Chapter Seventy-Seven
"The Christmas Pageant"
It was the Sunday before Christmas and the Pastor had a Beautiful Christmas Morning Service, based on Luke 2:1-20, and supplemented by Matthew 2:1-11, that held the rapt attention of the entire congregation.
But in all fairness, that was in large part due to Rosemary's Pageant Ensemble.
She had graciously agreed to lead the Children in a corresponding Pageant that went along with the Pastor's Scripture, and she had worked diligently to see that everything went flawlessly.
But there were Children involved, lots of them, and there were always surprises along the way, no matter how many times you had drilled into them that they had to follow your directions explicitly.
Also, Rosemary had gone the extra mile this year, and had insisted on bringing animals into the Sanctuary as part of the Nativity Scene, "a Living, Breathing Nativity," she had called it. Just like the ones she had seen in New York City!
But most of the animals, who of course had never attended Church before…well, let's just say they had a little difficulty following Rosemary's cues!
The Result was a controlled Christmas Pandemonium that left the parents writhing in their chairs, trying desperately to not let their Children see them laugh on this most auspicious occasion.
And so, the Pastor began his narration of the Scripture, from the Book of Luke, Chapter 2, Verses 1-7, trying his best to raise his voice above the commotion that was swirling around him…
2And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)
3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.
4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)
5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.
6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.
7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (24*)
It started with the Donkey that Mary (Allie) was riding into the Sanctuary, led by Joseph (Robert). But for some strange reason, the Donkey got through the Church Doors, and wouldn't budge.
Joseph, a rather large young man, was pulling the Donkey with all his might, but each time he jerked the Donkey, Mary went bouncing straight up off its back!
And poor Mary was trying so hard to look solemn, doing her best to suppress the shocked look on her face, each time she was thrown up in the air!
Rosemary was practically hissing, as she had repeated their cue at least three times, and was starting on a fourth, "So, Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem!" (24*)
Finally, Lee, who knew Rosemary was not going to give up, went to the back and wedged himself against the rear of the Donkey, pushing him with all his might.
And although by this time Mary and Joseph looked a bit disheveled, they made it up the aisle and Joseph tightened the reins of the Donkey, and practically yanked him to the spot where Baby Jesus was going to be born, with poor Mary hanging on for dear life!
Then Joseph helped Mary dismount.
Well, sort of.
It perhaps was not the most ladylike dismount ever seen, but in Mary's defense, she did have quite the flowing Costume Rosemary had insisted upon and by this time her Husband, Joseph, was having to pay more attention to the Donkey than he was to his pregnant Wife.
Poor Mary was pretty much dismounting on her own while having to hold on to both her flowing veil and robe at the same time!
And the Pastor continued reading Luke 2:8…
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. (25*)
Now, it wasn't quite time for the Little Shepherds to make their entrance, but the lambs outside the Sanctuary, in the field, so to speak, decided to all at once raise their voices in a bleating chorus of praise, right on cue, as if Rosemary had directed them herself!
Next, the Pastor introduced the Angels, reading Luke 2:9-14…
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (26*)
While the bleating sheep were still raising a chorus of their own, the Angels led by Opal, then Laila and Emily arrived, suddenly appearing to float into the Sanctuary.
At this point, the Congregation needed the calming presence of a few real live Angels and while they did look resplendent in their Costumes, their dramatic Wings were just a little too big and tended to graze anyone and everyone sitting next to the aisle on both sides!
Of course, the wings had been covered completely in layer upon layer of feathers, and every time the wings grazed against a member of the Congregation, feathers flew everywhere!
Poor Mrs. Henson, who was deathly allergic to feathers, had to make a mad dash for the exit, and through the Double Doored Entrance to the Sanctuary out into the plethora of little Stars just waiting to make their big debut along with all their living counterparts. She almost started to turn and go back into the Sanctuary, trying to weigh her options…
When the darling little Angels finally made their way to the front, wings still attached, minus quite a few feathers, they had to step up on Wooden Boxes Rosemary had strategically placed, which made it look like the Angels were truly hovering over the Nativity Scene.
