Somebody Stole Jesus! |
Dec 12, 2009 |
We've reached the time where we untangle Christmas lights, prop up twisted decorations, and remember the traditions that make it look a lot like Christmas. Since I was a boy, Thanksgiving and Christmas have been my favorite time of year. I love the look, sound, smell, and feel of Christmas. It is not the glitter and gifts that move me, but the sheer wonder of a baby born in a manger to take away the sins of the world.
In my family, we play Christmas music year-around. We don't hang up many decorations especially for Christmas, but each decoration is meaningful. I have a small rag-doll ornament that we hang on the tree each year--a gift from someone in Mexico to remind me of a little girl whose life was miraculously saved one Holy-Day season during a project I worked on. We put up a tapestry of Mary and Joseph returning from Egypt on a star-filled night. We display a twenty-five year old clay nativity scene, complete with a broken stable, chipped cows, lame sheep, armless wise men, wingless angels, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.
That worn out nativity set has seen better days. Each one of my four children, when they were young, played with those characters until the paint wore off. These "inexpensive" clay characters all have broken legs, arms glued on, missing fingers and noses--and we wouldn't trade it for any other nativity set. I remember my two boys adding a few characters to the set. They brought in tiny airplanes, toy cars, and little green soldiers alongside the sheep. They innocently took the focus off Jesus, but I realized that we easily and frequently take Jesus out of the focus of the picture.
A few years back, I was shopping at a nativity set store, but all of the displays were missing the baby Jesus. I thought this was odd, so I asked the clerk what happened to all the babies. The clerk replied, "People keep stealing Jesus, so we keep him in the back." His words struck a nerve with me. How, or why, would anyone steal Jesus? Were these just pranksters? Or people stealing Jesus because they lost the one in their nativity set? Neither option seemed good.
In that moment, I was moved by the simple thought, "How can we have Christmas without Jesus? How different would our lives be if Jesus was not at the center?"
Thanksgiving starts the Holy-Day season, and we all have much for which we can be thankful. I hope you all have a truly holy and merry Christmas this Holy-Day season.
