Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, ‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.”
— Luke 1:39-44
What it’s Like to Hear About Jesus for the First Time
In the video above, Robert Bortins, CEO of Classical Conversations, reads the following passage from from the book The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.
“Usually, by the time we got to ‘Silent Night,’ which was always the last carol, I was fed up with the whole thing and couldn’t wait for it to be over. But I didn’t feel that way this time. I almost wished for the pageant to go on, with the Herdmans in charge, to see what else they would do that was different.
Maybe the Wise Men would tell Mary about their problem with Herod, and she would tell them to go back and lie their heads off. Or Joseph might go with them and get rid of Herod once and for all. Or Joseph and Mary might ask the Wise Men to take the Christ Child with them, figuring that no one would think to look there.
I was so busy planning new ways to save the baby Jesus that I missed the beginning of ‘Silent Night,’ but it was all right because everyone sang ‘Silent Night,’ including the audience. We sang all the verses too, and when we got to ‘Son of God, Love’s pure light’ I happened to look at Imogene and I almost dropped my hymn book on a baby angel.
Everyone had been waiting all this time for the Herdmans to do something absolutely unexpected. And sure enough, that was what happened.
Imogene Herdman was crying.
In the candlelight her face was all shiny with tears and she didn’t even bother to wipe them away. She just sat there—awful old Imogene—in her crookedy veil, crying and crying and crying.
Well. It was the best Christmas pageant we ever had.”
Merry Christmas from Classical Conversations!
Can you remember what it was like to hear about or accept Jesus into your heart for the first time? Carry this memory throughout the holidays as you remember the true reason for the season—the birth of our Savior Christ Jesus. We at Classical Conversations wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas!
