Christmas 2009
This week I watched on the BBC Breakfast programme an article they had about an alternative Christmas concert – it was set up to compete with Church carol services and stressed that it was possible to celebrate Christmas without God being involved at all. I thought how sad it was that people could really think that, although I know there are plenty of people that do.
I went on to think how sad it was that the BBC should give such coverage to what was very much a fringe event – they did drop in to the story that 14 million people attend Church services at Christmas compared to 7000 attending this concert in various places throughout the country, but they seemed to think that was a reasonable balance.
Then of course there was another case this week of a lady suspended from her job as a supply teacher for offering to pray with a pupil who was sick and unable to attend school – the offer was made over a cup of tea to the child’s mother, not to the child, and when the offer was declined there was no suggestion that any pressure was put on the mother. However when the council received a complaint from the mother, they suspended the teacher on the grounds that it could be deemed to be a form of bullying !
This follows on from several other cases during the year where it seems that our supposedly liberal society has banned any suggestion of being a Christian.
We could also follow this with the actions of various councils throughout the country who have decided to make Christmas very much a secular festival, and removed any suggestion that it might actually be about the birth of Jesus.
It would easy to turn this into some sort of rant against a politically correct society gone absolutely mad but apart from not being a very cheerful Christmas message, it would also be the wrong thing to do, because Christmas is a celebration of something so great, so wonderful, that nothing should over ride the good news we celebrate that Jesus is born.
A lady called Marjorie was invited to spend Christmas with her 3 God children and their parents. She was really excited and started planning the presents. It wasn’t easy ! As she was out shopping she looked first for a present for the 14 year old boy. She spent a long time and eventually found a book about Manchester United – assuming most 14 year olds liked football and liked Manchester United she decided it would be a good present.
Then it was on to the 12 year old girl and she had a great idea – girls of that age love the X Factor and so she decided on a CD of the winner, Joe McElderry. For the 7 year old boy she looked around and found a really good tractor.
She was really pleased with these presents and then thought about a present for the parents. She looked around and decided on a beautiful crib .
When it came to Christmas morning, she gave the gifts. The parents thanked her not very enthusiastically and explained that they didn’t really like the religious bit of Christmas. She then heard the older boy say how he didn’t like Manchester United and was a Liverpool supporter. The girl opened her CD and said she didn’t like Joe and had wanted Olly to win, and then she heard a crash as the tractor was thrown across the room, the youngest child describing it as a stupid present.
Marjorie went to her room and cried. Perhaps on reflection she should have known the children better, but she could have at least have expected a polite thank you for her efforts.
And then we think of God and the wonderful Christmas gift of Jesus – unlike Marjorie God knows each one of us perfectly. He understands our needs, and yet so often his gift is still rejected just as strongly as those gifts… And that rejection comes in the ridiculous Council decisions to banish Christ at Christmas, it comes in the BBC coverage of incredibly minority events, it comes in the form of political correctness – it comes also in the continuing violence and segregation in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus’ birth, it comes in the wars around the world today…, but it comes also when we fail to realise what a gift we have in Jesus, and we fail to really celebrate that gift…
The message of Christmas isn’t a negative one, and it never should be. It shouldn’t be about moaning about what could or should be, but about celebrating the joy of what is and what will be – in the gospel we heard again the incredible story of the first Christmas – of a child born to be the Saviour of the world !
We heard the prophetic words of Isaiah – the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and it is that light rather than the darkness that we must be pointing to ! Instead of focusing on what is bad, we must focus on the person who came to bring light for everyone…
Lots of Churches hold traditional nine lessons and carols services. In the 9 readings the story of Jesus’ birth is told, right back from the Genesis accounts of Adam and the first sin, to the prophecy of Isaiah predicting the birth of a Saviour, through the calling of Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and then on to the birth of Jesus in the gospel account we have today, then the appearance of the shepherds and the wise men before the beginning of John’s gospel is read.
It goes without saying that perhaps the most clear reading in the whole service is the gospel we have today, telling the story of Jesus’ birth. However I heard of a carol service recently where the readings were left carefully on the lectern and when you finished your reading you turned over the page for the next person. One of the readers however forgot to turn over the page and the same reading was read twice in a row !
When the next reader came up she realised the mistake and turned over 2 pages to her correct reading, but this meant that the reading from Luke, the account of the birth of Jesus, was left out of the service altogether !
So many people get to Christmas and do all the preparation but fail to really see the birth of Jesus… That is what Christmas is all about – about an incredible gift of God, a gift offering hope and peace and salvation to everyone, about a child born into humble beginnings who would transform not just the life of his parents or family, but who would transform the whole of history…
We don’t need to look at the negatives which are all around us, instead we need to proclaim the positives – to proclaim Jesus ! On Sunday I, and many of you, heard a wonderful rendition of the song ‘Go tell it on the mountain’ sung by the children in the carol service – it was wonderful not particularly for it’s musical brilliance, though there was nothing wrong with that, but it was wonderful for the incredible enthusiasm with which those words were shouted out, ‘Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born !’
