will she love him freely? Christmas, children's mass C 2018

That was a wonderful way of telling the story of the birth of Jesus.  Let us give ourselves once again a round of applause. Wonderful.

You know ever since I was a young boy like you I am always assigned as the narrator, they never made me act.  So I was always hidden behind the curtain and the audience will only hear my voice.  And my mother would never believe that I was indeed part of the show.  Anyway….

I also have a story for you.  Now you listen carefully because in the end I will ask questions which you need to answer.

Once upon a time in a faraway kingdom there was a great and powerful King who lived in a big and beautiful castle.  One day this king fell so madly in love but opps this was no ordinary love. It was somewhat a problematic love, for this powerful king fell in love with a maid, a beautiful servant girl, who lives in a little hut in a poor village.  The king was so in love with her but he does not know how to express his love for her. How can I say to her I love her, how can I make her love me in return?  What shall I do?  

And so he gathered his ministers one day and asked for their advice.  How can I say to the girl I love, that I love her? How can I win her love, how can I make her love me in return?

And there was a great discussion among the ministers of his realm,.  Then one of them stood up and said, Great king that is easy – show to her that you are a powerful king and she will fall in love with you.  Then another said, Wear your golden crown, O Great King, wear your bemedaled clothes, show her how wealthy your are, your money, your jewels, your gold.

Then another one stood up and said, Bring your retinue of bemedaled generals and courtiers, your fine horses and carriages and present yourself to her little hut in the village, and she will be impressed mightily and she will fall madly in love with you.

And these went on and on and on all day.

And so the king thought about the advises of his ministers.  He thought and thought until he could not sleep thinking. What shall I do?  I want to show how much I love her but I want her to love me of her own free will.  I do not want to coerce her into submission, I do not want to impress her with my power and wealth so that she will fall in love, no.  I want her to love me freely in return.

And he thought and thought and thought until one day he stumbled upon a wonderful idea.  

Aha the mighty king said, I will not go there with my grandeur and power. I will not go there as a king.  I know what I will do.  And so he prepared himself silently and secretly.

Then one night, when the servants in the palace were all asleep and the guards were a bit drowsy the mighty king slipped past the palace gates and went to the little hut of the girl she loved so much.  

He knocked, he called her name.  And lo and behold, someone opened the door and the beautiful girl of her dreams was standing there right in front of him holding a lamp.  The king knelt down and expressed her love true and pure for her.  Will she love him in return, will she respond to his invitation to love, will she love him freely?  

We do not know the answer for the king was not dressed as a king.  He did not bring his retinue, his horses and wealth – no, none of those.  For what the servant girl found at her door knocking begging for her love was a servant boy, a servant boy like her, trying to win her heart.  

Can she love him freely?  Not because he is a king, not because he has power, not because he has wealth, not because he can solve all her problems and her families’ problems.   No.  Can she love him freely?  Will she love him in return simply because he the king love her truly?

What do you think?  How will the girl answer the love of this king disguised as a servant, just like her? How do you think the story will end? Will she love him?  Aha something to think about.

Do you know the title of this story?  It is called The Christmas Story.

It’s the same story which you so beautifully dramatized – it’s the story of the king who fell in love with all of us.  The question is, can we love him in return?

Let’s pull the story further:  Let us ask - What if

What if the king comes to the person he so loved dressed as a beggar, in rags, filthy, dirty, he had not taken a bath, goodness?  Will she still love him?  Will she love him freely?  

What if the king is disguised as a sick person, weak, he is old, irritable, always angry, unable to care for himself, what if he smells – will she still love him, will she care for him, will she love him freely?

What if the king comes to the person he loves, disguised as a person she hates, disguised as a person she cannot forgive?  Will she still love him, will she forgive?

What if the king comes to the person he loves disguised as somebody whose skin is of a different color, a person with different eyes, different hair? What if he comes with a sombrero, or with a turban, with brown skin, will she still love him?

Today the fact is, the king is disguised as a helpless child, born in a stable – some people like the shepherds and the 3 kings, recognized him despite his appearance and they came to love him.  

Others ignored him not even welcoming him in their homes or giving him at the very least a temporary shelter.  

Still others like Herod would ran after him and his mother and father, persecuting him, wanting to kill him.  

The question is, what about us – will we love this king disguised as a little boy in the stable, will we love this king freely in his many and different disguises?

Will you love him, raise your hands.  

I love him too, and I love you all, merry christmas.