The Gift from the Hill

Even from the cross , the hardest moment of his life , Jesus thought of us and gave us a gift: his mother Mary, to walk beside us and love us always.

Tonight's story is inspired by John 19:25-34, the Gospel reading for May 25, 2026.

About Baa Baa Bible: Bible-inspired bedtime stories for children ages 3-10. In every story, Jesus is the gentle Good Shepherd, teaching us the lessons of today's Bible reading. All the other characters are lambs and sheep, a warm reminder that we are all part of his flock. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Good evening, little lambs. Tonight's story is called The Gift from the Hill, inspired by the Gospel of John nineteen twenty five-thirty-four. There are moments in life when someone you love gives you something beautiful, not because they have to, but because they want you to know that you are never, ever alone. Tonight's gospel is about one of those moments. Even on the hardest day of his life, from the cross on a high hill, Jesus looked down and gave a gift, not for himself, for us. And so tonight we're back on Shepherd's Hill with Clover and the little flock, who are about to learn what that gift is. It had been a quiet afternoon on Shepherd's Hill, quiet in the way that feels a little heavy, the kind of quiet where you don't quite know what you're waiting for, but you know you're waiting for something. The sun was low and golden, and the light lay long across the meadow, and the little flock had gathered near the old stone wall at the top of the hill, all of them together. Clover had her blue scarf pulled close, the little clover sprig still behind her left ear. Pip was beside her, close, the way she had been since the night the Holy Spirit had come, when she had tucked her small hoof into clovers, and something in her had settled for good. Biscuit sat with her golden brown tuft pointing straight up and her chin resting on the wall, looking out over the valley. Old Wooly was still, the way he always was, like a warm silver hill you could lean against. Matt was a little way off, standing at the edge of things. But tonight he was facing toward the group rather than away. That was new. Jesus isn't here yet, Pip said softly. Her enormous dark eyes scanned the meadow. He'll come, Clover said. She believed it. She had learned by now that he always did. And then, before Clover had even finished the sentence, he was there, walking up the hill in the low golden light, his footsteps quiet on the dry grass, his face calm and warm. But there was something different about him tonight, not sad exactly, but full, full the way a heart gets when it is carrying something very important and is about to set it down. He sat with them on the grass and was quiet for a moment, his eyes moving gently over each of them. Then he said, I want to tell you about my mother. Biscuit's tuft quivered. Mary? she said. Mary, Jesus said, and the way he said her name was like setting a lamp down on a table, carefully, with full attention. He told them about the day, the hardest day, when he had been up on a high, windy hill, and everything was very hard, and the sky had gone strange, and the air was heavy. And his mother had been there, right at the foot of the cross, standing. She didn't run, Jesus said. She didn't look away, she stayed. Old Wooly made a low sound in his throat. Standing, Pip whispered. She knew something about staying close, even when things are frightening. She had learned that. And I looked down, Jesus said, and I saw her, and I saw my friend John, who had also stayed, and I knew, even in that moment, the last thing I had left to give was the best thing I had left to give. He paused. I gave them each other. Biscuit tilted her head. What do you mean? I said to my mother, There is your son. Jesus looked at Biscuit with quiet eyes. And I said to John, There is your mother. And from that moment John took her home. She was his mother now, and through him she became a mother to everyone who loves me. There was a long, still moment on the hill. Clover felt something move through her chest, gentle and warm, like the Holy Spirit breath, but different. This was softer. This was more like arms. So she's, Pip started carefully. Our mother? Mary is our mother? Yes, Jesus said simply. He looked at Pip with the kind of eyes that see you all the way to the middle. From the cross, that was my gift to you. When I could not stay in the way I had been, I gave you someone to walk with you, someone who knows what it is to love a child with her whole heart, someone to stand by you the way she stood by me. Matt, who had been standing quietly at the edge of the group, took one step closer. Clover looked at him. He looked back. He didn't say anything, but he came closer, and that was enough. She said yes to everything, old Woolley said, in his voice like a fire you could sit beside. From the very beginning, when the angel came, she said yes. And at the end, she stayed. She stood. He was quiet for a moment. She is the bravest mother there has ever been. Jesus nodded. And she is yours, he said again, as if he wanted to make sure they had all heard it. Not just mine, yours. Biskot looked up at the first star appearing in the pale evening sky. So tonight, she said slowly, when I go to sleep, she's with us? She is never far, Jesus said. Clover reached out and tucked Pip a little closer to her side. Pip looked up at her. Then she looked up at the star Biscuit was watching. He gave us a mother, she said quietly. Even then, even from the highest, hardest place. Her voice was very small, but it was steady. He thought of us. He always thinks of us, Clover said. The golden light was going now, giving way to the deep blue of evening. The meadow was still and smelled of dry grass, and something faintly sweet. The little flock sat together on the hill clover, pip, biscuit, old woolly, mat, and they were quiet in the way you can be quiet when you feel held. Jesus sat with them until the first few stars were out. Then he looked at each of them one by one, the way he always did, like every single one of them, was the only one in the world. Good night, he said gently. She is watching over you. You are not alone. And the meadow held them, and the stars came out, and somewhere in the great warm dark, a mother was keeping watch. And tonight, little one, wherever you are, whatever this day held, that is still true. Jesus, on the hardest day of his life, looked down from the cross and thought of you. He wanted you to have someone to walk with, someone to stay, and so he gave you his mother, and she is yours. You are held, you are loved. Good night. And that is tonight's gift. Even on the very hardest day, Jesus thought of us. He looked down from the cross and gave us the most precious person he had, his mother. Mary is our mother too, given to us by Jesus Himself, to walk with us and watch over us always. We are never, never alone. Dear Jesus, thank you for giving us your mother Mary, to walk beside us every day. Thank you for thinking of us even on your hardest day. Help me to know that I am loved and never alone tonight. Amen. Good night, little lamb. God loves you so much. Sweet dreams.