Festival changes, but not the truth behind it
THE Christmas Festival changes every year. There will be differences in the number of folks with whom we celebrate and in the choice of gifts and catering arrangements.
However, the truth behind the Christmas celebrations never changes and it continues to haunt, encourage and inspire us.
That truth can be found in the story of the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:111) and especially in the words “for there was no room for them in the inn.”
That is the root of the problem we have as human beings and the way we treat one another.
All too often there is no room in our hearts and lives for those outside the small group we call the circle of our family and friends and even then, there can be unhappiness and pain.
No room in our thoughts for those who serve us and care for us in our local communities.
No room in our hearts for those who are victims of famine, war, and persecution.
No room for those who are different.
Have we really progressed as a society with homelessness on our streets, food banks for the impoverished and violence as a way of life?
We often have no room in our attitudes towards one another because our view of God is too small.
We fail to see sometimes that there is always room in His heart for each one of us that is not earned but offered in unconditional love.
He has given to each one of us the capacity to share this kind of love towards our neighbour, the stranger in our midst and those who cry out to us for help.
“If you love those who love you what credit is that to you?” (Jesus, as recorded in Luke 6:32-36)
The truth that underlies Christmas is not a “tit for tat” arrangement in human relationships but a total transformation in the way we are to live with one another.
It is a dreadful indictment on humanity that room could not be found in Bethlehem for a mum and her new baby.
That human nature as found in Bethlehem is also found in our town and cities today.
Our God enters “a world such as this” in Jesus to address and change this situation and transform us to make things better. It is because we are not as we are meant to be that Jesus is born in the first place.
The greatest and most lasting Christmas present we can ever have is God Himself. Is there room in our hearts for
His love, His way of looking at life, His kindness, and His integrity?
There is an important challenge to all of us in this favourite carol:
O Little One sweet, O Little one mild,
in thee Love’s beauties are all distilled.
Then light in us thy love’s bright flame,
that we might give thee back the same,
O Little One sweet, O Little One mild.
Canon George Burgon, Barton Seagrave