Years ago, there was a cartoon in the "Family Circus" comic strip. A little girl is depicted standing on a chair and looking down into an open drawer. Behind her is a lovely creche scene. It's obviously Christmas. But in the caption the little girl calls out, "We forgot to put the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve, mommy! He's still in the drawer!"
The story is told of a christening that was to be held many years ago by a very wealthy European family. Many guests were invited to the home for this special occasion and they came in the very latest fashionable garb. Their wraps and coats were taken to a bedroom and laid upon the beds.
After the usual conversation and commotion, they were ready for the christening ceremony. Someone asked, "Where is the baby?" Someone was sent upstairs to look for the baby and returned alarmed and distressed. The baby was nowhere to be found!
After several minutes of searching someone remembered that the child had last been seen lying on one of the beds. After a frantic search the little child was found under the wraps of the guests. The main reason why they had come had been forgotten, neglected, and overlooked!
We need to be careful these Advent/Christmas days----careful in all the holiday activities, busyness and preparations to not overlook or forget the Christ Child. It can happen easily. The Babe born in Bethlehem can be smothered by the tinsel, the wrapping paper, the ribbon, the baking---so much of the activity surrounding the festive occasion of celebrating the birth of Jesus.
No, we do not want to forget to put the baby Jesus in the manger on Christmas Eve, to leave Him in the drawer! Let's not crowd Christ out of Christmas! So, during these Advent/Christmas days let us be prayerful, meditative, sensitive, thoughtful, generous, kind and worshipful. Let us warm our hearts at the altar of the church, sing the glorious hymns and carols, and experience the joy of "Emmanuel---God with us!"
Merry Christmas, and blessings! Reverend Cooper Stonestreet