#Christmas

Christmas Pageant: The GOAT

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 3 Comments

The GOAT
A Christmas Skit

By Eric Anderson

CHARACTERS

Shepherd 1: A tender of sheep
Shepherd 2: A tender of sheep and one goat
Sheep: A wooly creature
Goat: A non-wooly creature
Lead Angel: A messenger to shepherds
Angels: A backup chorus of messengers
Mary: A young woman
Joseph: A young man
Magi 1: A scholar dressed a lot like a king
Magi 2: Another scholar dressed a lot like a king

SCENE 1: A hillside

[SHEPHERD 1, SHEPHERD 2, GOAT, and SHEEP enter]

Shepherd 1:                I can’t believe you brought a goat.

Shepherd 2:                Why not bring a goat? Goats are cool. They don’t get lost as often as sheep. And they give milk. That’s useful.

Shepherd 1:                OK, all that is true. But you only brought one goat. Shouldn’t you have brought a herd of goats?

Shepherd 2:                Of course I’ve heard of goats.

Shepherd 1:                Ha, ha. I’m not sure that joke is going to be funny even if two thousand years go by.

Shepherd 2:                I thought it was funny. And I’m sure the goat heard. Did you think it was funny?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 1:                Why did you bring just one goat?

Shepherd 2:                I’m picky.

Shepherd 1:                So brought just one goat because…

Shepherd 2:                It’s the best goat.

Shepherd 1:                Just how do you choose the best goat?

Shepherd 2:                The best goat has great hair, great hooves, great ears, and most of all, great horns.

Shepherd 1:                And this one is the best goat, is it?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 2:                You hear them? They agree.

Shepherd 1:                That sounded like “Bah” to me.

[The LEAD ANGEL and the ANGELS enter]

Shepherds:                 Aaaggghhhh!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Goat:                           Bah!

Lead Angel:                 Do not be afraid!

Shepherd 1:                Why not? I’m terrified!

Shepherd 2:                Me, too! I planned on the best goat, not the Lead Angel.

Angels:                        Us, too!

Shepherd 2:                Plus the other angels. Sorry.

Lead Angel:                 I bring you good news!

Shepherd 1:                We’re getting good grass this season?

Shepherd 2:                The price of goat’s milk is going up?

Shepherd 1:                My family is going to learn to spin and weave wool?

Shepherd 2:                This really is the best goat ever?

Sheep:                         Bah!

Goat:                           Bah!

Angels:                        Hush and you’ll learn something!

Lead Angel:                 Think bigger, shepherds.

Angels:                        Much bigger!

Shepherd 2:                I need a bigger goat?

Goat:                           Bah!

Lead Angel:                 No. Down the hill in the City of David…

Shepherd 1:                The what?

Lead Angel:                 Bethlehem. It’s where King David came from.

Angels:                        Now stop interrupting!

Lead Angel:                 Down in the City of David a child has been born to save all people. He is the Messiah, the Lord.

Shepherd 1:                Wow.

Lead Angel:                 Go to the city and look for a newborn who is wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.

Shepherd 2:                Excuse me. I don’t mean to interrupt, but… what are swaddling cloths?

Lead Angel:                 You don’t have children, do you?

Shepherd 2:                No. I have the best goat, though.

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Lead Angel:                 Swaddling cloths are light blankets you wrap around a baby to keep him warm.

Shepherd 2:                Oh. OK. Good. And… One other thing?

Lead Angel:                 Really? All right. What else do you want to know?

Shepherd 2:                A manger? Like, a feeding trough? We should be looking for the Messiah in a stable?

Lead Angel:                 Where else would you look?

Shepherd 1:                Don’t argue with the angel.

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 2:                Right. We’ll look in the stables.

Shepherd 1:                Thanks for the good news!

Angels:                        Hallelujah! Glory to God!

[ANGELS and LEAD ANGEL exit]

Shepherd 2:                What do we do now?

Shepherd 1:                You might want to argue with angels, but not me. We’re going to Bethlehem.

Goat:                           Bah!

Shepherd 1:                Don’t forget your goat.

[SHEPHERD 1, SHEPHERD 2, GOAT, and SHEEP exit]

SCENE 2: A Stable

[MARY and JOSEPH enter with baby]

Mary:                          Did I just have a baby in a stable?

[JOSEPH looks at the bundle Mary is carrying]

Joseph:                        That’s a baby you’ve got. I’d say yes. Yes, you just had a baby in a stable.

Mary:                          No wonder I’m so tired. Can you hold him for a bit?

Joseph:                        Sure. Wait. There’s a manger here. It’s got straw in it. That should be soft for a baby, right?

Mary:                          Put him in it and see if he cries.

[JOSEPH puts the baby in the manger. No crying]

Joseph:                        No crying.

Mary:                          Not from him, maybe. I’m about ready to cry. What a night!

Joseph:                        It’s all right, Mary. It’ll all be quiet from here.

