Getting it rightBy the Revd David Burgess
Why celebrate Christmas?
There are probably as many reasons as there are people reading this article, but I’m sure that in the vast majority of cases, they’re sincere ones. They’ll spring from thoughts of fellowship, or family values; or a sense of place, of the rightness of being in a particular church at this particular time. They’ll be to do with tradition or comfort or familiarity – and there’s nothing wrong with any of that. I think Christmas is a fantastic time, ripe for celebration and making the most of what we value.
But I want to simplify things a little – well, a lot, in fact. I think there’s one main reason. In Jesus Christ, we’ve met God and he has met our needs.
That means that you and I need God. Or maybe you can get along fine without him – I used to think that way myself. We’re decent human beings who might like to dip into religion occasionally if we feel the need for support or if we want to sample some of the higher human values in life. Secular or religious? It doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy and secure where you are.
The problem is, even the safest and most secure Christians are all too aware that they mess things up. They get things wrong; they disappoint themselves. They know their need of God. They also know that there’s a solution. It’s here, and it’s now, it’s Jesus and it’s to be celebrated.
And if you’re with me so far, you’re probably ahead of me and anticipating a cliché or two; “Jesus is the reason for the season”, and so on… but I’m not going to go there. A need of God and the solution to that need in Jesus isn’t just a Christmas thing; it comes down to a permanent, real relationship between you and God.
I’ll finish with the words of a New York pastor named Michael Phillips, who wrote this for a Christmas Eve sermon a few years ago. It sums up the night nicely.
“We need this baby. We need the saving he brings. We need not only to honour his birth, but later, to take up his cross and follow him into a new life of grace and hope and unity. Resting comfortably in that stable manger is not only a newborn infant, but also a new life for all of humanity.
The world is waiting. In the silence of this holy night, the world is waiting and longing and hoping to hear again that God’s love remains stronger than all other forces and schemes. God’s love, like the love of a parent for their newly born baby, endures and brings peace.”
May that peace be yours this Christmas. Amen.