Last week at a Christmas party: A questionnaire with multiple-choice questions which dealt with Christmas was handed out to young adults between 20 and 50 years. With questions like “When was the Advent wreath invented?” “Answer a, b or c?
Another question was “What did the shepherds give the Jesus child in the manger?” Answer a: “gold, incense, myrrh” answer b: “a little sheep”. All answered “a little sheep”. But I hadn’t read the question exactly. I only saw “give” and “gold, incense, myrrh” and answered the question, which every child in Sunday school can answer and checked a.
The 20 adults including the teacher had to be convinced, here in the country of Luther (Saxony) that the question was wrong. Of course, it must be “Magi” instead of “shepherds”. This anecdote which isn’t funny, tells you more about Christianity in some parts of Germany as every statistic.
Besides that, I like the idea that the shepherds give a little sheep to Jesus. What can I give Jesus? Something that does please him more than gold, incense, myrrh? What can I give him at all? I don’t even have a little sheep for him. What can you give him?
The greatest gift for him is that we come to him.
“Come with everything that’s on your mind, give me your sadness, I was sad too, give me your doubts, I doubted too, give me your guilt, I want to forgive you. Yes, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Not written this year)
(Volker Schunck)
Drifter's Day 