A few weeks after it premiered, my daughter and I attended a showing of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Growing up this was one of my favorite Christmas stories, and I was looking forward to seeing how it translated to the silver screen. As the movie credits rolled, my nearly six-year-old leaned over to me and whispered, “She was my favorite character!” I smiled because, while my daughter is a classic firstborn who loves both following and enforcing the rules, it came as no surprise that the tough, rebellious young character of Imogene Herdman had captured her heart.
For those unfamiliar with the hilarious and tender story by Barbara Robinson, the plot centers around a small-town church’s annual Christmas pageant and the year it’s nearly destroyed when the roughhousing Herdman siblings claim every main role. Set in the early 1970s, the story is told from the perspective of 10-year-old Beth Bradley, the daughter of the fledgling pageant director. The adult Beth narrates the plot, emphasizing how the Herdmans were viewed by the town as “the absolute worst kids in the history of the world.”
The movie does an excellent job of framing the pageant as a boring, unvarying affair — a fact which changes drastically when the Herdmans enter the scene. As the director and children in the pageant come to realize that the Herdman siblings have no knowledge of the first Christmas, they begin to consider the story of Christ’s birth anew as they explain it to the rambunctious and curious stars of the show.
When the pageant grows near, Imogene Herdman — the ringleader and oldest of the ragtag bunch of siblings — begins to inwardly question whether she can portray Mary. She gazes at the paintings of Mary in the church and fears that she is unable to be sweet and pretty like this imagined rendering of Jesus’ mother. Beth, having observed Imogene’s fierce curiosity and interest in the Christmas story, tells Imogene that though Mary was sweet, she must have been pretty tough too.
This similarity with Mary strikes a chord with Imogene. She and her siblings perform a genuine and tender rendition of the Nativity. And as Imogene gazes down at the baby doll Jesus, the narrator relates: “[Imogene] had caught on to the idea of God and the wonder of Christmas … Christmas just came over her all at once, like a case of chills and fever.” The pageant’s audience, previously skeptical of the Herdman’s participation in a church event as “sacred” as the Christmas pageant, watches in awe as Imogene Herdman begins to cry.
The movie does an excellent job of depicting this pivotal moment. The scene flashes quickly between a shot of Imogene silently weeping over the baby doll and the first Nativity in Bethlehem as Mary and Joseph gently cradle Jesus. That first Nativity did not have twinkling lights, central heating or beautifully crafted costumes. Instead, Imogene imagines the real life of Mary, the tough but tender mother who welcomed her baby in a stable.
The Herdmans inspire the children in the pageant and the church as a whole to reexamine the Christmas story. This poignant scene of Imogene’s dawning understanding of Christmas beautifully shows us the power of imaginative prayer. Though Imogene has seen paintings of Mary, it is only when she inserts herself in the story and truly considers Mary’s life that the power of the narrative grips her.
When we gently nudge our imagination to broaden our perspective and acknowledge the realities of that time and place in history, we are reintroduced to the miraculous nature of the Christmas story.
All too often, we fail to deeply consider the familiar tales from Scripture. As the movie portrays, when we grow up in the church, Bible stories run the risk of ringing hollow as a sanitized narrative retold yearly. We need the fresh perspective of individuals like the Herdmans to shake up our comfort with a story about a woman giving birth among the animals in a stable. We need imaginative prayer to help us envision how that night really looked and felt. When we gently nudge our imagination to broaden our perspective and acknowledge the realities of that time and place in history, we are reintroduced to the miraculous nature of the Christmas story.
I invite you to gently imagine the Nativity scene with me through a fresh set of eyes. Perhaps you can take the role of a shepherd, shocked and awed by a great host of angels who told you to come witness the savior’s birth. Or an innkeeper’s daughter, peaking around the stable to see the new baby. Perhaps you are Mary or Joseph, pondering these things in your heart and treasuring the baby Jesus.
Take a deep breath and close your eyes. What do you see? What do you feel, smell, taste or hear? Where are you drawn to in this scene? Explore that and see what God reveals to you.
Photo Credit: Allen Fraser for Lionsgate