A number of years ago I worked in a Charity shop. One November morning, a lady arrived with some donations. She said that some of the contents of her bag might be useful for Christmas. So I lifted out several items, and then at the base of the holdall was an old tatty shoe box, worn and scruffy. It felt so light that I thought it was an empty box and I was just about to discard it, when I decided to check the contents – and I was so glad I did.  

I lifted the lid, and inside was the most adorable knitted nativity set complete with Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, angels, shepherds and kings. It was so beautifully created and lovingly made and it took pride of place in our window display.  

 On taking every item out of the box I discovered a small matchbox – again it felt like it was empty, but I just opened it to double check, and inside I found the most adorable contents. It came with a small note that said this: ‘In the event that baby Jesus goes missing, here is a spare’. About the size of your thumb, was the most intricately knitted baby Jesus, placed in the matchbox. 

 It was an emotional moment to find the spare baby Jesus!  

 How true it is that at this time of year, it is so easy to misplace Jesus.  

Jesus can be lost, discarded, covered over and forgotten at this time of year. Commercialism and all of the trimmings and trappings of Christmas can cause us to lose sight of the heart of the Christmas story which is the birth of Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world. 

Let’s not lose sight of this!