[SHEPHERD 1, SHEPHERD 2, GOAT, and SHEEP enter]

Shepherd 1:                Hi. Sorry to bother you, but is there a baby here in a manger?

Shepherd 2:                This is our sixth stable tonight and boy are my feet tired.

[GOAT looks in the manger]

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 2:                Would you look at that?

Shepherd 1:                It’s a baby in a manger!

Shepherd 2:                And my goat found it. He really is the best, you know.

Joseph:                        Excuse me, but who are you?

Mary:                          And why are you looking for a baby in a manger? Why would you even think to look for a baby in a manger?

Shepherd 1:                Oh, we didn’t think of it.

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 2:                We don’t think very much, really.

Shepherd 1:                Some angels came and told us to look for a baby in a manger.

Shepherd 2:                It was pretty scary, actually.

Shepherd 1:                It was scarier after you started arguing with the angels. Who does that?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 2:                I don’t do it often.

Joseph:                        Slow down. You say angels told you to come here?

Shepherd 1:                They told us to look here.

Shepherd 2:                And six stables later, here you are!

Mary:                          Why? Why did the angels tell you to look for a baby in a stable?

Shepherd 2:                Oh. Didn’t we mention that?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Shepherd 1:                I guess we didn’t. You see, the angel told us that this baby is…

Goat:                           Bah!

Shepherd 2:                The Messiah!

[Everyone looks at the baby]

Shepherd 1:                So… that’s what a Messiah looks like?

Mary:                          When he’s just been born.

Shepherd 2:                Oh. So you knew already?

Mary:                          Let’s just say I’ve had my own conversation with an angel.

Shepherd 1:                I’m sure she didn’t argue the way you did.

Mary:                          I just asked questions.

[LEAD ANGEL and other ANGELS enter]

Lead Angel:                 You didn’t argue at all.

Mary:                          It was weird, though.

Lead Angel:                 Of course it was unusual. You don’t think we send Messiah every day, do you?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Lead Angel:                 Well said.

Angels:                        Hallelujah!

Shepherd 2:                Of course it’s well said. He’s the best goat.

[MAGI 1 and MAGI 2 enter. MAGI 1 is really tired.]

Magi 1:                        Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.

Lead Angel:                 Hey, that’s my line!

Mary:                          Yes, I’ve heard that one before.

Magi 2:                        I’m sorry. You’ll have to forgive him. He’s been carrying the heavy stuff.

Joseph:                        If you don’t mind, who are you, and why are you barging into our baby’s bedroom – er, stable – at this hour?

Magi 1:                        Barging? We haven’t got a barge. Not a sign of a boat at all. No, we’ve had camels.

Magi 2:                        Our other friend is parking the camels.

Magi 1:                        Why didn’t he bring them in here? It’s a stable, after all.

Magi 2:                        Because of the newborn baby? Really. Put the gold down. It’s not helping you think.

[The MAGI put their bundles down]

Shepherd 1:                Did he say, “Gold”?

Shepherd 2:                I think he said “Gold”.

Mary:                          Gold?

Joseph:                        Gold?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Lead Angel:                 Yes, he said gold.

Mary:                          Why are you carrying gold?

Magi 1:                        I’m not carrying it any more. I put it down.

Magi 2:                        What my exhausted friend means is that we’re here to celebrate the birth of the newborn Messiah. That’s him, isn’t it? In… Why is he in a feeding trough?

Joseph:                        There wasn’t any room in the inn.

Magi 1:                        I guess the inn was an “out.”

Magi 2:                        That’s not going to be funny if you wait for two thousand years.

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Magi 1:                        Is that a goat criticizing my sense of humor?

Shepherd 2:                Yes, sir, but rest assured, he’s the best goat. The best goat ever.

Magi 1:                        Oh. Well, that’s different. The best goat ever.

Joseph:                        Could we go back to why you’re here?

Magi 2:                        We’re here to welcome the newborn king, and to make sure he’s greeted with proper respect.

Magi 1:                        And presents.

Magi 2:                        Right. Presents for a king.

Mary:                          Kings get presents?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Magi 1:                        Oh, yes. Kings definitely get presents. And given that this one is sleeping in a manger, it seems like a good thing.

Joseph:                        He’s got a point.

Lead Angel:                 Oh, while we’re talking about it, you’ll probably want to sell the presents and go to Egypt for a while. And, wise men? Don’t go back to tell Herod where this baby is. OK?

Goat:                           Bah!

Sheep:                         Bah!

Angels:                        Amen!

Magi 2:                        Well. All right. We’ll go home another way.

Lead Angel:                 Good plan.

Mary:                          Could you tell me one more time why you’re all here in this stable with my baby in the middle of the night?

Shepherd 2:                Well, you see, we’ve got the best goat…

Shepherd 1:                I can’t believe you brought up the goat.

