The sign propped on the side of the highway was hand printed in simple black marker on neon green poster board. “Happy Birthday, Jesus!” it said, while we drove on and wondered whom the sign was actually there for.
Did the writer imagine Our Lord looking down from heaven or whizzing along US 62 in some heavenly conveyance, seeing the greeting and thinking, “Aww, that was sweet, thanks, guys.” Or was the sign there to teach or remind the rest of us what Christmas is really about? Keeping the Christ in Christmas, as it were. Or at least the Jesus. There is a bit of nuance, you know.
As we drove along wondering what to think, the image came to mind of Snoopy with that sign in his yard, dancing in pure delight alongside his doghouse.
Childlike. That was it. Simple joy.
We decided it wasn’t church politics or preaching, just “Happy Birthday, Jesus.” Forget that in 90-some days we’ll celebrate his bloody crucifixion and death – but for now, let the angels sing. Let Snoopy dance.
They say Christmas is for kids. The lights, the tree, the presents – all the shiny awe and wonder. It’s also a time when children learn about giving and receiving. Most kids know Christmas is Baby Jesus’s birthday, but perhaps not that He was the gift. These days it’s more about Santa Claus and his gifts.
“Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not,” Jesus said. At least the King James version said he said that, which eventually caused a bit of consternation to those who spoke modern English and didn’t know “suffer” meant “allow,” and not that you should beat your kids down the road to salvation.
(And keep in mind the King James is a version, not a translation, which puts paid to the claim one preacher made that, “the King James is the Bible Jesus preached out of and it’s good enough for me.” For heaven’s sake, it wasn’t even the first Bible printed in English.)
Simple faith needn’t be ignorant faith, but it does require a childlike approach. Kids believe, they trustand they’ll joyfully fling themselves into waiting arms because they love that person and know they’ll catch them.
Believe it or not, grownups can get there too – in spite of the bullying politicians, corporate liars, fear mongers and planetary destructionsurrounding us.Find something that gives you joy and live there, we thought, – then do it unto others.Yeah, maybe too simple. We have too many big problems to deal with on a global level to believe and trust in anything. We’re adults, after all, not children.
Such were our mental machinations as we rolled toward Berryville.
And yet …
There was that sign.
And, right there on the highway, we felt a sudden sense of Snoopy joy. There are good hearts in the world. People who love and give and smile through adversity because they have childlike faith … and reasons to rejoice.
As we arrived at our appointment and turned the car off, we sat and pondered the immense and magnificent actof relinquishing our imperfect wisdom and personal power to Onegreater than our own.
Indeed, we thought, let the creator of that childlike birthday poster rejoice – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.