May that be the Christmas message that echoes out from our Churches and through our lives – a message of joy and peace and hope and salvation, a message for everyone ! ‘Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born !’. AMEN
I went on to think how sad it was that the BBC should give such coverage to what was very much a fringe event – they did drop in to the story that 14 million people attend Church services at Christmas compared to 7000 attending this concert in various places throughout the country, but they seemed to think that was a reasonable balance.
Then of course there was another case this week of a lady suspended from her job as a supply teacher for offering to pray with a pupil who was sick and unable to attend school – the offer was made over a cup of tea to the child’s mother, not to the child, and when the offer was declined there was no suggestion that any pressure was put on the mother. However when the council received a complaint from the mother, they suspended the teacher on the grounds that it could be deemed to be a form of bullying !
This follows on from several other cases during the year where it seems that our supposedly liberal society has banned any suggestion of being a Christian.
We could also follow this with the actions of various councils throughout the country who have decided to make Christmas very much a secular festival, and removed any suggestion that it might actually be about the birth of Jesus.
It would easy to turn this into some sort of rant against a politically correct society gone absolutely mad but apart from not being a very cheerful Christmas message, it would also be the wrong thing to do, because Christmas is a celebration of something so great, so wonderful, that nothing should over ride the good news we celebrate that Jesus is born.
A lady called Marjorie was invited to spend Christmas with her 3 God children and their parents. She was really excited and started planning the presents. It wasn’t easy ! As she was out shopping she looked first for a present for the 14 year old boy. She spent a long time and eventually found a book about Manchester United – assuming most 14 year olds liked football and liked Manchester United she decided it would be a good present.
Then it was on to the 12 year old girl and she had a great idea – girls of that age love the X Factor and so she decided on a CD of the winner, Joe McElderry. For the 7 year old boy she looked around and found a really good tractor.
She was really pleased with these presents and then thought about a present for the parents. She looked around and decided on a beautiful crib .
When it came to Christmas morning, she gave the gifts. The parents thanked her not very enthusiastically and explained that they didn’t really like the religious bit of Christmas. She then heard the older boy say how he didn’t like Manchester United and was a Liverpool supporter. The girl opened her CD and said she didn’t like Joe and had wanted Olly to win, and then she heard a crash as the tractor was thrown across the room, the youngest child describing it as a stupid present.
Marjorie went to her room and cried. Perhaps on reflection she should have known the children better, but she could have at least have expected a polite thank you for her efforts.
And then we think of God and the wonderful Christmas gift of Jesus – unlike Marjorie God knows each one of us perfectly. He understands our needs, and yet so often his gift is still rejected just as strongly as those gifts… And that rejection comes in the ridiculous Council decisions to banish Christ at Christmas, it comes in the BBC coverage of incredibly minority events, it comes in the form of political correctness – it comes also in the continuing violence and segregation in Bethlehem, the place of Jesus’ birth, it comes in the wars around the world today…, but it comes also when we fail to realise what a gift we have in Jesus, and we fail to really celebrate that gift…
The message of Christmas isn’t a negative one, and it never should be. It shouldn’t be about moaning about what could or should be, but about celebrating the joy of what is and what will be – in the gospel we heard again the incredible story of the first Christmas – of a child born to be the Saviour of the world !
We heard the prophetic words of Isaiah – the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and it is that light rather than the darkness that we must be pointing to ! Instead of focusing on what is bad, we must focus on the person who came to bring light for everyone…
Lots of Churches hold traditional nine lessons and carols services. In the 9 readings the story of Jesus’ birth is told, right back from the Genesis accounts of Adam and the first sin, to the prophecy of Isaiah predicting the birth of a Saviour, through the calling of Mary to be the mother of Jesus, and then on to the birth of Jesus in the gospel account we have today, then the appearance of the shepherds and the wise men before the beginning of John’s gospel is read.
It goes without saying that perhaps the most clear reading in the whole service is the gospel we have today, telling the story of Jesus’ birth. However I heard of a carol service recently where the readings were left carefully on the lectern and when you finished your reading you turned over the page for the next person. One of the readers however forgot to turn over the page and the same reading was read twice in a row !
When the next reader came up she realised the mistake and turned over 2 pages to her correct reading, but this meant that the reading from Luke, the account of the birth of Jesus, was left out of the service altogether !
So many people get to Christmas and do all the preparation but fail to really see the birth of Jesus… That is what Christmas is all about – about an incredible gift of God, a gift offering hope and peace and salvation to everyone, about a child born into humble beginnings who would transform not just the life of his parents or family, but who would transform the whole of history…
We don’t need to look at the negatives which are all around us, instead we need to proclaim the positives – to proclaim Jesus ! On Sunday I, and many of you, heard a wonderful rendition of the song ‘Go tell it on the mountain’ sung by the children in the carol service – it was wonderful not particularly for it’s musical brilliance, though there was nothing wrong with that, but it was wonderful for the incredible enthusiasm with which those words were shouted out, ‘Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain, that Jesus Christ is born !’
May that be the Christmas message that echoes out from our Churches and through our lives – a message of joy and peace and hope and salvation, a message for everyone ! ‘Go tell it on the mountain, over the hills and everywhere. Go tell it on the mountain that Jesus Christ is born !’. AMEN
Comments