It was a very effective strategy, but once again it was Lee to the rescue as he rushed to help position each Angel on her mini Platform.
Of course, he was particularly worried about Laila with her visual problems, but she had insisted she could do it! So, he stooped behind her, and stayed there, ready to catch her if she lost her balance! And as she was the Main Angel in the Center, it was easier for Lee to hide behind her and the rest of the Nativity scene.
Although, on second look, with the Angel's standing up front, their beautiful little Halos did seem to all be a little askew, only adding to their Charm, or so everyone thought!
But of course, Rosemary was appalled, frantically motioning to them to straighten their halos, but they thought she meant their wings, and they kept moving them instead! It almost looked like the three beautiful Angels were ready to take flight up and out of the Church, showering feathers all over the Nativity!
Next, the Pastor pulled the focus back to the Shepherds, Luke 2:15-20…
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.
18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.
20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (27*)
The Shepherds came next, and yes, you guessed it, Rosemary had insisted each of them have a live lamb, so there were a lot of bleating sounds still coming from just outside the Sanctuary.
But the little Shepherds were troupers and they marched down the center aisle each dragging and pulling a Lamb, who wanted to be anywhere else other than where they were.
Little Tyrone was the Lead Shepherd and he got so upset with his Lamb bleating so loudly, he just stopped in the middle of the aisle, took his leash, and tied it around the Lambs mouth, and then very proudly and victoriously yanked his little Lamb down the aisle!
The Congregation was in fits!
And the Reverend's mouth was agape by this time…but, Tyrone's Parents were just relieved it hadn't been any worse than it was, because by now, they were used to expecting the unexpected from their Son, and quite frankly they had been holding their breath and praying at the same time!
So, all in all, they were quite relieved! After all, the lamb was still alive. Which was a miracle in itself!
The other Little Shepherds were not quite so ingenious as Tyrone, so their little Lambs just kept bleating away, as they meandered down the aisle. Though bleating loudly in various tones and pitches, much like a junior choir, they followed on behind their Masters and took their positions on both sides of the Manger.
But when they were all up front, it seemed their little bleats were trying to say in the most pitiful of ways, "We want our Mama! We want our Mama!"
It was blatantly obvious the poor little things wanted to be anywhere, other than in a co-starring role for Rosemary's Christmas Pageant!
Frederic was the last of the Shepherds who was helping herd the little Lambs, except for Little Jack, who walked hand-in-hand with Frederic, as the cutest little Junior Shepherd ever!
He smiled and waved to everyone, completely unconcerned with the actions of the little Lambs around him. Instead, he called out and waved to his Mama and Dat. It was as though he knew this was his big moment!
And he was going to make it shine!
When he got to Mary and Joseph, he ran to Mary…"Awee" and tried to climb up in her lap. Mary was very gracious and let him stay there until she had to hold Baby Jesus, and then Little Jack decided to just stand by his Awee and help her with the Baby Jesus! It was pretty much adorable, and he practically stole the Show, er Pageant!
The Pastor then introduced the Wise Men by reading Matthew 2:1-11…
2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. (28*)
Next, of course, were the Three Wise Men, and no, Hope Valley didn't have any Camels, but that had not stopped Rosemary. She had very diligently worked to make three authentic camel costumes for three of the cutest little ponies in Town.
The Problem was their Camel Heads kept turning on their long necks, and their Humps kept sliding to the side.
The three Wise Men had quite the Task keeping their own voluminous Costumes on to say nothing of their massive Crowns, and those awful Humps sliding everywhere!
But they finally made it to their positions up front with their 'Camels' firmly in place.
Their Camels had indeed lost several humps along the way, but miraculously they all had their Camel heads still intact. They just had to be repositioned to face the front, and that just took a minor little twist of their long necks by each of the three Wise Men once they were in their positions beside the Baby Jesus.
And then there was the Baby Jesus that was magically brought to Mary after the Birth, by Lee of course, and yes, Rosemary had insisted on a real, live Baby. And the poor little thing started squawling as soon as Lee picked him up. Lee placed him in Mary's lap and quickly returned to his post behind the Angels.
