Holy Trinity Lutheran Church - Ankeny, IA

  • Home
    • Church Calendar
    • Mission Partners
    • Council
    • Staff
    • Governing Documents
    • Building Use
    • Employment
    • Mobile App
    • Realm Tips
  • Worship
    • Worship
    • Welcome Card
    • Devotions
    • Music Ministries >
      • Adult Choir Schedule & Resources
    • Baptism
    • Weddings
    • Prayer Requests
    • Flowers
    • Serve
  • Learn
    • Children's Ministry
    • Middle School Ministry
    • High School Ministry
    • Adult Learning
    • Grace Notes
  • GIVE
    • Give
    • Capital Campaign
    • Memorials
  • Participate
    • Sign Up
    • Small Groups
    • Calendar
    • Email News
  • WELCOME
    • Welcome
    • I want to Join
    • Our Mission
    • How We Worship
    • What to Expect
    • Contact Us
  • Food Pantry
  • Home
    • Church Calendar
    • Mission Partners
    • Council
    • Staff
    • Governing Documents
    • Building Use
    • Employment
    • Mobile App
    • Realm Tips
  • Worship
    • Worship
    • Welcome Card
    • Devotions
    • Music Ministries >
      • Adult Choir Schedule & Resources
    • Baptism
    • Weddings
    • Prayer Requests
    • Flowers
    • Serve
  • Learn
    • Children's Ministry
    • Middle School Ministry
    • High School Ministry
    • Adult Learning
    • Grace Notes
  • GIVE
    • Give
    • Capital Campaign
    • Memorials
  • Participate
    • Sign Up
    • Small Groups
    • Calendar
    • Email News
  • WELCOME
    • Welcome
    • I want to Join
    • Our Mission
    • How We Worship
    • What to Expect
    • Contact Us
  • Food Pantry

Our Roles in the christmas Play

12/23/2020

0 Comments

 
​There’s a tradition at Christmastime that seems as though it’s been around forever, and it actually does go back centuries (I don’t know how many). It’s the tradition of telling the story of Christmas through actors. It’s called the Christmas play! This year, that tradition won’t be as wide-spread as normal. If it does happen, it will not be in a normal sense. Regardless of the changes happening this year, a Christmas play is a tradition that nearly all Christians have come to know. 
In pre-Shakespearean England, an occasional “mystery play” made up of people and wagons would travel from town to town. The topic of these plays would normally be the passion of Christ, the resurrection, and the judgement day for the world. Other stories would also be told including the story of Christmas. Today, of course, the Christmas play is normally populated with children as actors (whether they want to be part of the Christmas play or not). 

I recall the old plays of my youth. If you were a pre-confirmation child and regularly attended Sunday School, you were given a part in the Christmas play. It wasn’t always the same play year after year, but there were almost always some standard groups of characters that needed to be filled. This was typically done by age. First and second graders would normally be either a chorus of angels and/or a flock of sheep. Third graders might be barnyard animals; these were the least desired part in the play. Fourth graders were shepherds or townsfolk (to keep the younger actors in line). The parts assigned to fifth graders and sixth graders were where things got fun. Children of this age were the wisemen, narrators, Joseph and Mary. I recall not wanting to be a sheep or another animal; I wanted an important part in the story.

In the Christmas play, everyone is handed a role, but it’s not always a great one. Some years you have to be just one of the nameless sheep or angels. However, some years you get to play something important, something with lines and an actual character name! It’s a different situation in life. Our roles here are given through Jesus Christ.

The role that we as Christians have been given is that of the servant. The role that we have been given is that of helper for the poor, the hurting, and the weak. The role that we have been given is to be compassionate for the people who are on the margins of society. This might not seem like a great role, but if you follow Jesus’s example, that’s the same role that he played. With Christ as the absolute, unquestioned star of the play of life, our role becomes something important. 

Being a follower of Christ is an important role, even if we are actually only one of the flock of sheep. However, like a loving parent watching their little “sheep” in the play, God still greatly loves us. Even as a sheep in the flock, we are still known by name to our creator. By following the example of Jesus as a servant and friend to those in need, or in other words, by copying the role of Christ, we show God’s love in the world. As a child, we cannot always have the starring role in the Christmas play. With Christ in the starring role of life, we become an important character in the world. 

Peace,
​Vicar Matt Milbrodt
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    ​Categories

    All
    Learning
    Outreach
    Spiritual Transformation
    Stewardship
    Worship

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019

    RSS Feed

Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
A congregation of the Southeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
517 SW Des Moines St.
Ankeny, IA 50023
Phone: 515-964-4348
Office hours: M-Th 9:00 am-3:00 pm

Worship Schedule:
Sundays at 8:30 and 10:00 am
Livestream on Sundays at 10:00 am on YouTube

Picture
Picture
Privacy Terms

Subscribe to News
Realm
download our app
Calendar