day since has been more unexpected than the last. He told me not to be afraid, but there was no need. His presence wasn’t frightening. It was exciting. From the moment he spoke, I felt a quickening in my gut, a hum, a desire finally to discover the person I longed to be.
The angel told me of the son I would have, the heir of David’s throne, the flesh and blood of the Most High God. It all sounded impossible. But Gabriel said nothing is impossible for God. I thought for a moment: I’ve never done anything in my life. I’ve never been anywhere. I’m not special in any way. Why would God choose me?
And that’s when it hit me. God chose me because God knew I would say…
YOUNGER MARY
Yes.
Scene 2: Joseph’s Dream
NARRATOR
Mary said, “Yes,” to the angel. She said, “Yes,” to God’s dream for her life, and that dream became a reality. And as the dream was growing inside her, the angel made another stop.
YOUNGER JOSEPH is fast asleep when GABRIEL stands over him pantomiming speaking.
OLDER JOSEPH
My namesake was a great interpreter of dreams. He saved Egypt during a seven-year famine. He saved his own family, too. I always wondered what it would be like to have that kind of gift. Then one night I found out. My dream didn’t need interpretation, however, because the angel stood before me plain as day, and when he spoke, the words tasted true.
Everyone around me, society at large, even my own father, urged me to get rid of Mary, to dismiss her quietly so as not to cause a fuss. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Then the angel told me why. Somehow I knew, even before the angel told me, that the child was special. I didn’t have the words to describe the way I felt until the angel called my son, “Emmanuel.”
GABRIEL departs, and YOUNGER JOSEPH rises from sleep. He join YOUNGER MARY and puts his hand on her pregnant belly.
OLDER JOSEPH
Yes, the joy I felt came from that place, that place of nearness. When I looked at Mary and felt the baby kick, I knew…
YOUNGER JOSEPH
God is with us.
Scene 3: Arrival in Bethlehem
As the NARRATOR speaks, YOUNGER MARY and YOUNGER JOSEPH make their way to Bethlehem.
NARRATOR
Mary spent the first few months of her pregnancy with her cousin Elizabeth. But as the time drew near for the baby to be born, the Empire called for a counting of all the people in their territories. Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to be registered because his ancestors hailed from there. Mary went with him.
OLDER MARY
The waves of pain began weeks before Jesus was born. At first I thought I was going into labor, but Elizabeth assured me it was normal. I learned to live with them, even though they got worse as the day drew near. But that first night in Bethlehem, a different pain hit me, and I knew it was time.
YOUNGER MARY AND YOUNGER JOSEPH pantomime the story being told: breaking into the room, being surrounded by ANIMALS.
OLDER JOSEPH
In desperation, I broke into the backroom of a house to get us out of the cold. The owner’s animals were huddled there. It stunk to high heaven, but at least it was warm. When Mary started to cry out in pain, I thought that we were done for, that the people of the house would drive us back into the night.
The FARMER comes in with a rake. Then the MIDWIFE enters.
OLDER MARY
But they didn’t. The farmer came in brandishing a threshing rake, but he took in what was happening right away and called for his wife. We asked if we could stay, and she said, “Yes.” Turns out she was a midwife. What a blessing from God. Joseph was beside himself. He didn’t know what to do. But she calmed him down, directed him.
OLDER JOSEPH
She put a blanket in my hands and guided them.
OLDER MARY
One last thunderous wave of pain washed through me, and then…
YOUNGER JOSEPH holds the BABY JESUS in his arms.
OLDER JOSEPH
I held my son Jesus in my arms. I held God. And I knew God was holding me.
Scene 4: The Shepherds
The SHEPHERDS and SHEEP cluster in the center aisle.
NARRATOR
The light of the world shining from the baby wasn’t the only light shining that night. In the fields outside Bethlehem, dawn seemed to be breaking impossibly early.
The ANGELS and GABRIEL stand on the first pew and pantomime talking to the SHEPHERDS.
OLDER SHEPHERD
The light grew slowly at first, so we didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. But then the field was awash in brilliance. It was like an eclipse in reverse. But what I remember more than the light was the song. The angels sang a song of peace. Of peace! How could you sing a song of peace in such a war-torn age? And yet that is what they did.
The SHEPHERDS and SHEEP walk to the Nativity scene and join it. The ANGELS gather around behind the Nativity scene.
We went to find the One of whom the angels sang. And we found him in the dirt, among the animals just like my own children were born. The song of the angels rang in my mind and I sang it for the baby, a lullaby of peace for the Prince of Peace. And I knew he was one of us. And he was here…
YOUNGER SHEPHERD
To make us more like him.
Scene 5: The Magi
The MAGI begin their trek slowly from one side aisle of the church around the back and up the other side aisle. At the side of the church near the lectern, the MAGI meet HEROD, who pantomimes a conversation.
NARRATOR
Not only did Jesus’ own people seek him out. Immigrants from a far off land arrived guided by a star in the heavens. They first met King Herod in Jerusalem, but they knew Herod was not the king they sought.
The MAGI move to the main group and present their gifts.
OLDER MAGUS
We had been searching the stars for a sign of the One who was to come. And when we found the celestial body streaking westward we knew we had to follow. We didn’t know where it would lead. What we didn’t expect, though, was for it to lead us not only across the desert, but deeper into our own hearts. When we met our true King the first time, we felt the inadequacy of the gifts we had brought – the gold, the frankincense, the myrrh. The infant gazes at us, into us, into our hearts. And we knew the gift he truly wanted. And so I gave him not just a box of gold…
YOUNGER MAGUS
I gave him myself.
Epilogue
The OLDER CHARACTERS move to join their YOUNGER SELVES.
NARRATOR
And so God sent God’s only Son to teach people to use their freedom to remain open to God, to say “Yes” to that deep relationship. A few decades later, he would die for his convictions. But then he rose again to show that nothing, not even death, can separate us from God’s love.
OLDER MAGUS
So when you are searching for God…
OLDER JOSEPH
Know that God is always with us…
OLDER SHEPHERD
And when the Prince of Peace calls to you…
OLDER MARY
Say “Yes.”
* * *
The Players
(*=tiny speaking part; **=big speaking part)
Little Children
SHEEP
ANIMALS
ANGELS
(BABY JESUS)
Children/Tweens
GABRIEL
YOUNGER MARY*
YOUNGER JOSEPH*
SHEPHERDS (1*)
(HEROD)
FARMER
MIDWIFE
MAGI x3 (1*)
Tweens/Teens
OLDER MARY**
OLDER JOSEPH**
OLDER SHEPHERD**
OLDER MAGUS**
NARRATOR**
—
Where the Wind... 