Mary did her best to soothe the Baby Jesus, and every Mother in the Church could identify. She finally did get Him to stop crying, but every time she tried to lay Him in the manger, he screamed a horrendous cry!
So, she kept Baby Jesus on her lap, rocking Him back and forth, looking at her Husband, Joseph for support, who was giving none whatsoever! He was still very much occupied keeping the Donkey from bucking!
And All the while, Little Jack was doing his best to entertain Baby Jesus! At one point he started singing bits and pieces of the "All the Pretty Little Horses" Lullaby Nathan had taught him, and who would have believed, it worked!
Baby Jesus fell silent and watched Little Jack as he moved back and forth to the Lullaby's melody in his head and occasionally sang out a type of horse! Then he would sing out confidently, "backs and bays, apples and graze" (which was really 'Blacks and bays, dapples and greys'). (29*)
But to Baby Jesus, it was all the same, and sure enough, Baby Jesus was completely enchanted by Little Jack and his Lullabye!
All in all, it was quite a successful, extravagant Pageant, and there certainly wasn't a single dry eye left in the House!
This was one to be remembered!
The Pastor then led the Congregation in singing "The Lord Bless You and Keep You…"
The Lord bless you and keep you;
The Lord lift His countenance upon you,
And give you peace, and give you peace;
The Lord make His face to shine upon you;
and be gracious, and be gracious,
The Lord be gracious, gracious unto you.
Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen. (30*)
Then the Pastor tried to Pray a Prayer of Benediction to end the Service, but he took a deep breath, and all he could manage to say was, "God Go with Us on this Sunday before Christmas…and May We Return to His House!"
Which the poor Pastor was sure would never be quite the same ever again!
Nathan and Allie had gone to their house to change out of the Church clothes into something more comfortable for the rest of their day at Elizabeth's. In Allie's case, it was getting out of her voluminous Mary Costume. Nathan had to help, but they finally figured it out together!
"But Dad, Auntie Effie said I could if you'd just approve."
"Auntie Effie, who's Auntie Effie?"
"Miss Felicity, she said her Dad and Mom and Brothers always called her Effie and that Auntie Effie would be a whole lot easier for Jack and me to say!"
"And she's okay with being an Auntie to you and Jack?"
"Oh, yes, when I asked her, she…"
"Allie, you can't just go asking everyone you see if they want to be your Auntie. That might make some people feel uncomfortable like they have to say yes when maybe it's not convenient for them to do so!"
"But Dad, I asked her if she really, really wanted to be, but only after she brought it up! I called her Miss Felicity, and she said that was too stuffy, that it was Auntie Felicity, and better than that, it really should be Auntie Effie and Uncle Aaron instead of Mr. Aaron!"
"Well, in that case, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure it was her idea, too."
"I understand, Dad. I promise I won't ask anyone else. I have three Aunties now, Auntie Rosie, Auntie AJ, and Auntie Effie, so I think that's quite enough! But I have four Uncles, Uncle Lee, Uncle Bill, Uncle Aaron, and Uncle Gabe. And that makes me short one Auntie. So, I guess I do need one more. Do you think Uncle Gabe will ever get married, so I can have an even number of Aunties?"
"Allie, I don't think Gabe is going to choose a wife based on your need for an extra Auntie…"
"I don't know Dad, it would be really good for him, too! I think I'll talk to him about it! I'm sure we could find somebody together that would work! Just look how happy you are with Mrs. Thornton in your life!"
"Yes, but everyone's different! Who am I to stand in the way of love? Good luck, with your Uncle Gabe, Allie! Although, I think he may already have someone in mind," as Nathan had to stifle a smile envisioning Gabe's garbled reaction to his favorite niece's latest request of marriage.
If anyone could do it, Allie could!
"I'll call and see if he got her a Christmas present! That would be a really good start!" suggested Allie.
"Who knows, the extra push may just be what your Uncle Gabe needs!"
Nathan had seen stranger things happen!
Elizabeth heard them on the front porch and opened the door.
"This sounds like an awfully serious discussion you two are having!"
