Archives: Christmas Pack #10
Reaching Out to Others
Jason's Birthday
In the land of Puzzling Tales there lived an eight year old boy by the name of Jason.
Now in this land and in the neighborhood where Jason lived, the unexpected always happened.
Instead of football they played kneeball; instead of the children "going to school" the teachers were busy "going to homes;" and in the summer it was not uncommon to see water freeze and in the wintertime leaves grew on trees. It was a funny, strange place.
One incident in the land of Puzzling Tales stands out. When it was time for Jason's ninth birthday, as usual, the unusual happened.
Jason's grandparents came from their home across the state to help celebrate, but of course when they got to Jason's neighborhood they went immediately to the Brown's down the street and visited and stayed there.
When Jason's mother baked the birthday cake she gave it to the letter carrier to eat.
And when all the neighborhood kids heard it was Jason's birthday they exchanged gifts with one another and, of course, Jason got none.
There was a blizzard of birthday cards. The post office had to hire extra workers and work longer hours to handle the deluge of cards. Of course, in the land of Puzzling Tales the expected was the unexpected and all the kids, the moms and dads, grandparents, even a couple of dogs and a parakeet got cards, while poor Jason got none.
Finally about nine o'clock, in a fit of frustration and anger, Jason went out of his house, borrowed the school cheerleaders' megaphone, rode up and down the street on his unicycle and shouted at the top of his lungs,
WHOSE BIRTHDAY IS IT, ANYWAY?
And the night was so silent that all night long echoes bounced off the mountain sides: "Whose birthday is it, anyway?" "Whose birthday is it, anyway?"
It is Jesus' birthday! Jesus ought to receive the gifts. Jesus said "Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these my brethren you have done it to me." We give to Jesus when we give to the poor, the weak, the hungry, the homeless, the refugees, the prisoners.
It will be a great birthday celebration when God's people begin in earnest to give once again to Jesus. For after all, it is His birthday, isn't it?
This story, also called The Story of Jason, was written by the Reverend Arley Fadness of Shalom Lutheran
Church, Harrisburg, South Dakota. It is the inspiration for Alternatives' best-known resource, Whose Birthday Is It, Anyway?
Make copies of this resource under the Creative Commons attribution, non-commercial, share-alike license.
Page updated 22 Nov. 2013
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