“The ABC’s of Christmas”

by Erin Klassen, The Young Clergy Women Project

A is for an angel, Gabriel, who began the story with a greeting:
B is for Bethlehem, where our story takes place. People traveled from far and wide to arrive in the city; it was a very busy place.
C is for a census (that’s a counting of all the people) the reason so many people filled the city of Bethlehem.
D is for the donkey that carried a family on their long journey to Bethlehem to be counted.
E is for exhausted, that’s how everyone felt when they arrived – tired from all the travelling.
F is for family: Mary and Joseph and their new baby Jesus, who was born that night in Bethlehem.
G is for the Good News about to be shared with all the earth. This is what was said:
H is for herds, all the animals that were present in the stable, and the flocks of sheep in the field with the shepherds when they heard the good news.
I is for our imaginations, stirred by this story!
J is for joy the excitement and happiness that a new baby, and now, this special night brings.
K is for kindness, shown by the innkeeper that night, allowing a tired family to stay in the stable when there was no room in the inn.
L is for the love we share with one another all through the year and especially at Christmas.
M is for the manger, it is usually used to hold food for animals, but this time it held the baby because he had no crib.
N is for Noel, another word for Christmas. It means new birth, that’s what happened in our story, and it happens every year.
O is for offering, there were many gifts for the baby; we even have some to share now!
P is for prayer and praise and pondering, all different ways people reacted the amazing thing that happened. We pray and praise and ponder together:
Q is for quiet, the deep peace that Christmas brings – knowing that God is with us.
R is for revelation, God showing us who God is (in a little baby born one night)
S is for one special star that shone bright in the night showing wise ones the way to Jesus.
T is for trust, the confidence we have in God.
U is for unity, all different people brought together tonight to celebrate God’s love!
V is for vulnerable, a little child needs to be cared for, protected–that’s our job.
W is for wonder– our amazement at the beauty of how much God loves us.
X is for Xmas, the x is actually the symbol for Christ – it is the first letter of the Greek word.
Y is for You! here to celebrate and worship.
Z is for zeal, the passion with which we share the Good News and God’s love, tonight.