Shepherd 2:                No, really. We’ve got the best goat. But when I listen to the wise men here, and when I listen to the angels…

Lead Angel:                 When you’re not interrupting the angels…

Shepherd 2:                I realize that while I might have the best goat, here in this manger you’ve got, I mean, we’ve got, I mean, the whole world has got:

The GREATEST OF ALL TIME.

Goat:                           Amen!

ALL SING Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

© 2025 by Eric S. Anderson

Watch this Pageant Performed

The young people of Church of the Holy Cross UCC in Hilo, Hawai’i, performed “The GOAT” on December 21, 2025.

Author’s Note

I began writing Christmas pageants a few years ago when I realized that we could violate copyright if we streamed a commercially available script via live stream. It says something about me that I was more willing to write a script than I was to dig through the marketing of pageants to find one that included a streaming license.

It also means that I can adapt the script to the available actors. I once wrote a script with no Joseph because we simply didn’t have a youngster willing to do the role. In this case, the children were very impressed with a story featuring a goat that our Associate Conference Minister, the Rev. Jonathan Roach, told them some months ago. One of them announced that he wanted to be a goat in the pageant, and therefore the pageant needed to include a goat.

As is the way of some creatures, the goat took over.

One of the things I like about this pageant is the way everyone notices all the things that simply don’t make sense, such as a newborn monarch born in a stable rather than a palace. It emphasizes the truth that God does what God does, not what we expect God to do. A Messiah was born in a stable. What more might be waiting in God’s imagination?

Photo of goats by Eric Anderson.

Story: The ‘Apapane’s Christmas Pageant (2025 version)

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 3 Comments

December 21, 2025

Isaiah 7:10-16
Matthew 1:18-25

I don’t know how it came into the ‘apapane’s head to organize a Christmas pageant. I don’t even know how he’d heard about Christmas, let alone a Christmas pageant. Nevertheless, he flew all over the island, searching for creatures to take part in the pageant.

He asked the I’iwi, who was feeling grumpy that day and didn’t say yes, or no, or anything at all.

He asked the ‘io, which was very brave of him. The ‘io said she might come and looked… hungry.

He flew down to the shoreline to ask the honu. She said no, she wasn’t going to swim up to the mountain forest, which seemed fair. A house sparrow said he might fly up after he’d finished his bath.

A saffron finch thought it sounded odd but said he might hang around for it. The ‘apapane asked a yellow-billed cardinal and a myna. They both looked doubtful, and then the myna started an argument with some other mynas that wasn’t over when he left to talk to more shorebirds.

The auku’u looked puzzled, but said he’d come. “I’m coming, too,” announced a kolea. “I’ve flown thousands of miles for this. I wouldn’t miss it.”

“If the kolea is coming, I’m coming, too,” piped up an ‘akekeke, and a hunakai said the same.

The koa’e kea announced that she would play Mary, because didn’t Mary have a long tail? The ‘apapane wasn’t sure, so he didn’t argue. An ala’e ke’oke’o asked if there was a good fish pond up in the forest, and when he was told there wasn’t, looked skeptical.

The ae’o said she might turn up. If she felt like it. If she didn’t have anything else to do. The cattle egret said, of course he’d be there. One of his ancestors had been present at the original birth, hadn’t she?

The ‘apapane left the shorebirds to spread the word further and returned to the forest. The oma’o stopped singing barely long enough to say, “Yes.” The ‘alawi just looked nervous and kept hunting insects without saying anything.

He searched long and hard for an ‘akiapola’au, who asked, “What’s that all about?” After listening to the ‘apapane’s explanation, he gave a whistle and flew off into the forest. The nene just stared at him.

When it was pageant time, it was chaos. Creatures stepped into the clearing the ‘apapane had selected, then faded back into the trees again. Frightened chirps flew back and forth, and so did frightened birds. Mejiro and ‘elepaio peeped out from the trees. The mynas announced that they would be the angel chorus, then exploded into another argument.

“What do you need to settle down and play your parts?” shouted the ‘apapane from a tree.

“Is the ‘io here?” asked an ‘amakihi. “Yes,” said the ‘io from the sky overhead. “Are you going to eat us?” asked the ‘amakihi. For a moment there was silence. Then the ‘io said, “No. Not today. Today there’s a pageant to do.”

The ‘apapane spent the next hour answering the questions. The koa’e kea had just flown in from a lava fountain, and since she wanted to play Mary, she did. A kioea had flown up from the shore and wanted to play Joseph. “You’re a rare bird,” said the ‘apapane, so he did. The little ‘elepaio played shepherds while the nene played sheep. The I’iwi didn’t want to cheer up, so he played the grumpy innkeeper. The sleeping pig was cast as a sleeping cow and did it very well.

High overhead the ‘io provided the voice of Gabriel, while ‘apapane, ‘amakihi, mejiro, and mynas sang as the angel chorus. Seabirds and shorebirds took places as creatures of the stable.

When the time came, birds from other shores – a northern cardinal, a red junglefowl, and a pair of zebra doves – played the magi.

The ‘akiapola’au lay just one egg and very rarely, so a young one played Jesus.

