Don't forget the best stories for God's sake!

Simeon cradles the Christ child, Rembrandt

Just one week after Candlemas which is the celebration of  Jesus' presentation at the Temple in Jerusalem where he is  recognised by the two elders, Simeon and Anna, we hear that a third of children don't know that the story of Jesus came from the Bible, 54% of children are never read or read Bible stories and  one in three Britons don't know these stories either.  Read all about this in today's papers.  This may be bad news but my optimistic self is with Simeon and Anna who were faithful for many years to the promise of God that they would see the light of God before they died.  They kept coming to the temple and were rewarded for their faith because they saw Him and knew He was the promised one.  This is a great story, one of many which we should be telling to our children.  

So grannies ho! you are the ones holding on to traditional beliefs, grannies are still going to Church, grannies believing in the stories they were told, grannies tending graves, grannies singing hymns, grannies saying their prayers, grannies meditating.   (When I say Granny, it includes Grandpas too!).  

We shouldn't be afraid of telling these stories, they are about heroes and heroines with real spiritual power.  Children love the magic of Harry Potter, and they would love these stories if we told them with the same imagination, they are full of magic, after all, Harry Potter didn't turn water into wine did he?