Pageants 2017

John 1 12-13-20 Pastor Bill Mosley
Years ago, in a Christmas Pageant, the innkeeper
was played by a boy named Ralph who had very
much wanted to play the role of Joseph. He didn’t
get the part, & had refused to be part of the
program — but his mother & his director insisted that
Ralph do his duty & be part of the pageant. So he
was the innkeeper.
But Ralph wanted revenge. When Joseph & Mary came
to the inn & asked about a room, Ralph grinned & said,
“Come on in. We’ve got plenty of room!” The audience
gasped, especially Ralph’s mother & the director. Joseph &
Mary were stunned.
They expected to be turned away. Instead they
obediently walked into the inn. But the boy playing Joseph
was resourceful. He looked around, turned to the audience,
& said, “Hey, this place is a dump. We’d rather stay in a
stable!” (adapted from Pastor Casey Zesch in Reader’s Digest)
What would life be without surprises like
this? You’re thinking, “a lot less
embarrassing.”
There are some surprises we could do without.
Christmas is not one of them. God comes into the world in
the person of a tiny babe.
John the Baptist was a surprise. People asked how this
rough-hewn preacher could lay a path for the Messiah.
The Baptist caused quite a stir in the desert. People from
all over were going out to see and hear him. Countless
persons were baptized by John in preparation for the arrival
of the Messiah. There were some, though who were
uncomfortable with John and his message. In fact there
were some who thought John might have gone too far.
A group of priests and Levites were sent to investigate
him. They had one burning question: “Who are you?”
They wanted to know why John was preaching about the
coming of the Messiah. They wanted to know by what
authority he was requiring people to be baptized.
They asked him if he might be Elijah. They taught that
Elijah would return just before the Messiah. Was John the
Messiah? “I am not,” John replied. “Are you the prophet?”
No, was John’s answer. Again they asked him, “Who are
you?” John quoted Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord.’”
He pointed the way to Jesus. That was his role.
That is what Christmas is about. Bringing the light.
It’s about adoring, worshiping, proclaiming Jesus.
It’s about the unexpected. It’s about surprises.
Joel Robert Poinsett gave his name to the red
“flower” we see everywhere at Christmas time. He
“discovered” the poinsettia in Mexico, and
managed to market it in the U.S. It made him
wealthy, and made his name a household word in
our country. But the “flower” is not really a flower,
and was already a religious symbol when it was
cultivated by the Aztecs. And do we really want to
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remember Joel Robert Poinsett in the spirit of
Christmas?
The truth is, the name of Poinsett was already a
household word in Mexico well before our American
Civil War.
Besides his interest in botany, Poinsett was a
high-placed diplomatic official in the service of the
United States Government. President Van Buren
made him Secretary of War. He had a part in the
“Trail of Tears,” a sad part of our Native American
history. He was a congressman and ambassadorat-large, specializing in relations with Latin America.
It was while Poinsett was Special Ambassador to
Mexico that he discovered the poinsettia and sent it
back East to South Carolina and took steps to
popularize the Christmas flower. He also got a
reputation in Mexico for being an officious, intrusive
interloper. “Poinsettissimo” became the word for
intruding yourself into the business of others.
Ironically, it was a Christmas day when Poinsett
left Mexico, in fear of his life and his name
disgraced by the Mexican government, for his
unethical part in an internal Mexican political
dispute.
And like boycott and quisling, his name became
part of the language — two languages. — Mosley, EMPHASIS,
November – December 1999, p.71
Here’s another one: Scrooge.
Ebenezer Scrooge is the central character in Charles Dickens’ book
*A Christmas Carol*.
We don’t even have to describe him. We know just by
saying the name that a Scrooge is stingy, greedy, grumpy,
selfish, & cruel. He keeps his employees poor & makes
them work on Christmas. If anybody seems cheerful or
mentions Christmas, he says, “Bah, humbug.”
Towards the end of the story, the Crachet family receives
a prize turkey. It’s a wonderful gift & they don’t know who it
comes from. Only Tiny Tim has any idea who might have
sent the turkey. He says the name, Mr. Scrooge. & his
mother says, “Why would Mr. Scrooge lose his sense & do
something like this?”
And Tiny Tim replies with one word: “Christmas.”
It’s a word that dwells & lives among us. it carries hidden
meanings that can still surprise us.
It’s a surprise. It’s unexpected. It explains how stingy
people can be generous, tired persons can be energized,
Lonely individuals can feel loved.
This Christmas let’s do something unexpected &
surprising. Let’s do something out of the ordinary. Let’s do
something that anticipates the Lord’s coming among us, to
find room at our inn. We don’t want him to say he’d rather
stay in a stable.
Lord, surprise us so much that we say no to whatever makes it more
difficult to say yes to you.