When it was over, the creatures vanished back into the trees, leaving the ‘apapane alone in the silence. He’d answered every question, met every need, somehow.

The trees rustled in the breeze, applauding the ‘apapene’s Christmas pageant.

The End.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Story

On this occasion, I read from the prepared text (and still made a couple of changes).

Photos by Eric Anderson.

Christmas Pageant Script: “Where’s Joseph?”

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 3 Comments

Where’s Joseph?
A Christmas Skit

I wrote this skit to meet a very particular need. Our Sunday School coordinator had surveyed the young people, and nobody (really nobody) wanted to play Joseph. Could I write a pageant that didn’t include Joseph? The result is what’s below.

We didn’t have any children who wanted to play the magi, either, so the original script didn’t include them. As rehearsals began, more of them wanted to participate, and so the size of the shepherd’s flock increased, a second shepherd got lines, and so did more of the magi.

By Eric Anderson

CHARACTERS

Mary: A young woman
Gabriel: An angelic messenger
Angels: A musical chorus
Star: A bright object in the sky
Shepherd: A tender of sheep
Sheep: A wooly creature
Magi 1: A scholar dressed a lot like a king
Magi 2: Another scholar dressed a lot like a king (non-speaking)
Magi 3: One more scholar dressed a lot like a king (non-speaking)

SCENE 1: [MARY enters and sits at center stage, twiddling her thumbs]

Mary:                          I’m bored.

[GABRIEL enters]

Gabriel:                       Hail, O favored one!

Mary:                          (to audience) Well, this might be more interesting.

                                    (to Gabriel) Who are you, and what kind of “Hello” is that?

Gabriel:                       What would you prefer?

Mary:                          “Hello” would be nice.

Gabriel:                       In that case, hello. My name is Gabriel. I’m an angel. Do not be afraid!

Mary:                          Was I supposed to be afraid?

Gabriel:                       It’s not required. I’m supposed to say that, though.

Mary:                          Are other people afraid?

Gabriel:                       People tend to get nervous talking to an angel, yes.

Mary:                          Oh, right. You’re an angel. You said. Well, I’m glad to talk to anybody. I’m bored.

Gabriel:                       Why are you bored?

Mary:                          I’m supposed to be getting married soon, but my family is doing all the wedding plans. Every time I try to suggest something, my father or my mother will say, “Oh, no, it’s better this way.” Actually, they both say it. Then they disagree about what the best way is, and send me out of the room. So I don’t have a lot to do.

Gabriel:                       Couldn’t you talk to your fiancé? What’s his name?

Mary:                          Joseph. And no. Now that we’re engaged, we don’t spend a lot of time together. He’s working. And I’m… not.

Gabriel:                       I think I can promise that your life is about to get more interesting.

Mary:                          Well, that’s good. What’s happening?

Gabriel:                       Mary, you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.

Mary:                          What did you just say?

Gabriel:                       Mary, you have found favor with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb…

Mary:                          (interrupting) Did you just say I’m going to have a baby?

Gabriel:                       Yes. Yes, I did.

Mary:                          How is that going to happen?

Gabriel:                       Nothing is impossible with God.

Mary:                          And this is God’s plan? It seems a little… unexpected.

Gabriel:                       I grant you that God hasn’t done this before.

Mary:                          And I’m having this baby… why?

Gabriel:                       He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David…

Mary:                          (interrupting) Did you just say I’m going to be the mother of the Messiah?

Gabriel:                       Yes. Yes, I did.

Mary:                          Wow.

Gabriel:                       You did say you were bored.

Mary:                          Yes. Yes, I did.

Gabriel:                       Are you less bored?

Mary:                          Now I’m terrified.

Gabriel:                       That’s not bored.

Mary:                          I think I need to go talk to Joseph. He’ll want to know.

Gabriel:                       I’m sure that’s true. Where is Joseph, anyway?

Mary:                          This way.

[MARY and GABRIEL exit]

Narrator:                     Nine months later…

Scene 2:    

[SHEPHERD and SHEEP enter]

Shepherd:                   Well, another boring night.

Sheep:                         Baa!

Shepherd:                   Why don’t you ever seem to sleep, sheep?

Sheep:                         Baa!

Shepherd:                   Have you ever thought of counting sheep, sheep?

Sheep:                         Baa!

[pause]

Shepherd:                   Well, I agree. Counting to one isn’t all that helpful.

[ANGELS enter]

Angels:                        Hallelujah!

Shepherd:                   What?

Angels:                        Hallelujah!

Shepherd:                   Are you hearing what I’m hearing, sheep?

Sheep:                         Baa!

[GABRIEL enters]

Gabriel:                       Do not be afraid!

Shepherd:                   OK.

Sheep:                         Baa!

Gabriel:                       I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.

Shepherd:                   Could you repeat that?

Sheep:                         Baa!

Gabriel:                       I am bringing you good news…

Shepherd:                   Did you just say that the Messiah has been born down in Bethlehem?

