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THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
Dearest Loreta,
Hello, dear friend. Well, as you know it's almost time for my birthday again. Last year they had a real big party for me & it seems that this year they will too. After all, they have been shopping for it for months now and there have been announcements and advertisements almost every day about how soon it's coming! They really do go overboard about it, but it's nice to know that on at least one day out of the year they are thinking about me.
You know, it's been many years since they first declared my birthday a national holiday. Back then they really appreciated how much I had done for this country. But most people nowadays barely even seem to know what they're really celebrating on my birthday. Well, I enjoy seeing people getting together and having a happy time, and I'm especially happy about how much fun it is for the little children, but just the same, it seems that most people are missing the point of it all, don't you think?
Like last year, for example. When my birthday came around, they threw a big party, but – can you believe it? – I wasn't even invited! Imagine! The guest of honour and they forgot all about me! Here they had begun preparing for the festivities two months in advance, but when the big day came, I was left out in the cold! But it's happened to me for so many years now, that I wasn't even suprised any more. Well, even though I wasn't invited, I thought I'd just quietly slip in anyway. So I came in and stood off to the side. And you know, nobody even noticed me or realised that I was there!
Everyone was drinking and laughing it up and having a high old time, when all of a sudden, in came this fat old fellow in a bright red suit, wearing a fake white beard and shouting ″Ho, Ho, Ho!″ He looked like he'd had more than enough to drink, but he somehow managed to weave his way across the floor while everyone cheered. When he collapsed into a big armchair all over the little children went running over to him all excited, yelling, ″Santa! Santa!″ I mean, you'd have thought he was the guest of honour and the whole holiday was in his honour!
Then he begun telling them one of the most ridicuolus stories you ever heard in your life! - - That he lived at the North Pole with a bunch of dwarves, and that every year he rides on his sleigh pulled by a bunch of flying reindeer, that he climbes down chimneys of their houses and sticks presents in their socks. I mean, there wasn't a word of truth in anything he said! Imagine telling poor little impressionable children such far – fetched fables!
Well, I sat through about as much of that ″party″ as I could stand, but finally I just had to leave. I got upand walked out the door, and it was hardly suprising that no one even noticed that I'd gone. As I walked down the street afterward, I felt almost as lonely and forlorn as a stray dog! I could hardly remember the last time I had felt that low. Maybe you don't think I cry, Loreta. But I did that night.
That's why I was so touched when I came by your house that evening, and you and your little family treated me so royally! I was really moved deep inside when you all sang ″Happy Birthday″ to me! It'd been such a long time that anyone had thought to do that! I want to tell you, I really treasure friends like you! It's comforting to know that there are a few other folks around who remember me on my birthday, too! God bless them! Sweet folks like yourself who are close to me, who celebrate my birthday with a nice time of fellowship and a simple meal together. I never miss being with them on that day!
You know, that little manger scene you and your children had put up in the corner of your livingroom was really touching! It's sweet that people commemorate my birth like that. But did you know that these days, in some countries, the authorities won't even allow people to have manger scenes in the parks and streets or in public places anymore!! – Not to mention schools! And I'm not even talking about those Communist countries! I'm talking about the ″good ol' USA″! Imagine! What could be more innocent than a manger scene to remind people of my birthday? – And yet they ban it! They've actually passed laws against it and made it illegal! What's this world coming to?
You know, the thing that realy amazes me about how most people celebrate my birthday is how, instead of giving me presents, they give them to each other! – And on top of it, it's often all kinds of things that they don't even need! Let me ask you this: Wouldn't you find it odd, if, when your birthday came along, all your friends decided to celebrate it by giving each other presents and never give you a thing? Well, it happens to me every year!
Someone once told me, ″Well, it's because you're not around like other people are, so how can we give you presents?″ You know my answer to that one. I've always said, ″Well, then give gifts of food and clothing to the poor and help to those who need it. Go visit the lonely.″ I said, ″Listen, any gift you give to your needy fellowman, I'll count that as if you gave it to me personally!″
You've read it in my book, where I shall say to my friends: ″Come you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the World. For I was hungry and you gave Me food : I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink: I was a stranger and you took Me in: naked, and you clothed Me: I was sick, and you visited Me: I was in prison, and you came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry, and fed You? Or thirsty, and gave You drink? When did we see You a stranger, and took You in? Or naked, and clothed You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and came unto You? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, as often as you have done it unto one of the least of these, My brothers, you have done it unto Me! ″ (Matthew 25:34-40) A few people give to the poor on my birthday – Bless their souls! – But for the most part people just seem to ignore my advice.
Well, sad to say, things are getting worse each year. You can just imagine my shock a few years ago when I began to see people talking my name out of my birthday greeting and replacing it with an ″X″! What an insult! Think of it! What if I wrote you a birthday card and said, Happy Birthday X! You'd probably never talk to me again! And that's just about how it makes me feel! I mean, what more could they do to push me right out of the picture on my own birthday?
It reminds me of what happened to a friend of mine in the States, a dear sweet elderly black fellow named Sam who had been trying unsuccessfully for many months to join a church. But it was a very exclusive church for ″good, proper ″ folks, and they just didn't want old Sam as a member. I finally found him sitting on the church steps with his head in his hands, tears in his eyes, and I asked him what was wrong. When he told me about it, I put my arm around him and I said, ″Sam, I know just how you feel. I've been trying to get into that same church for twenty years myself, and they've never get me in either! ″
It's really beginning to be to much the way so many folks seem to go crazy with presents and tinsel and glitter at Christmastime. Well, there's an end to even my patience.
So I'm going to let you in a secret, Loreta. Now, this is something that I've been planning on doing for quite some time, the way things are going, I think I'm going to have to put it into effect pretty soon. I'm planning to hold my own party! How about that! It's going to be the biggest, most fantastic feast you could possibly imagine! My friend John already leaked news abot it a while ago (See Revelation 19:6-9), but he couldn't really fully describe what it's going to be like! Just wait and see! It's going to be the best party you could possibly imagine! I'm going to bring out the best vintage wine that you ever tasted in your life! (Matthew 26:29) And the food is going to be just Heavenly! (Revelation 2:7,17)
I've actually been making preparations for it for quite some time now, but it might be a little while before I can finish everything up, so it might not happen this year.- But I'm sending out the invitations now anyway, 'cause I know you'll want to come. (Relevation 22:17) – And bring your family and friends. There's going to be room for billions of people, everyone who wants to come! Some really famous oldtimers and celebrities are going to be there, and I'll reserve you a seat of honour right with them! (Matthew 8:11)
But you'd better hold on to your hat because when everything's ready, I'm going to spring it as a surprise and a lot of people are going to be left out in the cold because they didn't answer my invitations! Please let me know right away if you'd like to come, and I'll reserve you a place and write your name in large golden letters in my great big Guest-Book!
Much love, Jesus