As we prepare for this magical season of Christmas again, we are reminded of what this special time of year is all about.
The Christmas story that we know so well shows us clearly that God speaks to all kinds of different people: people doing ordinary jobs, people of all ages, people trying to understand their world. It shows that we can be doing all sorts of different things: working, worshipping, watching, working out, or even waiting patiently and God can and does speak to us.
It shows us too that God can communicate to us in all sorts of different ways: through angel messengers (although unusual today), or very quietly inside us, or through other people, or through books or music. The beautiful carol “O little Town of Bethlehem “- along with other carols, help capture the message from the heart of God.
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His Heaven.
There were lots of people centuries ago hoping and longing for the blessing of God’s heaven in the final coming of the promised Messiah. There were many people at the temple that could have seen Him in the arms of his parents Mary and Joseph, but most were too busy to stop and wonder and ask questions too busy living to find out what life is about.
It was a very old man who had been waiting for God’s promised Messiah and there in that little wrinkled face, that tiny vulnerable child staring up at his peaceful face was the fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose.
It was to a handful of men in the dead of night, getting on with their ordinary lives that God spoke. These were people who stayed on the sidelines of society and others were happy with that.
Yet God chose these marginalized men to be among the first that He would share the news of the birth of His precious Son. The coming of Jesus down to this earth is a story we have all known since we were little kids and yet we forget its power.
CHRISTMAS FAITH
Father: faith is in a person, God the Father
Action: faith without action is dead
Incarnation: we meet God in the flesh through Jesus
Trust: the central ingredient of faith is trust
Holy: holiness can be experienced by us.
With all our love at Christmas time
Diane, Mark (and Bob of course!).