Gabriel:                       That’s exactly what I said.

Shepherd:                   And we can go see him?

Gabriel:                       You can do exactly that.

Shepherd:                   And greet the father and the mother?

Gabriel:                       The mother for sure. The father, well, that’s a little tricky.

Shepherd:                   Are you going to explain that?

Gabriel:                       No.

Sheep:                         Baa!

Gabriel:                       Are you going to go visit the child?

Sheep:                         Baa!

Shepherd:                   You heard him.

Angels and Gabriel:    Hallelujah!

Scene Three:

[ANGELS, GABRIEL, SHEPHERD, and SHEEP exit]

[MARY enters with BABY]

[GABRIEL enters]

Gabriel:                       Where’s Joseph?

Mary:                          He went looking around the town for baby things. We hadn’t brought anything. All we’ve got are these bands of cloth and a manger.

Gabriel:                       That’s going to be tricky this late at night.

Mary:                          Everything has been tricky. Explaining my pregnancy to my family, my friends, and to Joseph was tricky. Then getting summoned down to Bethlehem for the census was tricky. Then finding a place to stay the night was tricky. Having a baby in a stable was tricky. All in all, it’s all been tricky.

Gabriel:                       Well, I’ve got good news.

Mary:                          I’m not sure I’m ready for more of your good news. That’s what’s got me here in a stable with a newborn.

Gabriel:                       You’ll like this one. I’ve brought some people to give thanks for the birth of the Messiah!

[ANGELS, SHEPHERD, and SHEEP enter]

Angels:                        Hallelujah!

Mary:                          More angels?

Sheep:                         Baa!

Mary:                          And sheep.

Shepherd:                   Hi! Are you the mother of the Messiah?

Mary:                          And a shepherd. Where’s Joseph? When’s he coming back?

Gabriel:                       I know this isn’t what you expected, Mary. This is no palace. It’s not even your own home. Or a house, in fact. But you know what a miracle this is. You know, better than anyone, that God has been at work. These are people…

Sheep:                         (interrupting) Baa!

Gabriel:                       …and creatures who have come to understand God’s miracle as well.

Angels:                        Hallelujah!

Mary:                          That is pretty wonderful, now that you put it like that.

[THREE MAGI ENTER]

Gabriel:                       And look! More visitors!

Mary:                          Couldn’t they have waited until Joseph got back?

Magi 1:                        Look, it’s been a long trip. And we got lost. So we stopped for directions in Jerusalem.

Mary:                          Jerusalem? Where the king is?

Magi 1:                        That’s the place. That’s where a new monarch should be born, right?

Mary:                          Gabriel, this sounds like trouble. The king is not going to be happy to hear about the birth of a Messiah. Would you go fetch Joseph, please?

Gabriel:                       Ah. You’re right. This is trouble. We’ll take care of it. No problem. You guys, magi, king-like people: Don’t go home via Jerusalem. OK?

Magi 1:                        Really? The king seemed to want to meet this child. A lot.

Mary:                          Seriously, where’s Joseph?

Gabriel:                       Go home another way.

Magi 1:                        Well, OK. You’re the angel. In the meantime, we’ve got some gifts for the child. Here they are: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

[EVERYBODY stares at the gifts]

Mary:                          Wow. Joseph needs to see this.

Gabriel:                       He will. And you won’t need to worry about your safety. Shepherds, creatures, wise people from far away have come to rejoice in this child. The heavens themselves are celebrating. Take a look:

[STAR enters]

Mary:                          Oh, wow.

Star:                            Welcome, newborn Messiah!

Mary:                          Where’s Joseph? He should see this.

Star:                            He’s three streets away on his way back. I’ll light the way for him.

Mary:                          Thank you. Thank you all. Thank you for welcoming my baby into the world.

Gabriel:                       We’re glad to do it. Happy Birthday, little Jesus!

All:                               Merry Christmas!

[ALL SING] “Go Tell It on the Mountain”

Watch the Recorded Pageant

Photo by Eric Anderson

Story: The ‘Io’s Christmas Song

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 3 Comments

December 22, 2024

Micah 5;2-5a
Luke 3:46-55

The ‘io is not famous for singing. It makes a loud cry, for sure, which is majestic and dramatic, but nobody would call it musical. Except, perhaps, for once long ago, so long ago that there were no people living here on Hawai’i Island, and it belonged to the birds.

You see, there was an ‘io who wanted to sing. She’d heard the ‘apapane and the rest. She’d even admired the more subtle honks of the nene. When, she wondered, could she sing like that?

One morning, as the sun rose over the sea, the ‘io felt the world change. One moment everything was as it had always been, the next she knew that something different, something extraordinary, something wonderful, had taken place. Somehow she knew, deep in her heart, that the Creator had become part of the Creation in a deeply special way. Somehow she knew, though she never knew the name and didn’t even know what a human baby looked like, that Jesus, the Christ, was born.

