by Melinda
Pillsbury-Foster
It was a
birthday party.
Father
Peter W. Nielsen, III, invited children and adults attending St.
Peter Church's Children's Service to sit on the steps and carpet at
the altar to hear the story of the birth of Jesus. The young girl
we know as Mary, the Mother of Christ, Father Peter said, was
fourteen when a messenger from God appeared to her and said she would
have a son who was to be called Jesus.
Pausing in
his narrative, told in language the smallest child could understand,
Father Peter asked who acted as a messenger for God. A small girl,
no more than four, said it was an angel. Asking then about the word,
'prophet,' those listening learned angels and prophets deliver
messages from God to his people.
The story,
so well known, came alive.
Shepherds
saw the sky above them fill with angels, as numerous as the stars.
They sang the news of a baby born to a virgin. Lonely men, hungry
for hope in a world filled with trouble, heard them. Rejoicing
erupted in shouts of joy and dancing as the multitude of angels
faded, leaving the shining stars they knew so well.
Together,
the shepherds left their flocks to find the child. In the presence
of the sleeping baby they told Mary and Joseph what they had seen,
gazing with awe and hope at the child so recently born.
Jesus,
Father Peter, said, brought the gift of salvation to humanity.
Thirty
three years after his birth Jesus invited his friends to a meal. He
told them to continue to share the bread and wine in remembrance of
him, sharing these gifts with everyone.
Adults and
children gathered close to the altar, watching as the meal was
prepared for them. All raised their cupped hands and took the bread
and drank the wine. The youngest, less than two years old, put the
bread into his mouth and sipped from the silver cup.
As this
gift was given to us, so what we do for others are gifts given to
Jesus. These gifts say, “I
love you.”
In the
dining room we sang happy birthday. The cake was cut. Father Peter
asked children and adults to share how they love others this next
year. What gifts, time or things, do you give? Each is a gift given
to Jesus.
How do you
say to Jesus, “I love you?”
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