Father Gary's Sermon

Inspired from the Gospel of Luke

Proclaimed on December 24, 2004

Christmas is a time for memories. It is a time to make new memories. It is also a time to remember Christmases past. Here is a wonderful little story from a woman who remembers a Christmas from her youth when her family shared the Christ Child in a special way.

It was about a week before Christmas that my family bought a new nativity scene. When we unpacked it we found two figures of the Baby Jesus. "Someone must have packed this wrong,” my mom said, as she counted out the figures. "We have one Joseph, one Mary, three wise men, three shepherds, two lambs, a donkey, a cow, an angel and two babies. Oh, dear! I suppose some nativity set down at the store is missing a Baby Jesus because we have two."

Then looking at my brother and me she said, "You two run back down to the store and tell the manager that we have an extra Jesus. Tell him to put a sign on the remaining boxes saying that if a set is missing a Baby Jesus, call 7126. Oh, and put on your warm coats! It's freezing cold out there!" With that she sent us off. The manager of the store copied down Mom's message. The next time we were to the store we saw the cardboard sign that read, "If you're missing Baby Jesus, call 7126."

All week long we waited for someone to call. Surely, we thought, someone was missing that important figurine. Each time the phone rang my mom would say, "I'll bet that's about Jesus," but it never was. My dad tried to explain that there were thousands of these scattered all over the country and the figurine could be missing from a set in Florida, Texas, or even as far away as California. Packing mistakes happen all the time. He suggested we just put the extra Jesus back in the box and forget about it. But my brother and I immediately jumped in, shouting, "Put Baby Jesus back in the box! What a terrible thing to do!" And Mom said, "Surely someone will call. We'll just keep the two of them together in the manger until they do."

When no one called by 5:00 on Christmas Eve, Mom insisted that Dad go down to the store to see if there were any nativity sets left. She said, "If they are all gone, I'll know someone is bound to call tonight." This idea did not sit well with Dad. "Run down to the store?" he thundered. "It's 15 below zero out there!" “Oh, Daddy, we'll go with you," I said, as my brother and I began to put on our coats. Dad just gave a long sigh. As he headed for the front closet he muttered, "I can't believe I'm doing this!"

My brother Tommy and I ran ahead as Dad reluctantly walked out into the cold. I got to the store first and pressed my nose up against the store window. "They're all gone, Daddy," I shouted. "Every set must be sold." "Hooray," Tommy shouted back, "The mystery will now be solved tonight!" Dad, still a half block away, hearing the news turned and immediately headed back home.

When we got back into the house we noticed that Mom was gone and so was the extra Baby Jesus "Someone must have called and she went out to deliver the figurine," Dad reasoned out loud as he pulled off his boots. Then he said, "You kids get ready for bed while I wrap your mother's present."

Then the phone rang. Dad yelled out, "Answer the phone and tell 'em we found a home for Jesus." But it was Mom calling, calling with instructions for us to come to 205 Chestnut Street immediately. Also, we were to bring three blankets, a box of cookies and some milk. "Now what has she gotten us into?" my dad groaned as we bundled up again. "205 Chestnut Street. Why that's across town! Wrap that milk up good in the blankets or it will turn to ice before we get there. Why can't we all just get on with Christmas like everyone else? It's probably 20 below out there now. And the wind is picking up. Of all the crazy things to do on a night like this!"

When we arrived at the house at 205 Chestnut Street it was the darkest one on the block. Only one tiny light burned in the living room. The moment we set foot on the porch steps my mother opened the door and shouted, "They're here! Oh thank God you got here, Ray!” Then looking at us, my mom said, "You kids take those blankets into the living room and wrap up the little ones on the couch. I'll take the milk and cookies."

My dad then asked brusquely, "Would you mind telling me what is going on, Ethel? We have just walked through weather that is below zero with the wind in our faces all the way." "Never mind all that now," my mother interrupted. "There is no heat in this house and this young mother is so upset she doesn't know what to do. Her husband walked out on her and those poor little children will have a very bleak Christmas. So don't you complain. I told her you could fix that oil furnace in a jiffy."

My mom then strode off to the kitchen to warm the milk while my brother and I wrapped up the five little children who were huddled together on the couch. The children's mother explained to my dad that her husband had run off, taking bedding, clothing, and almost every piece of furniture. They had been doing all right until the furnace broke down. "I have been doin' washin' and ironin' for people and cleanin' the five and dime," she said. "I saw your number every day there, on those boxes on the counter. When the furnace went out, that number kept going' through my mind, . . . 7162, . . . 7162, . . . 7162. Said on the box that if a person was missin' Jesus, they should call you. Well, that is exactly what we needed. So I stopped at the grocery store tonight and I called your missus. I said to her, 'If your Jesus is warm, then I am missin' him, because I ain't got no heat. I have no money to fix that furnace."

"Okay. Okay." my dad said. "You've come to the right place. Let me have a look." She guided him to a little oil burner in the dining room. After a brief examination, my dad said, "Shouldn't be too hard to fix. Probably just a clogged flue."

My mother came into the living room carrying a plate of cookies and warm milk. As she set the cups down, I noticed the figure of Baby Jesus lying in the center of the coffee table. It was the only sign of Christmas in the whole house. Those children stared wide-eyed with wonder at the plate of cookies my mom set before them. Dad finally got the oil burner working but said they needed more oil. Rubbing his chin thoughtfully he said, "I'll make a few calls tonight and get some oil. Yes, sir, you came to the right place." Now a grin came across my dad's face.

On the way home my dad did not complain about the cold weather and had barely set foot inside the door when he was on the phone. "Ed?" he asked. "Hey, how are ya, Ed? . . . Yes, Merry Christmas to you, too! Say, Ed, we have kind of an unusual situation here. I know you've got that pickup truck. Do you still have some oil in that barrel on your truck? . . . You do?!"

By this time the rest of us were pulling clothes out of the closets and toys off of the shelves. It was long after our regular bedtime when we started wrapping gifts. Then the pickup came. On it were chairs, three lamps, blankets and gifts. Even though it was 30 below, father let us ride along in the back of the truck.

No one ever did call about the missing figure in the nativity set, but as I grow older I realize that it wasn't a packing mistake at all. It was Jesus, Jesus looking for an extra place to bring Christmas warmth and fulfillment into cold and hungry hearts.

Oh, those wonderful memories of Christmas's past! If you just think about it, there is plenty of Jesus to go around, just waiting to be shared not only among ourselves, but with others as well, bringing not only warmth, but also the joy of having God in the Christ Child among us tonight.