"Hi, Mrs. Thornton, no, I'm just going to call Uncle Gabe and see if he got his Lady Friend a Christmas present!"
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Allie! I'll help you!" offered Elizabeth, enthusiastically.
"That would be great! Is Jack up from his nap yet?"
"Why don't you go check?"
"Come here, Mrs. Thornton! You and Rosemary have created a little Matchmaking Monster who thinks she needs a fourth Auntie. And I secretly can't wait to unleash her on Gabe!" chuckled Nathan. "But right now, this is much, much, much, more important!"
And Nathan took Elizabeth in his arms and began kissing her the way he had wanted to since his injury and hadn't been able to do so until now.
He held her face, caressing it while he kissed her with all the harbored up passion of the last week, bringing her to his chest and holding her as tightly as he could, while his lips wandered helplessly around her lips, both finding solace there.
"Why, Constable Grant, I do believe you've missed me!" she said breathlessly.
But he didn't stop, except only long enough to say in a low voice, 'You better have missed this, too!"
"I did, I do," she muttered between kisses. "I missed you more…"
They were both dizzy with their love, and neither could stand alone, so they moved to the big Easy Chair and sat there together, continuing their many kisses they were gifting to each other.
But finally, they heard steps on the stairs and pulled away to see Allie and Little Jack starting down to them.
With all the strength they had, they pulled further apart and straightened themselves as best they could.
Their eyes met and they both said the same thing to each other, that they could not possibly have lived another hour without those kisses.
It had been a hard week on both, and both needed the other as they never had before.
Such a simple little thing, a kiss.
But not being able to do that simple little thing with the one you loved had caused them all sorts of angst and they were truly exhilarated to at long last have their lips meet back together where they belonged!
Allie hadn't wanted to discuss the Pageant after she had just gotten home, so Nathan thought he'd try again!
"Well, I must say, you two were the Stars of the entire Pageant! The most beautiful Mary I've ever seen and the most handsome Shepherd too! You both did a fantastic job – I've never been so proud!"
"Me, too!" beamed Elizabeth.
"Dad, Robert kept yanking the Donkey, and did you see me go up in the air?"
"Yes, Allie, I was worried there for a while. I was sure hoping you were hanging on tightly! But you seemed to manage it all quite nicely."
"It was so embarrassing, Mrs. Thornton. I didn't know what to do! I couldn't just tell Robert to quit because Mary wouldn't have done that and Auntie Rosie said for us to stay in Character. So, I did! But I'm going to let him have it when I see him!"
"Well, I think you did a magnificent job staying in Character, even when this little one decided to help his Allie! You did great! And I don't even know if I could have gotten the Baby Jesus quietened, but you did! I was amazed!" complimented Elizabeth earnestly.
"You all really think I did okay?"
"You did great!" they both answered in unison.
"And this Big Guy did great too, why you even sang Baby Jesus a Lullaby! And he loved it!" bragged Nathan.
"Made Jesus go sleep!"
"Yes, you did Son, and your Mama and I were very proud!"
"Kisses?"
"Kisses for everybody!" and Nathan grabbed Little Jack up to his lap and smothered him with kisses, who was giggling non-stop!
"Allie Bean, your turn, come here!" and she came and sat on her Dad's other knee, where he gave her a kiss on the top of her head, forehead, and both cheeks.
"Really so proud of you both! But, does Mama get kisses?" asked Elizabeth.
Allie jumped up and kissed her and Little Jack followed.
Then Nathan got up and gave Elizabeth a kiss that left both Children with the giggles!
"This is the happiest Sunday ever!" proclaimed Allie with a broad smile.
"Why do you say that, Sweetheart?" asked Elizabeth.
"It's almost Christmas and we're all together! It just makes me really happy inside!"
"Appy!" piped in Little Jack.
"Well so are we," and Elizabeth smiled at Nathan with a smile that could not be mistaken as anything but total adoration.
"Would you all like to have our Advent Story before we eat?" asked Nathan. "it's a short one today!"
"Yes!" "Es"
So, the Children quickly took their places, sitting on the floor across from Elizabeth and Nathan.
The Advent Wreath was already on the low table between them.