When you know something that’s that wonderful, you just can’t keep still. She leapt into the air and soared through the sky. But that wasn’t enough. She danced on the breeze, pirouetted through the sky. And that wasn’t enough. Even though she knew she couldn’t do it, even though she knew it would be the same cry she’d always made, she opened her beak to sing.

Then: she sang.

There’s an old story that on the night Jesus was born, the animals across the world gained the ability to speak in human language. Who knows if that was true on Hawai’i Island, where there were no people whose language they could speak? What there was, was singing. And on that Christmas morning, an ‘io sang.

She sang so loud and so well that the ‘apapane began to sing along, and even to make new harmonies. Then the ‘amakihi chimed in, and the ‘akepa. The koa’e kea soared above the Kilauea caldera, and both noio and pueo flew up from the seacoast and the grasslands. Every one of them, with a voice they’d never known before, sang.

The ‘io led them all in the song, making new melodies, new variations, new rhythms. As she did, she circled and rolled, dove and climbed, dancing on the air, as the smaller birds wheeled around her.

It didn’t last long. Songs, even songs of joy, have an end. The small birds went back to the nectar in the trees. The pueo returned to the grasslands, the noio to the sea.

The ‘io let her tired wings carry her back to a tall tree, where she settled and breathed in, breathed out, because it’s a lot of work singing and flying and dancing at the same time.

An i’iwi poked its beak out of the next tree and chirped, “Thank you for the good news and the good song.”

The ‘io nodded back and said, “You’re welcome. Thank you for singing with me.”

And that is how the ‘io sang a Christmas song.

by Eric Anderson

Watch the Recorded Story

I write these stories in advance, but I tell them from memory (and improvisation), so the story as I tell it in the recording won’t precisely match what I originally wrote.

Photo of an ‘io in flight by Eric Anderson.

So Hard to Believe

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 4 Comments
13th century manuscript illustration of picking cherries.

“When [Jesus’] mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.” – Matthew 1:18b

It’s all very well for me, you know.
He gave the plot away, the evangelist did,
for all his readers to know what Joseph could not:
Mary told the truth.

I feel no gut-wrenched shock, no rising fire,
no heart-destroying grief and pain
to close my mind against the simple fact that
Mary told the truth.

“Hey, Joseph,” I whisper over the centuries,
“What need of angels visiting in dreams
if you could only hold your faith and trust that
Mary told the truth?”

What need, indeed? Except that I rely far more
upon my keen discernment of the world’s
condition. It took Matthew to assure me that
Mary told the truth.

Officiously I do declare that voices often
silenced – women, children, refugees –
should be attended, but: would I have trusted
Mary told the truth?

For love, perhaps. For faith, perhaps.
For trust, perhaps. For God, perhaps.
For obeisance of a cherry, then:
Mary told the truth.

A poem/prayer based on Matthew 1:18-25, the Revised Common Lectionary Gospel reading for Year A, Fourth Sunday of Advent.

Christmas Eve 2017

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / Leave a comment

Bebe_(Nativity)_Gauguin_IMG_7276“If I had Gabriel here
I’d slam my fist upon his nose,”
she thought (though did not say).
“He promised me the King of Kings
and here I lie, exhausted,
in the courtyard of the noisy inn
with my newborn son
whimpering in his sleep
where the spear-tipped straw
of this poor manger cradle
has pierced the blankets once again.”
She thought, and thought again:
“Well, no, I wouldn’t hit him.
Angels aren’t for messing with.
He’d deserve it, though.”

The inn had settled down at last
from raucous greetings shouted by
familiar travelers to their regular
companions, settled down from
moaning of the mothers, ministrations
of the midwife, helpless loving
sounds from father inarticulate
with worry, settled down from newborn
baby’s wail soon smothered on
his mother’s breast, settled down from
traveler and sojourner and nosy neighbor
come to see exhausted mother,
anxious, wary father,
child outraged
to be deprived
the comforts of the womb.

The inn had settled down at last
when new uproar approached
and scattered Mary’s thoughts of angels
(impious though they be).
A band of men, their faces sleepy,
peeked through each courtyard gate
along the street, in search of… what?
the weary mother wondered.
She could not see expressions
shadow-shrouded, but could see the waves
with which they summoned all
their comrades through the crowded
courtyard and approached
the manger bed.

“Forget angels,” Mary thought,
“What good is Joseph if he cannot
keep these wandering herdsmen
from us and this child?”

Now words emerged from mouths
less agile than an angel’s,
words of (really?) angels
praising God upon a hillside,
dispatching them with messages
of God’s over-arching favor
into Bethlehem to see a child
(o come, they’ve seen a child before)
laid sleeping in a manger.

Once started speaking, they could not
be stopped, repeating in their
rasping voices promises of glory,
wonder, all the Earth’s salvation,
to all its peoples, peace.

Much later, when they had run long short
of words, had taken their eager
wishes of good fortune, their ragged habits
(if not the lingering smell of sheep)
out of the courtyard, back unto the hills,
Mary’s weary mind returned to thought.

