Shepherd's Promise

Guess who's comming to the party!

by Ken Ellis


Let's suppose for a moment that Jesus just heard that on Earth they were planning a big birthday party for him and he was just so curious that He decided to come and check it out...

Let's suppose Jesus arrived at Palm Beach International Airport, Angel Airlines - of course.

As Jesus was walking through the terminal, He was amazed at the crowds. "Are all these people going to my birthday party?" he wondered. "They're all in such a hurry, but they don't seem to be in much of a party spirit."

Then, He heard someone call His name "Jesus Christ!" "Oh boy! Someone has recognized me. I'll go greet them!" he thought. But when Jesus got to the man who had called, rather yelled His name, He realized that the man had not recognized him. In fact, the man had no idea who Jesus is. The man had just been told his family's flight was going to be two hours late and he was yelling at the young lady behind the counter. Jesus was hurt to hear the man use His name in vain.

I don't think this is where my birthday party is, Jesus thought. So he sadly left the Airport and proceeded on to try to find the party.

As Jesus went throughout the city, he saw many people entering stores. Maybe they are going there to prepare for the party, he thought, so he went in to one of the stores. The sign on the store read "Toys-R-Us". At first, he thought, maybe they are buying me gifts for my birthday. But then he saw the things in the store and realized that he would have little need for any of this stuff.

A young couple in aisle 10 caught his eye. He saw them carefully looking over all the things on the shelves. He listened to them and realized that they were looking for a gift for their daughter whom they loved very much. They looked until they found a baby doll. It reminded Jesus of what he looked like when he was born in Bethlehem. Jesus thought "what a nice gift to give their daughter". I think I like the idea of giving gifts to the children that remind them of me in celebration of my birthday. This is very nice.

Then Jesus saw someone else looking over the things in another aisle. Apparently, he was selecting a gift for his little boy. Jesus wondered what the man would select. Would he select that white and woolly stuffed lamb? It looked so adorable. It reminded him of the stable where he was born. Maybe he would select that big stiffed camel. It looked a little silly, but still, it was a nice reminder of the time when Jesus was born. But the man walked right past these gifts without even glancing at them. He went to a display of thin rectangular boxes with strange pictures on them. After just a moment of looking, he picked up this ugly box with the word DOOM written in big letters. Jesus thought to himself, is this a gift for a child? Jesus was puzzled. He sadly left the store.

Jesus decided to follow the first couple, the ones who had bought the baby doll as they went home. He followed them to their neighborhood. It was evening by now and as he passed through their neighborhood, he noticed that many of the houses were decorated with lights, some with white lights, and some with colored lights. Jesus thought it was very pretty. He wondered if these lights were decorations for his birthday party. Did the white lights stand for purity and the colored lights represent the colors of God's rainbow?

One of the houses had "Seasons Greetings" spelled out in lights. Another had a sign that read "Happy Holidays", still another had "HoHoHo" written in lights on their roof. All this confused Jesus. The signs were so vague, they gave no hint who the party was for. He had expected to see signs saying "Happy Birthday Jesus" or "We Love you, Jesus!" Maybe he was in the wrong place. Maybe this isn't where his birthday party is to be.

As Jesus came to the house where the couple lived, he was pleased to see that it too was decorated with many lights. There was a sign on the door that read "Merry Christmas". This brought a smile to Jesus' face. Jesus felt like he was welcome here, so he went inside the house. He was surprised to see a tree standing in one corner of the living room. It too was beautifully decorated with lights. Jesus saw that there was a star on the top of the tree. It looked like the star that had lead the shepherds and wise men to his birth place. He saw some Angel ornaments near the top of the tree. This brought a smile to his face, remembering the Hosts of Heavenly Angels who had sung when he was born. There were also tiny musical instruments hanging on the tree, a harp, a horn, and a drum. Jesus thought maybe this tree is decorated to remind the family of him.

As he drew closer to the tree, he saw the other ornaments. There were colorful balls and glittery tinsel. A miniature nativity set caught his eye. He saw some hand made ornaments with names written on them. These were the names of their children. Jesus realized that the children had made these ornaments themselves and he was touched.

Jesus decided to visit some of the other homes in the neighborhood. Many of these homes had a tree in the living room, decorated with lights and ornaments. Jesus took a closer look at one of the trees. As he looked at the ornaments, he found it hard to understand how these ornaments could remind the family of his birthday. The ornaments included a ball in the shape of Mickey Mouse, another decoration that said Coca Cola, and a fierce ugly character they called Taz. Many of the homes displayed pictures of some old man they called Santa Clause, but there weren't any pictures of Jesus. Jesus thought maybe he had come to the wrong party.

Jesus decided to search further. He came to what seemed to be a church. He decided to go inside. Apparently, they were in the middle of a church service. They were singing songs, and the songs were about Jesus birth. Jesus hoped he had finally found his Birthday Party. But where were all the people? There were so few people here. It wasn't like the airport or the stores where there were so many people.

Still, somehow, this seemed more like a birthday party. They had finished singing now, and the pastor said it was time to bring the presents forward for Jesus. Jesus just watched. Someone brought a song, another brought a dance, someone else a poem, and a story. Each gift was a celebration of Jesus birthday. Each gift brought a smile to Jesus face and a tear of joy to his eye. Jesus decided to stay...

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