Countdown to Christmas!

The Feast of the Annunciation is on 25 March

by Brian Radcliffe

Suitable for Whole School (Sec)

Aims

To explore our understanding of the human and divine aspects of Jesus’ birth.

Preparation and materials

• You will need a reader for the Annunciation story, which is found in Luke 1.26-35, available at: https://tinyurl.com/yvt6rdtx

Assembly

Leader: I have some very good news for you. (Pause.) The countdown to Christmas begins today! (Pause.)

Why are you looking at me so strangely? It makes absolute sense. Just think about it: how long does it take a baby to get from conception to birth? Nine months, of course.

So, count off the months with me: today is 25 March. One month away is 25 April, then May, June, July, August, September, October and November, with 25 December taking us to nine months. So, a baby who is conceived on 25 March is likely to be born on Christmas Day, or thereabouts.

In the Christian calendar, 25 March is known as the Feast of the Annunciation. It marks the day on which Jesus began his journey to becoming a human being. You see, just like all of us, Jesus needed a mother (in this case, a Jewish girl called Mary) and a father (in this case, God, or, as the Bible puts it, ‘the Holy Spirit’).

Let’s listen to the story as it’s written in the Bible.

Reader: (Reads Luke 1.26-35.)

Leader: How would you feel if an angel suddenly appeared and said ‘Good morning’ to you? Like most teenagers, Mary was frightened at first, and then confused. Her confusion grew when the angel announced that she was going to have a baby. She knew that this wasn’t possible because she’d never had sex. But the angel announced that nothing was impossible with God!

Time for reflection

Leader: At Christmas, we celebrate a baby being born, which is a lovely occasion. However, Jesus’ birth in a stable hides a crucial truth for Christians that is more clearly outlined at the Annunciation. Christians believe that Jesus was fully human because he had a human mother, but he was also fully divine because God was his father.

Why do Christians believe that this matters? Here’s why.

Christians believe that because Jesus was conceived, carried and born by a woman, making him truly human, he can empathize with everything that humans experience. Jesus is not a distant concept or an inanimate idol; he was real flesh and blood. The gospel stories recount the emotions that Jesus felt (anxiety, rejection and pain as well as happiness and satisfaction) and show him tackling the issues of friendship, family, health, religion, politics and social injustice. Christians believe that Jesus understands the highs and lows of life just as we experience them.

Christians also believe that because Jesus was conceived by God, he can do something about the way in which our experiences affect us. They believe that Jesus had the power to change lives and make a difference to those who experience emotional and physical pain, injustice, social inequality and powerlessness. What’s more, Christians believe that he still does that today.

It takes nine months for a baby to grow in the womb. So, around 25 March, Jesus begins to grow inside Mary. It’s a long time until Christmas Day, but maybe that’s the point. This baby is for life, not just for Christmas.

Song/music

‘Noel’ by Chris Tomlin, featuring Lauren Daigle, available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vwu-t7QRaE (4.18 minutes long)

Extension activities

Suggest to the students that they might like to consider the question ‘What would Jesus do?’ before they act or make a decision today.

Alternatively, ask groups of students to review some local online news items. Ask them to consider the same question of ‘What would Jesus do?’ and see whether their answers include any actions that they might take themselves.