Dear Friends,
May I begin by wishing you a good Christmas celebration this year and peace in the New Year.
As I write this, we are still waiting to see whether our plans for the celebrations will be affected by any further restrictions announced by the government to reduce the spread and the risk from the omicron variant.
This is reminiscent of the first Christmas, when the decisions of the then government, impacted drastically on all the people. The announcement to count the people in order to tax them, was probably an unpopular move. To then insist that people travelled to their place of birth was another step altogether. Anyone who had moved away from their roots faced unexpected journeys, the loss of income from their work, and the expense of the journey and accommodation. A big disruption.
The decision of Herod to remove any threat to his power from a new born king led to the infanticide and the slaughter of many small children. It is a part of the Christmas story we tend to avoid and overlook. But again the action of the government intervenes and creates chaos, suffering and fear among the people.
Without the interventions of the government of the time, we would not have the familiar Christmas stories which are so important to us.
God’s coming to us in Jesus was not thwarted by the politics of the day, and we face this Christmas and New Year with uncertainty and perhaps some anxiety.
Just as Mary and Joseph had to be flexible in their plans, adjusting to the circumstances, making huge life changing choices to flee Herod’s soldiers, so the wise men had to adjust their plans several times. The shepherd too had choices to make; whether to stay with their sheep or go to Bethlehem.
Into such a world as this, comes God in Jesus. With us, near to us, showing love and hope and light from within the threats and dangers and darkness of our world. This is what we celebrate, this is the news we have to share.
Peace
Tim