Christmas is supposed to be a time for sharing, for giving, for getting together, and for peace and love. And there are plenty of romantic, feel-good movies to watch on television to get us into the mood.
Working as a counsellor, I also know that too often it is a time of loneliness, stress and family strife.
While we like the romantic ideal of togetherness and harmony, we also know that it is 'not real life', that love is not measured in tinsel or by the price of a present, and that everything returns to normal within a very few days.
Here is the real message of love at Christmas: that, while people were greedy, selfish, divided and warring, the loving God sent his son Jesus into the world to freely offer peace, joy, total fulfilment and eternal life to all who would accept it.
It wasn't romantic: the stable was smelly, Mary and Joseph were poor, and they had to become refugees as they fled in fear of their lives. And there was no feel-good ending - for it led to a painful and bloody death on a cross.
But it was an act of total love, giving everything for us, who did not, and do not, deserve it!
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Tuesday, 24 December 2013
Tuesday, 18 December 2012
A nice feeling Christmas
At this time of year we all like the familiar, warm feeling of Christmas - carol singers with candles, mince pies and mulled wine, nine lessons and carols, a Christmas tree with baubles and tinsel and enticing presents beneath. Somehow it is cozy and safe, reminding us of childhood excitement, snowmen and sledges, followed by hot chocolate.
If only that were the message of Christianity at Christmas!
I'm all for the things above - a time to pause from the bustle of life and re-connect with family and give gifts. But actually I'm very glad that this is not the message of Christianity! For it is also somehow irrelevant to the rather harsher realities of most of life, which includes financial struggles, unemployment, rejections, broken relationships and anxiety. If Christianity has anything useful to offer, it must be relevant to real life.
Perhaps that is why the Christian celebration of Christmas is about God coming into the world as a baby, born in poverty in a muddy shed, welcomed by a few and ignored by the majority, and the family's flight as refugees into exile as the despot ruler massacred children in an attempt to kill the baby.*
Umm, not much tinsel there ... and yet the Love of God revealed.
I hope you have a loving, safe and peaceful Christmas.
* You can read about it yourself in the Bible, in Matthew Chapter 2
If only that were the message of Christianity at Christmas!
I'm all for the things above - a time to pause from the bustle of life and re-connect with family and give gifts. But actually I'm very glad that this is not the message of Christianity! For it is also somehow irrelevant to the rather harsher realities of most of life, which includes financial struggles, unemployment, rejections, broken relationships and anxiety. If Christianity has anything useful to offer, it must be relevant to real life.
Perhaps that is why the Christian celebration of Christmas is about God coming into the world as a baby, born in poverty in a muddy shed, welcomed by a few and ignored by the majority, and the family's flight as refugees into exile as the despot ruler massacred children in an attempt to kill the baby.*
Umm, not much tinsel there ... and yet the Love of God revealed.
I hope you have a loving, safe and peaceful Christmas.
* You can read about it yourself in the Bible, in Matthew Chapter 2
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