Christmas Eve


Isaiah 9: 2-7, Luke 2: 1-14

I don’t know if you caught the news story about 10 days ago that a pub landlord in the Wiltshire village of Shrewton had gone off to France with the contents of his customers’ Christmas saving scheme – a total of about £30,000.
The part that made me saddest was an interview with one of the people affected who said “We had £800 saved – and without that money there’ll be no Christmas for us”.

The good news is that the village rallied round and made money available to people for presents and food.
But how sad it was for the man who thought that Christmas would not come without the money?

Of course we all like to have special food and drink and of course it’s lovely to see the faces of your loved ones light up when they open a present they really like – but Christmas will come – whether we spend our money or not.

Christmas will come because the clock will tick around and we’ll cross the days off the calendar and soon (very soon!) it will be December 25th and whatever our level of income and whatever our state of mind, and whether other people have cherished us or exploited us, we will remember the birth of Christ.

The light will shine even in the lands of deep darkness, promises Isaiah. Where the boots of warriors have marched, a child will be born who will reveal God’s rule and God’s authority.

The light will shine in the lives of a young couple who haven’t even got a room for the night, who have been made homeless by the decree of government.

The light will shine on the hills where there is work to be done, sheep to be looked after. Where nothing ever happens, suddenly the sky is filled with the song of angels.

The light of God’s love shown in Jesus will shine on the rich and on the poor. The light will shine when we are surrounded by stuff and when we have nothing but the need to know we are not alone.

Christmas is so much simpler and yet richer than all the fun and festivities with which we surround it.
God loves us enough to come and share our lives – then in Bethlehem, now in Whittlesford.
Hear the angels sing the glorious truth – there can be peace and goodwill for all people – God’s love for everyone alive.

Christmas is here. God has entered our human world – and he will never leave us on our own.
Thanks be to God. Amen

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spring IS coming!

I love to dip into Revgalblogpals, and though I don't usually 'play' at the Friday five questions, I thought that with no sermon to do I would, for a change: Sally writes: Candlemass is past, and Christmas is well and truly over, here in the UK February looks set to be its usual grey and cold self. Signs of spring are yet to emerge; if like me you long for them perhaps you need ways to get through these long dark days. So lets share a few tips for a cold and rainy/ snowy day.... 1. Exercise, what do you do if you can't face getting out into the cold and damp? I do find it therapeutic to clean the house vigourously - but if you could see the dust you'd know I don't often get round to it! I also make a point of always running, rather than walking, upstairs - something my mum always did until her stroke. 2. Food; time to comfort eat, or time to prepare your body for the coming spring/summer? I try to eat healthily, but my body craves carbohydrate. 3. Brainpower; do...
Read more

Epiphany 2: Nathanael... & Jacob

Genesis 28: 10-22 (not the lectionary reading!); John 1: 43-51 I love the Sundays of Epiphany – starting with the visit of the Magi (which we celebrated last week) and then moving on to other stories of God’s presence on earth being revealed to people. I think what I most love is the idea that we don’t just pack away the Christmas decorations and forget about God’s love being incarnate in Jesus, but we allow the story of Jesus’ coming to earth to open our eyes to other ways in which God’s love is present to us.   What can be better to start the new year than a series of reminders that God is with us and that we can expect to meet with God in 2024.   Today we heard two very related Biblical stories of God’s presence.   The first is the vision given to Jacob, when he saw angels going up and down a ladder between earth and heaven.    You might think that Jacob is a specially holy person to be given this vision: nothing could be further from the truth. Jacob is the ...
Read more

Judging.

Amos 7: 7-15;   Mark 6: 14-29 To be honest, I’ve had a bit of a hectic week since returning from URC General Assembly late on Monday night; involving a church path, a funeral, 2 more funerals to organize, and many more things you don’t need to know about. What I really needed was a break after Assembly – which was hard work and faced the URC with some tough choices about budget cuts and how to find God’s way forward. Of course the general Synod of the Church of England was no picnic, either – and I know Methodist Conference had a hairy time, too. I’m left feeling that Church politics is bad for your health. And anyway, the Gospel reading seems a bit gory and unnecessary and I’m tired and ready for a holiday. So I was all ready to preach about Amos and plumblines & how God helps us to sort our lives out by showing us what is good and true and straight. In any case I’m sure I’m not the only one who feels uncomfortable with the idea of a God who judges you – or will ...
Read more