Volume 31

Joan and John Leising always decorate the outside of their house in north Buffalo with a Nativity scene. But last year, two days before Christmas, they discovered their baby Jesus statue was missing from the manger.

Plastic and 18 inches long, the figure had been replaced with a note saying the thieves needed it for something and would return it in three days. The Leisings and their 10-year-old daughter, Julia. were upset, especially since they thought the theft might be some sort of angry protest. “It kind of shook my faith in our neighbourhood,” said John Leising, a veteran Buffalo firefighter.

Three days stretched into months and there was still no sign of the statue. Then, in August, the family found it on their doorstep with a photo album and a note: “We are simply a group of young adults who wished to show the baby Jesus a better life than he would have seen cooped up in an attic crawl space,” said the note. “He has travelled over counties and states, met people and animals alike. We have done our best to show the baby Jesus the many glorious aspects of our world.”

The album contained pictures of the figure at various locations around New York State, including Thruway signs, the Rip Van Winkle Bridge near Albany and a psychiatric centre in Rochester. It was posed on a bike, atop a horse and in a car while wearing a seat belt. Other photos showed the Jesus figure near a campfire, on college campuses and in a kitchen where someone was making chocolate brownies.

“We’ve done the best possible job we could to keep the baby Jesussafe and in loving arms,” the note said. “During the course of the last eight months, the baby Jesus has become more to us than simply a plastic religious figurine... Having to say good bye made today a sad day for all of us.

“The baby Jesus has made us happy... so we hope the chronicles of his life with us can pass some of that happiness on to you.” The note added that the prank was never meant to be “blasphemous or disrespectful.” It was signed “Creators of the baby Jesus chronicles.”

The whole incident left John Leising puzzled but at peace. “The real Jesus Christ would have forgiven them,” he said. “And we do, too.”

What seems like nothing more than a youthful stunt actually illustrates some deep truths. For starters we, too, must liberate the baby Jesus from the manger, not just at Christmas but all year round, rather than keep him in storage for eleven of twelve months, out of sight and out of mind. Yes, the Son of God began his earthly life as a helpless infant, but he brings meaning to our lives only because he grew to be the sinless, selfless King who gained victory on the Cross by rising from the grave to take away our sins.

So each of us in our own way are creators of the Jesus chronicles. We must take him everywhere we go and introduce him to everyone we meet. But instead of “showing Jesus the many glorious aspects of our world,” we must be showing our world the many glorious aspects of Jesus: his truth, grace and goodness

For that to happen, he must be present wherever we find ourselves, in the big moments and the small. When Jesus is a natural, comfortable companion held close in loving arms, he becomes so much more to us than the plastic religious figure seen by those who don’t know him. He truly does make us happy. And as we chronicle his life with us, witnessing to his power and forgiveness, we pass on some of that happiness to others.

When the New York pranksters said Jesus would return in three days, the result was an empty promise. But when God said Jesus would return in three days,the result was an empty tomb. The good news is, we’ll never have to say good bye. On the road trip of life, Jesus is with us to the very end, if we’ll allow it. So take Jesus out of the manger and see what stable faith is all about.

By Rick Gamble. Published in Cross Current, the weekly newsletter of the followers of Christ congregation in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. Reprint at will in not-for-profit publications. To subscribe to this free weekly article, send a note to Rick at sgamble@bfree.on.ca