Presentation (December 11) "Christmas Around the World: Russia"

The Story of Babushka (Told by Greg Nicholson, First UMC)

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     Once in a small Russian town, there lived a women called Babushka. Babushka always had work to do sweeping, polishing, dusting and cleaning. Her house was the best kept, most tidy house in the whole village. Her garden was beautiful and her cooking was wonderful. One evening she was busy dusting and cleaning, so busy that she didn't hear all the villagers outside in the village square talking about and looking at the new star in sky.

     She had heard about the new star but thought, 'All this fuss about a star! I don't even have the time to look because I'm so behind with my work. I must work all night!' So, she missed the star as it shone brightly, high overhead. She also missed the little line of twinkling lights coming down towards the village at dawn. She didn't hear the sounds of the pipes and drums. She missed the voices and whispers of the villagers wondering whether the lights were an army or a procession of some sort. She missed the sudden quiet of the villagers and even the footsteps coming up the path to her door. But the one thing that she couldn't miss was the loud knocking on her front door!

     'Now what is that?' she wondered, opening the door. Babushka gaped in amazement. There were three kings at her door with one of their servants! 'My masters need a place to rest,' the servant said, 'and yours is the best house in the village.' 'You want to stay here?' asked Babushka. 'Yes, it would only be until night falls and the star appears again,' the servant replied. Babushka gulped. 'Come in, then,' she said.

     The kings were very pleased when they saw all of the of the home-baked bread, pies and cakes. She dashed about, serving them, asking lots of questions. 'Have you come a long way?' 'A very long way,' sighed Caspar. 'Where are you going?' 'We're following the new star,' said Melchior. 'But where?' The kings didn't know, but they believed that it would lead the to a new-born king, a King of Earth and Heaven. 'Why don't you come with us?' asked Balthasar. 'You could bring him a gift like we do. I bring gold, and my colleagues bring spices and perfumes.' 'Oh, I'm not sure that he would welcome me,' said Babushka, 'and what could I bring for a gift? Toys! I know I could bring a toy. I've got a cupboard full of toys,' she said sadly. 'My baby son, died when he was small.' Balthasar stopped her as she went to tidy the kitchen up. 'This new king could be your king too. Come with us when the star appears tonight,' he said. 'I'll think about it,' sighed Babushka.

     As the kings slept, Babushka tidied up as quietly as she could. 'What a lot of extra work there was!' she thought, 'and this new king, what a funny idea, to go off with the kings to find him.'
Babushka shook herself. There was no time for dreaming, all this washing-up and putting away had to be done. 'Anyway,' she thought, 'how long would she be away? What would she wear? What about the gift?' She sighed. 'There is so much to do. The house will have to be cleaned when they've gone. I couldn't just leave it.' Suddenly it was night-time again and the star was in the sky. 'Are you ready, Babushka?' asked Balthasar. 'I'll come tomorrow,' Babushka called, 'I must just tidy here first and find a gift.'

     The kings went away sadly. Babushka ran back into her house, keen to get on with her work.
Finally, she went to the small cupboard, opened the door and gazed at all the toys. But they were very dusty. They weren't fit for a baby king. They would all need to be cleaned. She cleaned all of the toys until each one shined. Babushka looked through the window. It was morning! The star had came and gone. The kings would have found somewhere else to rest by now. She could easily catch them up, but she felt so tired. She had to sleep. The next thing she knew, she was awake and it was dark outside. She had slept all day! She quickly pulled on her cloak, packed the toys in a basket and ran down the path the kings had taken.

