A layperson wrote on the Internet that he attends a small village church in rural Pennsylvania. On any given Sunday, he says, they may have six or seven faithful children who come with their parents. The pastor has a white bag which is passed from child to child, making sure they get equal turns to put something in for him to talk about.

Each Sunday, the pastor calls all the children up and he opens the bag to find a “surprise” on which he bases his children’s sermon.

Easter week, the bag went home with a little guy who spends many hours a week on church related activities. His parents and older brother are very active and so, in turn, is he. When the pastor opened his bag, there was a copy of Handel’s Messiah which, of course, was very appropriate for Easter Sunday.

The pastor and the …