NGO News Reports
Christmas morning - a time when Christian families who have
gathered together to celebrate the birth of Jesus (Yeshua) their Messiah, go to
the local church. For us this happened to be in Scotland. The church was warm
and welcoming. There was an air of excitement as people greeted each other with
a "Happy Christmas" and children showed off their new toys.
The congregation waited expectantly for the service to begin with the
prospect of the Christmas morning message that would fill our hearts with joy,
hope and unity in celebrating the birth of the One who came to earth as a baby,
was born in a stable in Bethlehem, Judea and was later to be crucified so that
man may be reconciled to God the Father and have eternal life.
BUT..........................rather than sending people away with
thankfulness for Jesus in their hearts, each was given a star to be hung on
their Christmas tree to remember a different "child of Bethlehem". On
the star was a picture of "Jessica - child of Bethlehem", kindly
provided, no expense spared, by Christian Aid.
Anyone would have been excused for thinking that it was Christian Aid Sunday
together with its appeal for money, money, money, but it wasn't. This
was Christmas Day!!
During this Christmas service, the congregation was subjected to a shocking
image of a small girl, holding a doll with its face smashed in and smeared with
red paint. We were told that the girl's name was Jessica, who had lost an eye
because she got in the way of shrapnell from a bullet fired by Israeli
soldiers, during conflict in Bethlehem. We were also told that there had been
some difficulty getting Jessica to hospital because of the check-points manned
by soldiers around Bethlehem.
Now Jessica was holding a doll with its face smashed in, we were told,
because she felt ugly, so she had made her doll ugly too.
At the end of the service, the congregation left the church subdued and
heavy-hearted. The excitement of Christmas morning had dissipated. Children,
earlier delighted by their new toys, were now left with an image of a doll with
its eye smashed in and a bloody face. Non-church goers, for whom Christmas Day
may be the one time of the year when they visit a church, questioned the
relevance of this presentation. Those concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism
felt the severe blow of another nail in the coffin of the Jewish people.
Had this really taken place in a Christian church on Christmas
Day?....................Regrettably yes.
In the true Christmas story, the Jewish shepherds left Bethlehem to tell
others about the Good News that a Saviour had been born to them, ordinary
people, and that His Name was Jesus - child of Bethlehem as
foretold in Micah (Mikhah) chapter 5 verse2.
By contrast, in the account above, the congregation left to tell others
about "Jessica - child of Bethlehem".
Why was Christmas Day hijacked in this way?
Why is money, that is given to feed the poor, being used in this
way?
D. Houghton