They had not been the royal messengers
of old, like courtiers of David, no.
But they had brought the message
loud, and strong, and clear.
Emmanuel. God is with us.
Sleeping now, still fitfully,
still irritated by the straw.
Emmanuel. Yes, God is with us.
Even here in noisy Bethlehem.
Even now in this no-comfort place.

Emmanuel. Yes, God is with us.

Even here.

Even now.

The image is Paul Gauguin’s painting “Bebe” or “Nativity of Tahitian Christ.”

Two Roads

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flucht_nach_agypten_liebieghaus_898abIf you find yourself wondering why I’m trying to capture what was a very visual worship experience this morning on text, well, I’m ahead of you. What made it work was the real interaction with the participants, some of them children, some of them adults. I’m not going to attempt to quote any of their contributions here, but instead indicate them by my responses.

Wish me luck.

All right. For the story today, I need some help. I need some folks with energetic feet this morning (I realize this is a rough day to ask for that). But come on down now. Right here. Join me.

No, don’t sit down. We’re moving about today. That’s why you need your energetic feet.

OK. We are now the magi, the wise men who went to bring gifts to the newborn Jesus. So. We’ve read the stars in the sky, and we know that there’s a new king that’s been born in Israel. But… Where do we go? The stars aren’t telling us that much.

Where can we go to find a newborn king?

The North Pole? Well, yes, I suppose so, but that’s awfully far and I doubt we’ll find a King of Israel there.

Well, where do you usually find a newborn King?

That’s right, in the palace in the capital. So we’ll go to Jerusalem!

Follow me up the aisle. Here we go. Now we cut through this pew here, and then up that way. Some of these valleys get pretty narrow.

All right. We made it. Now, can I get somebody to be King Herod? We’ve got to ask him. Great. Thank you.

So, King Herod, where do we find the newborn King?

Perfect. That shrug was absolutely perfect. Folks, this is exactly the shrug that King Herod used when the magi came to visit, because he didn’t know, either. He had to ask.

And the person to ask would be a religious professional. Hm. Are there any religious professionals in the house?

Well, yes, we can ask the Chair of the Board of Deacons, but I did have somebody else in mind.

Me? Why, yes, I am a religious professional. And so, King Herod, I tell you that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem of Judea.

Oh, you’d like me to tell the magi that? Now that’s delegation for you!

All right, magi, now we’re off to Bethlehem. Which is down this aisle, and between these pews, and gets a little rocky when we get back up to the front of the church. Everybody here? Great!

Who brought the gifts?

You’ve got one? What did you bring? Spices? Hey, that’s cool. You’re right, they are worth their weight in gold.

Say, gold. What a good idea. Did anyone bring any gold? Wonderful! All right, we’ll leave the gifts here. And it’s time to go home. But… wait.

Now we need somebody to be an angel in a dream. Great, we’ve got you. What’s your message to us?

Not to return to Herod? Because he’s going to do this baby in? Right. Back home by another road.

Now we’re switching roles. We’re still in Bethlehem, but we’re no longer the magi. We’re the Holy Family – granted, a rather bigger Holy Family than three, but that’s great, the more the merrier. And we need our messenger angel to come in a dream again.

What’s that you say, messenger angel? King Herod is after us, and we should go to Egypt?

Oh, you don’t want to go to Egypt? It doesn’t sound safe there, huh? Well, I have to agree with you. But still. We’ve got two options: stay here with King Herod, or go to Egypt. So which is it: Herod or Egypt?

Right. Egypt it is.

So. Up this aisle, and cut across, and down the other way, and across again, and here we are in Egypt.

Yes, I know it looks a lot like Bethlehem.

All right. So, we’ll spend some time here, and watch the baby grow – wow, look at how big he is! – and we’ve got some news that King Herod has died. We can go back home! Joseph’s got family in Bethlehem, so we could go there.

Except that… Herod’s son Archelaus isn’t any better than his father. We’re not going to be safe.

OK. Scratch Bethlehem. Where else can we go?

Nazareth, you say? Well, why not?

With another trip up and down the aisles and between the pews, we’re safely in Nazareth, and Jesus will be safe here.

And it should feel rather like home, since it looks so much like Bethlehem, and, for that matter, Egypt. And like Church of the Holy Cross in Hilo.

I thank you so much for coming up and helping. I hope it’s given you a sense, if not of how far everybody traveled, at least of some of the difficulties they faced, and the roads they followed. I hope you’ll all travel your roads with God’s help all along the way.

One final note: the lay leader observed that reading the Matthew 2 text after this “story” was a tad anticlimactic.

Christmas Prayer 2016

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img_1767When Christmas falls on Sunday, it’s not just any service. It’s not just any Sunday service, and it’s also not just any Christmas service. Though every worship experience should connect with the heart and soul, Christmas truly demands it, and it also demands that we step outside the “usual” – since God did precisely that by coming to Earth in Jesus.

