Where Did Baby Jesus Go?

Christmas is two weeks from today. It is my favorite time of the year, as I look forward to spending time with family, the Choir Concerts, the Christmas plays and pageants, and seeing the look of wonder in the eyes of children as they gaze at all the lights. I love to hear the tiny melodic voices singing Carols, like that of my five year old niece serenading us with Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells. But three things happened this week that caught my attention. The first was an e-mail from my friend Terry:

Paula,
Two of my friends from church were in town yesterday, mailing a package to one's son who is a missionary in Mexico. The mother had been told there is a problem with the government pilfering through boxes that are mailed from the United States, but if you put a picture of Christ on the box, they'll leave it alone, Apparently, they are very superstitious about that. The mother realized she had gotten to the post office without her pictures of Christ on the packages. It was almost time for the post office to close and the boxes had to go out that day. Denise, the friend, ran next door to a popular chain Movie and Book store, thinking she could find a picture and get back in time while Linda (the mom) waited in line at the post office.

Once there, Denise explained to the young man what she needed. He didn't appear to have a clue of what she was talking about, much less where to find it. She said it was like she was speaking a foreign language. He sent her to his supervisor, who sent Denise to her supervisor. The two searched in the Christian book section but couldn't find anything.

As she was leaving the store, Denise told the first young man: "Well, it's Christmas, but Christ can't be found here" He smiled and replied "But, Santa Claus is here."

Each day, I've felt the need to read this again. And each time I read it, I just get angry all over again. But unfortunately, it doesn't end there. Event #2:

Last night on the news there was a story about the Freethinkers Group who are suing the Arkansas Secretary of State concerning Christmas decorations at the state capital building. It seems that the lawn is covered with decorations for almost every holiday that is being celebrated this time of year: except for the Winter Solstice.

In court papers the ACLU says that the Arkansas Secretary of State is preventing the Freethinkers Society "from exercising its First Amendment rights," and that they "suffer, and will continue to suffer, irreparable harm" if the society is "not permitted to install its display on the state capitol grounds as soon as possible."

Being the nosy person that I am, I wanted to know what Freethinkers thought. What I found when I went to their website was a picture of the proposed display they want to put on the capital lawn. One side is a series of book covers. Some of the titles include "God: the failed Hypothesis, How Science Proves that God does not Exist"; "God is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything."; "The God Delusion"; "When God was a Woman." and my personal favorite "Why I am not a Christian"

The group wants to put their display next to what they describe as "a creche with a wood exterior and nativity figures carved out of wood. This crude display is not decorated with lights or ornamentation of any kind and is devoid of a festive tone."

The Third Event occurred this afternoon. Mike and I discussed the fact that we needed to get Christmas cards in the mail tomorrow, and have them ready to go to church on Sunday. I needed to run into our local discount dollar store for another item, and decided to get the cards while I was there.

The section of the store dedicated to their Christmas merchandise had devoted an entire aisle to Christmas Cards....or so I thought. I searched through box after box of cards. I found Tinkerbell, Bugs Bunny, Spiderman, Frosty, Cute little babies, a turkey dinner, Stockings, an ice covered pond and even the family dog. They declared messages of "Season's Greetings" "Happy Holidays", "Deck the Halls" and "Don't be a Scrooge". Notice anything missing?

I asked the store manager if they had anything with Angels, Manger Scenes or Wise Men on Camels. He led me to the back of the store and an end cap that held one small display of boxed cards that actually read "Merry Christmas" or proclaimed the Birth of Christ.

With the world working so hard to take Christ out of "Christ"mas; it becomes so much more important for the Christian community to work to keep Him in it! "For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior; which is CHRIST the Lord.