And normal is.....

from Helen

I don’t know about you but I find the time between Christmas and New Years Day very confusing. There are no normal days, we have eaten lots (well I have !!!) and we may have watched more TV than normal, spent time with friends and family. Life is just not quite normal. 

I was thinking about this the other day and it actually caused me to wonder what is normal really? In one Church there was a lady who when I asked how she was would answer, laughingly,  “I am ok – it’s all the others who need to worry.” I actually respect this response. I found a card once which said, “I tried being normal – and it was boring so I went back to being me.” I really liked that statement.

Normal is something that can be quite confusing. As we move towards a new year so there have been a number of saints that the Church has remembered. First there was the first Christian martyr Stephen on 26th December. Then there was John the Apostle and Evangelist on 27th December, the Holy Innocents on 28th, Saturday 6th  January is the Epiphany and the 7th is the baptism of Jesus. 

Yes, there is no normal between Christmas and New year. In the Church there is more to remember with various saints and looking forward to next year.Nothing is normal, whatever normal is, and it is all a bit confusing. 

This morning I want to get to the bottom of being normal – it is a challenge but I think we can do it. 

I want to start with the gospel reading (Luke 2:15-21) that we heard this morning. It tells of an incredible time as Jesus was born. Incredible to us and to those who were there. To be honest though, it must have been rather confusing. Everyone in the gospel reading had an encounter with God which would have been confusing. 

Firstly, there was Joseph. His life was sorted out, he was betrothed to a young woman named Mary. The necessary financial agreements between his family and Mary’s family had been finalised. Life was carrying on as expected. Life was good but then… shock horror Mary had some news that wasn’t only not the best but it shook Josephs world.

The lovely young lady to whom he was to be married announced that she was pregnant. He knew for sure that he wasn’t the dad. But then in case he thought of getting out of the situation an angel informed him in a dream that God was to blame, but it was all going to be good and so things were back on with Mary. To be fair that must have been more confusing, not even a soap opera could top this ! Joseph had an encounter with God that was far from normal.

Then there were the shepherds, who to be fair, were just doing their jobs then suddenly there was a bright light and singing. Confused –may have been the right description but then they had a message from some angels which caused them to find a baby and not only this but to be so excited that they ran out and told everyone what had happened!! This is not just confusing and out of the ordinary to be honest it just sounds a little too bizarre for words. The shepherds had an encounter with God that was far from normal.

Last week I spoke about Mary, and her response to the news that she was to have a baby. Her response was one of praise but surely she must have been more than slightly confused. She had given birth and then suddenly some shepherds came to visit. Don’t get me started on the wise men who turned up - we’ll think about them next week. But, can you imagine the confusion and wonder of Mary.  In the reading we heard that Mary treasured these things but not just in a ‘what lovely memories these will make’ kind of way she thought about them, she pondered them – what did this all mean? Mary had an encounter with God that was far from normal.

The gospel reading has elements that must have confused people, a bit like us not being sure what date it is, or me just being generally confused but I think that there is one thing in all our readings that may sort things out. This came from the epistle reading from the letter to the Galatians (4:4-7). In the reading we heard that God had sent His son to die for us. We heard that because of this we were able to call God – Father. 

This means that we are all the children of God. For Joseph, the shepherds and Mary they all had an incredible encounter with God, an encounter that was far from normal but something amazing happened. We have had an encounter with God and this has brought us something amazing. 

This is that we are children of God. Our encounter with God reminds us that no matter what else is going on around us, no matter how confusing life is, no matter what is or is not normal, God became one of us. Not only this but He counts us as His children.

This means that I think that it is ok to be a little odd at times, I think it is ok to be confused because I know that I worship God who became like me so that I could know Him more. God who became like all of us so that we can know His love and know that He sees us as His children!! 

This is incredible!! God became one of us so that we could encounter Him and know that we are loved. If all we ever remember is that we are loved by Godthen we have remembered the most important thing. Our normal is knowing that God loves us and we are His children. 

I don’t do news years resolutions really, to be honest I can never decide what to do. Although I do want to suggest something for us all. This is that we say to ourselves every day – “I am a child of God and He loves me.” This is a statement for our lives. Because when we remember that God loves us everything else will fall into place, this is our normal. I would like you to repeat after me..

“ I am a child of God and He loves me”. 

May we know this always. AMEN