Thank you, Herdmans.
One of the many great things about teaching third grade is
the opportunity to reread long ago favorites. Last week I finished reading The
Best Christmas Pageant Ever to the students.
SPOILER ALERT: If you
have never read the book or it’s been too many years and you’ve forgotten….beware.
I’m referencing the end of the story. So read with caution.
The third graders are hooked on the story by the first
paragraph…the one that reveals to the reader that some of the characters, the
Herdmans, are considered “the worst kids in the world.” Elementary school aged, the Herdmans are
feared by all their peers. Known for
lying, stealing, and occasionally blackmailing their classmates, the Herdmans
land the lead roles in the Christmas pageant one year, coercing the usual stars
to stay out of their way.
What’s expected to be the worst Christmas pageant ever turns
into the best.
All because the Herdmans had never heard the Christmas story
before.
During rehearsals, as they encounter the story of the
Messiah’s birth, the Herdmans have no hesitation in sharing their bewilderment
at what they hear.
They ask questions such as:
·
Who were the shepherds? And where did they come
from?
·
No room in the inn…”not even for Jesus?”
·
If Mary knew she was carrying God’s child, why
didn’t she just tell
everyone?
·
Why would Herod, a king, want to kill a baby?
The Herdmans were quite riled up at the injustice they heard
in the nativity story. They simply could not understand a pregnant woman being
turned away to a stable. That chapter
ends with the line, “And they (Herdmans) left the first rehearsal arguing about whether
Joseph should have set fire to the inn, or just chased the innkeeper into the
next county.”
When was the last time I paused and really thought about the
Christmas story? Asked my own questions. Wondered in my heart about God’s son
being swaddled and tucked away in a feeding trough.
Perhaps one of my favorite lines is how the narrator of the
story captures this very essence near the end of the story…
“For years, I’d thought about the wonder of Christmas, and
the mystery of Jesus’ birth, and never really understood it.”
Thanks to the Herdman ears that heard the story for the first time,
the mystery and wonder and awe of Christmas was made real once more when they
began to ask questions.
Hearing the story year after year, the cast of the three
wise men, shepherds, Mary & Joseph and baby Jesus can become all too
familiar. But if I would just stop and listen
to the story through the Herdmans’ ears.
With wonder and amazement.
Thank you, Herdmans.
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