"What was our very first Candle for?"
"Hope," answered Allie without hesitation.
"The second Candle?"
"Prophecy!" "Poff a cee" mimicked Little Jack, watching Allie's mouth.
"And both of you know the third Candle which was last week's…"
Allie whispered to Little Jack, who in turn shouted, "Doy!"
'That's right, Jack! Joy, just like the Christmas Joy we felt when we visited Mr. Epping!"
"Do you know the color of the candle?"
"Pink" "ink"
"That's right, the Pink Candle stands for Joy, but today our fourth Candle is purple and it is the Angel's Candle and reminds us of the Angels' message: Peace on Earth, Good Will toward Men! And that means God has enough Love for everybody in the whole wide world!" (31*)
"Since my Mother's an Angel and Jack's Father's an Angel, does that mean they look down and watch over us?"
"Always, Love," answered Elizabeth. "Always!"
And she got up and gave both Allie and her Son huge hugs and kisses.
"Shall we light our last Purple Candle?"
Nathan handed the candle to Little Jack as he had done the previous three weeks, and Jack passed it to Allie, who brought the wick into her Dad's lit candle and started the flame on the new candle. She then carefully handed it to Elizabeth, who placed the lit candle in the Advent Wreath.
"And that leaves us just one more Candle, a White Candle that we'll light on Christmas Eve and place right in the center of the Wreath. And then it will be Christmas the next day!"
"What will the White Candle be called?" asked Allie.
"It's the Christ Candle, and it represents Purity. Would you like to finish it up on Christmas Eve for us?"
"Yes!"
"Then, the story will be all yours and Jack's on Christmas Eve! Which is fantastic, because that means you've learned everything about Advent! We're proud of you two!"
"Are you ready to open our Advent House for today?"
Well with their resounding excitement, there was no doubt, so Elizabeth moved the wreath, while Nathan got the House.
"Okay, whose turn?" asked Elizabeth.
"It's Jack's!" answered Allie.
So, she showed Little Jack which drawer to open, and lifted the latch for him…
When he peeked in, he got a big smile on his face and reached his little hand in to pull out a set of miniature blocks, and he was in Toy Heaven, running off to find his big blocks and put the two sets together!
Allie reached in for hers, which were wrapped in a little package.
"A silver charm… it's a Crown, for my Queen Victoria Book Report! I love it!"
"Look for the second one…" nudged Nathan.
"It's the book I did my report on!"
"There's one more to connect with the Crown, Allie…" reminded her Dad.
She looked back in the package and grinned ear to ear, "It's a silver Bean! I love it, Dad! It's our secret!"
"Yes, it is and it goes with your Crown, Allie Bean! I'll put them on together for you!"
She ran to kiss her Dad, "Thank you, I really do love them!"
"Hurry, you're next, Mrs. Thornton!" urged Allie.
Elizabeth had a package as well, which she excitedly opened.
Inside, there were three gold charms.
One was a Gold Crown with the Mountie Ball and date engraved on it. The second was a Gold Charm of the 'Le Havre' Hotel with the dates that they had stayed there engraved on the back. The third was a replica of their cabin with the date of their first official date engraved on the back.
Elizabeth started crying.
Nathan came and wrapped his arms around her, "Don't cry, Love."
"Happy tears. Our best memories. Perfect!" and he just held her while she continued to cry, holding on to him, so deliriously happy to have him in her life!
And more in love with him than she ever dreamed possible…
(24*) King James Bible, Luke 2:1-7, Public Domain
(25*) King James Bible, Luke 2:8, Public Domain
(26*) King James Bible, Luke 2:9-14, Public Domain
(27*) King James Bible, Luke 2:15-20, Public Domain
(28*) King James Bible, Matthew 2:1-11, Public Domain
(29*) Author Unknown, "All the Pretty Little Horses," 1918, Public Domain
(30*) Hymnal for Worship & Celebration, The Lord Bless You and Keep You, Page 607, Authored by Numbers 6:24-26 and Peter C. Lutkin, Public Domain
(31*) King James Bible, Luke 2:14, Public Domain