Gospel Talk with Children: The Stories of Advent and Christmas
A treasury of short musical pieces for home, church and school includes Christmas prayers, bedtime prayers, prayers of petition, prayers of thanksgiving and praise, and many more. Peg BowmanWhen thinking about how we will share the Advent and Christmas Gospels with children, we need to be aware of two non-religious forms of Christmas that compete with the Gospel story. For the sake of discussion, we can call them the Christmas of the marketplace and the Christmas of the public forum (schools, libraries, park districts, courthouses). The Competing Christmas Stories Bombarded by images from both of these non-religious Christmases, all of our children are affected, whether students in public, parochial, private or home schools. Make no mistake about it and don’t underestimate the power of our American culture. Children come to church with little or no idea how to sort out all of these confusing and conflicting images. What is a preacher or teacher to do? What “Gospel talk” can speak loud enough to be heard above the noise of Christmas in the marketplace and public forum? Trust the Power of the Gospels Here are two humble suggestions: speak quietly and decorate simply. Tell the Gospel story exactly as it is given to us each week of our very holy Advent/Christmas season. Don’t try to compete with those other versions of Christmas; don’t even mention them. Gather the children and tell each story carefully and joyfully, with proper wonder and awe. Don’t take any shortcuts because you think everyone in your audience already knows something about these stories. Everyone does not know. The more the story is told in popular songs, painted on soft pastel cards and whisked around in the cultural soup, the more the basic elements may be eroded or even lost. The “holiday” culture includes the Gospel story, sort of. A talking cartoon donkey might give a sentimental version of the journey to Bethlehem. There will be Magi following a star on many a billboard selling bourbon or jewelry. The lyrics to “Silent Night” are crooned annually by scores of recorded singers in shops and malls. Let the Stories of the Season Unfold Gradually The Church must tell the story, preserve the story, slow down and help everyone savor and know the truth in the story that speaks to our souls when we can be quiet enough to hear it. The story unfolds over the weeks of Advent and Christmas. It truly does take all eight weeks to tell it. When we tell it well, our children will come to us eagerly to hear it. Anyone who has had the privilege of sharing the message of Advent and Christmas with children who have never heard it before, knows how compelling the early warnings of Advent Gospels; the preparation of John the Baptist, Mary and Joseph; and the journey to Bethlehem are for these youngsters. They listen with wide-eyed wonder and enter into each Gospel with curiosity and anticipation. As for children who have heard the story before, just watch them as you proclaim each Gospel to them week by week. They turn to these stories as dear, familiar friends. With your help they can find their own place in each story. For some, the central story of the birth of Christ might be an annual recitation done at home along with Clement Moore’s poem “The Night before Christmas.” How wonderful to know the rest of the story, beginning with John the Baptist and the prophets who spoke before him, and ending with him, too, there on the banks of the Jordan River! Margaret Bowman is the director of liturgy at Sacred Heart Parish in Marengo, Illinois, and is a frequent contributor to Catholic periodicals on catechesis and parish liturgical life. |
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