I am sure that like me you join
in many of the Christmas traditions. The
buying of a Christmas tree followed by its decoration with all things
tacky. The sending and receiving of
Christmas cards. The advent candle and
the advent calenders (chocolate of course).
Then on Christmas day itself, opening the presents from Santa, going to
church, sitting down to Roast Turkey and all the trimmings, pulling Christmas
crackers and wearing silly hats whilst telling terrible jokes! Playing games, listening to the queens speech,
going out for a walk, left over turkey for tea, watching Morcambe and Wise and
then doing it all again on boxing day!
I wonder if like me your family
also has its own quirky Christmas traditions?
Steve, my father in law, and me play a game where we have to sing the
first song that comes into our heads as we open each present! My Dad has a Christmas tradition of reminding
us how lucky we all are by telling his favourite story of how he only ever got a
bit of charcoal, nuts and an orange for Christmas and even that had to be
shared between him and his two brothers!
We have a recent tradition that’s
come about in our family. After we have
set up the tree we then set up a very special nativity scene. As we set it up I am able to tell my three
young daughters that this was made and bought during my stay in Bethlehem. That in fact the shop was in manger square
just outside the church of the nativity where many think is close to where
Jesus was born. As we set it up I am
able to share how Jesus would not have been born in Bethlehem today because of the
monstrous wall keeping the Palestinians imprisoned and the Israelis separate. My children of course ask the obvious
question, ‘why do they need a wall’? I
share with them the things that are wrong with the world, the injustices, the
war, the hunger and the homeless and that during Advent particularly we are
waiting for Jesus to come back and make all things new. A new kingdom where there will be no more
tears, no pain, no homeless, no hunger, where lion and lamb will lie down
together and death will be swallowed up all together. We pray that God’s kingdom will come as it is
in heaven.
I am also able to share with
them that advent is a time of hope. And
I share stories of what God has done in the past as well as through His people
today. I tell them the story of when I
had the privilege to walk around the wall with one of our blind church
members. How I described the Banksy
murals, the words of hope written and the pictures painted by visitors wanting
to offer the Palestinians hope. We then
reached the ‘Wall Museum’. There are
a series of stories written by Palestinian woman who experienced suffering and
oppression, steadfastness and resilience, with moments of hope which the wall
tries to kill. As I read these to my
friend we both wept, but then we came to one particular story and the
floodgates truly opened. It is the
story of the baby and the soldiers.
“Israeli soldiers were beating
up a man in a crowded street. From all
sides people rushed to the scene.
Suddenly a woman with a baby came forward to the man and shouted: ‘Why is it
always you who makes problems and goes to demonstrations! I am fed up!
Take this baby of yours! I don’t
want to see you ever again’. She laid
the baby in the hands of the man, and ran away.
The soldiers left the scene in confusion. When quiet came , the man returned the baby
to the woman. They had never seen each other before.”
As we wept together, I pondered
whether I would have put my baby in the hands of a stranger to make the men
with guns, kicking and punching him go away.
As I pondered I realised how this Palestinian woman was an imitator of
our God. In the same way as this woman
put her beloved baby in the hands of another to save him, our glorious God,
took his beloved Son and took Him from the riches of eternity and placed him in
the hands of Mary and Joseph, shepherds and Magi, you and I. And of course He did it for the same reason
as the woman, to save each of them and all of us from death.
This Christmas as you enjoy all
your family traditions please remember the incredible gift of Jesus. That God took his beloved and placed him in
our arms to save us and protect us and to walk with us. So that we can know that, whether this
Christmas is joyful or a struggle, a time of celebrating or mourning that our
God is with us, bringing healing and hope and leading us on to undying
life. Whatever your situation… whatever
the pain… whatever the struggles… whoever you will miss… whatever the injustice…
whatever lays heavy… may you know God handing into your arms his beloved baby
son this Christmas to walk with you and to protect you. The baby that is called Wonderful Councillor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. And because of this gift… may the peace and
joy of Christ be yours this Christmas and forever more. Amen.