     Everywhere she asked 'Have you seen the kings?' 'Oh yes,' everyone told her, 'we saw them. They went that way.' For day Babushka followed the trail of the kings and the villages got bigger and became towns. But Babushka never stopped. Then she came to a city. 'The palace,' she thought. 'That's where the royal baby would be born.' 'No, there is no royal baby here,' said the palace guard when she asked him. 'What about three kings?' asked Babushka. 'Oh yes, they came here, but they didn't stay long. They were soon on their journey.' 'But where to?' asked Babushka. 'Bethlehem, that was the place. I don't imagine why. It's a very poor place. That's where they went.' replied the guard.
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     She set off towards Bethlehem. It was evening when Babushka arrived at Bethlehem and she had been travelling for a long time. She went into the local inn and asked about the kings. 'Oh yes,' said the landlord, 'the kings were here two days ago. They were very excited, but they didn't even stay the night.' 'And what about a baby?' Babushka cried. 'Yes there was.' Said the landlord. The kings asked about a baby, too.' When he saw the disappointment in Babushka's eyes, he stopped. 'If you'd like to see where the baby was,' he said quickly, 'it was across the yard there. I couldn't offer the couple anything better at the time. My inn was really full, so they had to go in the stable.'

     Babushka followed him across the yard. 'Here's the stable,' he said. He left her in the stable. 'Babushka?' Someone was calling her from the doorway. He looked kindly at her. She wondered if he knew where the family had gone. She knew now that the baby king was the most important thing in the world to her. 'They have gone to Egypt, and safety,' he told Babushka. 'And the kings have returned to their countries. But one of them told me about you. I am sorry but you are too late. It was Jesus that they found, the world's Saviour.'

     Babushka was very sad that she had missed Jesus and it is said that Babushka is still looking for him.

Thoughts on the Bubushka Story by Pastor Robert McDowell & Dee Stickley-Miner

     Like many good stories, this story ends with an open ending.  “Babushka was very sad that she had missed Jesus and it is said that Babushka is still looking for him.”

     If you’re like me, you want the story to end differently.  We want to know that this Russian woman did find Jesus, especially after all of the effort and time she put into her journey.  She even was willing to lay her doubts aside just to see if this story of the wise men was true.

     With the fall of communism, the United Methodist Church in Samara was born in the 1990s thanks in part to the prayers and financial support of our West Ohio Conference.  The story of Babushka and her search for the Christ Child is a Russian story that reminds us of the many people in Russia who are searching and who want to know more about the good news of Jesus Christ.

     As we celebrate our Advent theme of “Christmas Around the World” and lift up the four partnerships of our conference, I’m proud to say that our church, through our Global Missions Team is providing a financial gift today to support the ministry of the United Methodist Church in Russia.  Thank you for being part of a church that is helping people across the globe to continue in their journey of seeking after the Christ Child.

     But of course, today isn’t just about people in Russia searching for Christ.  This story of the wise men is also about us.  We too, are called to set aside our doubts and uncertainties and journey with the Wise Men to Bethlehem.  Like the Russian woman in the story we just heard, we are invited to follow the star to wherever it may take us.

     Babushka was so caught up in the distractions and the busyness of her day to day activities, that she almost didn’t make the journey.  She felt unworthy and wasn’t sure if she would be accepted.  And she was also worried that she didn’t have the perfect gift to offer this newborn King.

     In many ways, her story sounds like our story.  We too, are busy during this time of year.  In fact, we get so busy, that we easily forget to take time to reflect on what it means to follow the star to the Christ Child.

     And we might wonder if God will accept us once we make the effort to go on this journey.  Will it be worth it?  Will it make any difference in my life?

     On January 1^st, several people from our West Ohio Conference will be boarding a plane to make the long journey to be with our partner United Methodist Church in Samara, Russia.  And since Christmas in Russia is celebrated on January 7^th rather than on December 25th, they will be able to celebrate Christmas with them during their trip.

     Like the wise men, they will travel afar to greet the Christ Child this Christmas.  They will be spending time at an orphanage and sharing gifts with them.

     Dee Stickley-Miner who serves on our West Ohio Conference staff is heading up this trip to Russia. And Dee has traveled down from Columbus to be with us today.  Dee, come on up so we can welcome you.

     Dee – We don’t have gold, frankincense, or myrrh to send with you to the children of Samara, but we do have some other gifts that our church would like you to pack for your trip.

     Over the past several weeks, the children in Sunday School have been creating Christmas cards to give to you to share with the children at the orphanage in Russia.  One of the children is here at this service to present you with these cards. 

     Dee, along with these gifts, please send our love and our prayers as you celebrate Christmas Around the World with the children in Samara, Russia.

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