A word of introduction

This pageant follows the story of Jesus’ birth as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew tells the story simply without a lot of detail. Angels feature prominently as messengers of God, so the narrators are two angels, one of whom is telling the story to the other. Matthew’s Gospel tells us about the arrival of the Magi, and Herod’s reaction to the news that a new king had been born. Herod felt threatened by the arrival of Jesus and tried to deal with this perceived threat by resorting to violence. In our pageant Herod is portrayed as a caricature. It is hoped that the use of humour will help portray the cruelty and paranoia of Herod without scaring young children.

This pageant has two themes running through it. The first is that God had a plan to send a new king, one who would save the people from their sins and change the world forever. This plan is woven throughout the Bible and culminates in the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus. The second theme is the good news that God is with us. The amazing truth we celebrate every Christmas is that God came to live among us.

Angel 2: (Humming a well-known Christmas carol)
Angel 1: Is that a Christmas carol you’re singing?
Angel 2: Yes it is. Christmas is a wonderful time of year.
Angel 1: You were there weren’t you? Yes you were! I heard Michael talking about it.
Angel 2: Let me guess. You want me to tell you what really happened.
Angel 1: Yes please.
Angel 2: Well to really understand what happened we have to go back to a time before Jesus was born.

God had an amazing plan…
Angel 1: What? If God had a plan it must be really good.
Angel 2: God was going to send Jesus into the world to be born as a baby.
Angel 1: (In amazement) Almighty God who created the heavens and the earth, born as a tiny baby?
Angel 2: Yes and…
Angel 1: Holy, holy, holy God became a (pause) a (pause) human?
Angel 2: Yes, if I could just…
Angel 1: God who holds the whole of creation together, became...
Angel 2: Excuse me, if I could continue.
Angel 1: Sorry. It’s just so amazing!
Angel 2: As I was saying (pauses and looks at smaller angel)…
Angel 1: (Apologetically) I’m listening.
Angel 2: Right. (slight pause) God had prepared the people for the coming of Jesus and had given the prophets a vision of a special king who would change the world.
Angel 1: Jesus was the new king?
Angel 2: Yes, listen!

(The following sentences should be read with very little space between each sentence, so that they sound like one message. You may wish to have the readers sitting in different parts of the congregation.)

Voice 1: A new king will arise from David’s descendants. He will rule with justice and integrity.
Voice 2: Tell everyone who is discouraged, “Be strong and don’t be afraid! God is coming to your rescue.”
Voice 3: We will walk in the paths God has chosen. Nations will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Voice 4: God will give you a sign: a young woman will become pregnant and will give birth to a son and will name him Emmanuel, which means “God with us.”
Angel 1: Wow! God was actually there with them! Awesome!
Angel 2: The time had come for God to send Jesus into the world. God sent Gabriel to a young woman named Mary. Gabriel had a message from God. Mary had been chosen to be mother of Jesus. But there was a problem. Mary was not married and to be pregnant before you were married was considered to be a terrible thing. Her fiancé Joseph was troubled by Mary’s story.