Thus this song, which was the pastoral prayer this morning. Mele Kalikimaka – Merry Christmas!

[Chorus]
Come to us, Christ Child
With the wailings of a newborn
Interrupt our sleep with an infant’s shrill demands.
Let us clothe your flailing arms with hope for all tomorrows.
Let us feed your hungers for deep peace around the world.
Let our arms enfold with the tender love of mother.
Let us sing a lullaby of joy
As our Christmas prayer:
As our Christmas prayer.

Your family fled from Herod
So we pray for refugees
May the ones oppressed by rage and fear
Soon shout that they are free.
You were given gifts by magi
So we pray we might be wise.
When we turn away from suffering
Redirect our eyes.

[Chorus]

As you grew from child to teacher
So we pray for all to learn
The depth of your compassion
And the love for which we yearn.
From your first hours in the manger
To your triumph over the grave,
Give us hope and confidence
You were born on Earth to save!

[Chorus]

Let us sing a lullaby of joy
As our Christmas prayer,
As our Christmas prayer,
As our Christmas prayer

Christmas Eve 2016

/ Rev. Eric Anderson / 1 Comment

ikona_matki_bozej_znak_cerkiew_greckokatolicka_warszawa

Photo of a mosaic in the Greek Catholic Church and monastery of the Basilian Friars in Warsaw by Loraine – Own work, GFDL, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=9656226

We have heard the stories. We have sung the songs. We have lit the candles. We have shared Christmas greetings. We have shared Christmas treats.

Now comes the silence which comes so rarely in this busy technological world. Gradually, the excited children will succumb to the fatigue excitement brings. The wide-eyed stares of anticipation will relax into dreams, whether there is snow outside to cushion the anticipated sleigh or not. Ears tuned to the clatter of reindeer will be disappointed, once again, to find that the miracle happened while they slumbered and could not warn their owners that the moment had arrived.

Two thousand years ago, there must have been such a moment. I doubt it lasted long, babies being babies, but there must have been a moment when the exhausted newly-christened mother dreamed, and when the wondering father slumbered, and when the infant made only the soft snuffling sounds that reassure anxious parents that their child breathes.

In that moment, God could appreciate the miracle new-wrought in Bethlehem, and make whatever cosmic sound we imitate with a contented sigh. The miracle new-wrought, alive, and growing.

Have a blessed Christmas.

The Box

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53e50304-51fa-4840-be1a-af2a2887612c

Boxes

This story is about a family that was having a difficult December.

Mostly, they were doing OK. Everyone was healthy, and their home was a happy one. But some bills had to be paid just as the month began, and their savings dipped. There was still plenty to offer their daughter plenty of presents, though, and to have a festive meal.

They came home one day, however, to find that the kitchen refrigerator had stopped humming. Their first clue, I’m sorry to say, came when they opened the door and two things happened: (1) the light didn’t come on and (2) a really sour smell came out. All the food in the refrigerator had spoiled when it stopped working.

They called a repair person, but that worthy individual just shook his head and said, “That’s it for this one.” The family had to buy a new refrigerator just before Christmas.

That brought their savings down quite a lot, and replacing the spoiled food made a big dent in what was left. The parents knew there wouldn’t be many Christmas presents for their daughter that year, and a sadness crept into their holiday smiles.

On Christmas morning, however, their daughter showed no disappointment when fresh fruit rather than toys filled her stocking. She peeled her orange and promptly stuck one of its sections into her mouth whole. When she peeled back her lips in an impish grin, the fruit section smiled orange for her.

Beneath the tree, the small stack of boxes mostly contained clothes – she was growing, of course, and truly needed the new outfits. She showed now disappointment at the lack of toys, though. She glowed with pride that she was probably the only girl in her class who would have Spider-man pajamas.

As the last box passed from wrapped to unwrapped, the parents glanced at each other sadly at how little she had to play with from her Christmas morning. Their daughter, however, didn’t hesitate at all. She made a beeline for the kitchen, where the cardboard box for the refrigerator still stood beside its former contents.

“Can I play with this?” she asked.

Over the next few hours, it became a house, then a castle, then a cabin on a mountain, then a mountain itself, then a boat, then a treehouse, and finally something that she called a “creaturecrater” and refused to explain to her parents, solemnly informing them (with a giggle in her voice) that it was a secret.

For the next week, and all through the holiday break, she was the most popular child on the street, as all her friends filed through to play in the house, or on the mountain, or in the boat, or amidst the “creaturecrater.”

But this story isn’t about her, nor is it about her amazing big box. And it’s not about how she made a lot of fun for herself out of something ordinary, or about making the best of things. All those happened, but that’s not what this story is about.

This story is about the smiles on her parents’ faces as they held hands on the sofa and watched her play with the box. This story is about their fears that they could not give their daughter joy at Christmas – and how, instead, she gave theirs back to them.

I think we all can help those we love find joy at Christmas. Do you?

You do, too?

Then let’s do it.