December 2014 Staff Meeting
(Be sure to use strong readers, especially for poem.)
Leader:
Throughout Advent and Christmas, we seem to be especially drawn into the lives of children and their excitement. Especially working in education, we witness this joyful innocence every day, but often it seems to take the form of entertainment for us—we see it, we might laugh or cry, we might share it with a few people, but then it is forgotten as another kid story. What if we were to consider all these entertaining moments as opportunities for self-reflection, perhaps with some faith lessons for each one of us?
Reader:
Jesus said “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike.” Jesus also said to his disciples: “Let the children come to me. Don't stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.”
Reader:
I share with you a short poem from the storyteller John Shea:
was revelation.
She said
“they were so poor they had only peanut butter and jelly
sandwiches to eat
and they went a long way from home
without getting lost.
The lady rode a donkey,
the man walked,
and the baby was inside the lady.
They had to stay in a stable
with an ox and an ass (hee-hee)
but the Three Rich Men found them
because a star lighted the roof.
Shepherds came and you could
pet the sheep but not feed them.
Then the baby was borned.
And do you know who he was?”
Her quarter eyes inflated
to silver dollars,
“The baby was God!”
And she jumped in the air
whirled around,
dove into the sofa
and buried her head under the cushion
which is the only proper response
to the Good News of the Incarnation.
Leader:
So I ask…when was the last time we got this excited about the Good News?
O Father, no matter how intelligent we think we are, or how much wisdom and experience we possess, you remind us that it is the quality of being childlike that allows us to know you most fully. A child enters the world with the capacity to experience you with unfiltered trust, curiosity, simplicity and wonder.
Lord, show us ourselves: have we grown out of these qualities? Have we each become too much of an adult? Help us to take the time to reconnect with childlike wonder during this very precious season.
We come to you in the name of your Son, your child, Jesus.
Amen.
Sources:
Scripture: Matthew 11:25 New Living Translation; Luke 18:16, New Living Translation
Poem: John Shea, The Hour of the Unexpected, Allan, Texas, Argus Communications, 1977