Christmas Pageant Glory
Christmas Pageants’ Impact
I have directed my share of Christmas programs, children’s musicals, and pageants over the years. My conviction is that they are worth the effort it takes to create them. Drama and music are gifts that help us express what is in our hearts when words fail us. Art ministers to us, producing an avenue to worship God from the deepest parts of our souls.
Details and Preparation
When leading these programs, there are many details to cover. Some of the needs are: seamstresses to sew costumes of all sizes, lighting for the aisles and stage, skilled musicians to accompany the children’s voices, a carpenter to build a manger, props that resemble shepherds’ crooks and the magi’s gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, tinsel garland for angel halos, printed programs with every participant listed, and an experienced person in the sound booth. On top of that there are months of rehearsals enabling children to learn the songs, poems, Scripture verses, and lines of the play.
Christmas programs I led paled in comparison to the dramas that some large churches create for their congregations and the community. Flying angels, live camels and donkeys, Broadway level choreography and backdrops–spectacular productions that capture the imagination. It is no wonder that chairs are filled for every performance.
Honest Questions
Some can be cynical about these dramatic expressions, wondering about the motivation behind such theatrics. Why such a huge budget when there are other needs that may seem more important? Even simple children’s Christmas programs can draw critics. Are these pageants only to put the children on stage to be cute, bringing in aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents? Or do the children truly draw us to worship?
Certainly children are delightful. Watching preschoolers wave to parents as they sing “Away in a Manger,” or those who sing nothing at all, overwhelmed by the lights and the crowd, make us giggle with enjoyment. Hearing older boys and girls recite their lines or Scripture verses and sing with all of their hearts gives us pride and hope for their lives. It is good and right that family members take pictures and videos of the occasion.
The Hush of Worship
But in every program, musical, or pageant that I led, there came a time in the service when a hush came over the congregation. Picture taking ceased. A supernatural quiet enveloped the room. The Holy Spirit moved as the children led us in worship.
We couldn’t credit the stirring of the Holy Spirit to the perfection of the children’s efforts or our careful planning and preparation. It was a work of God. He inhabits the praise of His people (Psalm 22:3), which includes children. Psalm 8:2 (NIV84) tells us, “From the lips of infants and children you have ordained praise.” In the hush of the children’s worship, we sensed the presence of God, drawing all to Himself.
In the moment of the supernatural quiet, hearts were touched. The sound of tissues being pulled from tissue boxes could be heard throughout the auditorium. It wasn’t about cute children. It was about the awe-producing reality of our God, who sent His Son to this world to save us from our sins. It was about our King Jesus, who humbled Himself to become a dependent baby in obedience to the Father. The Holy Spirit moved in our hearts to worship the greatness of our God, and the children led the way. It was glorious.
“O come let us adore Him. O come let us adore Him.
O come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
Philippians 2:6-8 “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Photo by Greyson Joralemon on Unsplash
Questions to Ponder:
What draws your heart to worship as you ponder the gift of Christmas?