Christmas Eve 2011

Happy Christmas. Here is what I will be saying at Midnight tonight as we celebrate the coming of Jesus Christ as the baby in Bethlehem.

At this time of year – we hear a great deal about tradition.

The celebration of Christmas brings with it traditions from different countries – like the Moravian christingle we had this afternoon,

Those from Germany will have likely celebrated Christmas and their gifts this evening rather than wait until tomorrow.

And then I am sure in your own home you have your own traditions and ways that you celebrate – whether it be what you eat,  when you open your presents, what you watch on TV, these traditions are part of our celebrations.

And then there are traditions which are like folk lore – everyone knows for example that Father Christmas is a jolly fat man, wearing a read coat with a big white beard.

Or is he? – actually he didn’t appear like that til 1931 when Coca-Cola used this imagery in their advertising campaign, so you could say that Coca-Cola made Father Christmas what he is today!

Tradition I think is good though as it gives us a focus and a sense of group identity – particularly in a family.

It helps us to know what to expect, but I guess it could also stop us from doing things in different ways – but perhaps that doesn’t matter too much as we celebrate together.

If tradition influences how we celebrate Christmas I wonder too if tradition has influenced what we think about the whole Christmas story.

Each year we hear it again but can we get away from our imagery of the story that we have learnt at school and by watching nativity plays, even by singing carols.

We have the image of the nativity in one way – the traditional way but actually has this stopped us seeing the truth at the centre of it all.

If we take away the tradition what are we left with?

Let’s look at the story again and see.

Well Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel and told she was going to have a baby – that’s fact that’s what is written in the bible.

But what we don’t know is what that Angel looked like- we see him with wings and a halo, because that is what the pictures we have seen look like.

But other accounts of angels in the bible where of visitors who looked quite normal – in fact it was only after they had come that it was realised they were angelic.

But behind the traditional angel is the truth – Mary was to have God’s son.

And then they go on a long journey to Bethlehem- and we are told on a donkey.

Or are we?- no mention of the donkey in the bible.

Makes a good carol though doesn’t it, we don’t know she didn’t but we also don’t know she did.

We do hear mention of another donkey in the bible though – when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to show he was the King of Kings, riding in to Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week in triumph and to is death on the cross.

The donkey the sign of his humility.

And then we have this wonderful picture of the Inn, perhaps in our mind some 1^st century Travelodge or Premier Inn.

The likely hood is though although the city was full because of the census the Inn wouldn’t have looked as we imagined.

The word for Inn used in the bible is the same as the upper room, it was likely to be just an extra room for lodging in an ordinary house.

And then what about the stable, well we imagine again – or tradition dictates a nice wooden structure.

The likely hood is though that Jesus would have been born in a cave under the house, that is where animals would have been kept.

And all we are told is that Jesus was born and laid in a manger – because there was no room in the Inn or upper room.

And then we are told that Magi – wise men from the East came to visit the new family.

Three of them? No three presents were given but we don’t know how many and we certainly don’t know their names.

We do know though that they followed the star which led them to see the Prince of peace lying in a manger.

So you see even in our celebration of the nativity we have added tradition to help us see the story.

Perhaps that is not a bad thing – but sometimes we need to take that away and see what is left.

Take away the images of tinsel angels, take away the donkeys and the wooden stables and three Kings in crowns and see what we are left with.

And actually we don’t need the extras because what we are left with is still an incredible story – an incredible picture of love and peace.

Here we have the young Mary willing to take on one of the most important roles in history, and heavily pregnant with her new husband beside her they make the long treck to Bethlehem.

There she gives birth and lays her new baby in a trough which is used to feed animals, likelihood in a cave.

And to announce the baby angels do visit Shepherds – the lowest of the low and the star does shine to show the way for he visit of those of more high esteem – wise men from the East.

This is the eternal truth of the incarnation – of God coming to earth to be with Man.

When you take away all tradition this is what we are left with – the miracle of God’s birth, the baby in the Manger the Christ child, God’s son.

The angels said these words to the Shepherds we hear in Luke’s gospel:

“Today in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.”

The saviour of the world born without a huge fuss, born in the lowliest of surroundings but born to change the world forever.

When we strip back the reality and just see the miracle of the birth we see the incredible truth for ourselves – that Jesus crept into the world, with no amazing fuss.

He crept into the world, not demanding our attention, but awaiting our response.

He crept into the world, and showed us God’s love.

He crept into the world to be our Saviour, Mary may not have ridden on a donkey – but we know that Jesus did on his way for our salvation.

And as he creeps in to the world today – what is our response to him.

Just a nice story, something we traditionally read this time of year.

Or are we willing to strip back the tradition and be open to see the baby for who he truly is

–       and what is our response to him?

–       he may not demand a response from us, but he wants us to respond to him.

And if we do he can offer to us true Peace on earth, peace in our hearts and lives,  as we let him take a place in our lives and as we let his truth into our hearts and minds.