What is the worst bit about Christmas for you?
For some it might be when you receive a present you might not want… You know the moment where someone has bought you something that your not 100% sure about it but you force a smile and deep down you are grateful that they have got you this gift. If it’s a piece of clothing you might only wear it when they are around, or if its an ornament it gets hidden on shelf. You might even re-gift it! You never know someone else might like it a lot more than you do…
For some it might be sprouts, being forced to eat one because its ‘tradition’. It might be having to watch TV you don’t want, because Grandparents are around. Even monopoly might be frustrating because you have been playing for 6 hours because one person just wont land on your hotel!
It’s an odd question I’ve asked, I know it is. However at the heart of all of these things that we might not like, at Christmas we are generally spending time with our loved ones. Yes you might exchange gifts, but actually, it is a time in our calendar year where people usually have a spare moment to share with the people they love.
However this year is going to be different.
This year has been really difficult for everyone, people have lost their jobs, not been able to see friends or families and far too many people are no longer with us. Those gifts are now been given on doorsteps, there is not as many people in our homes to play games like monopoly and those sprouts are now on the end of a 2m long fork…
We often look at the Christmas story as this happy event resulting in baby Jesus coming into the world and then everything is fine. However if you take the story and really look at it, I think for a lot of the story it’s often the opposite of happy. The story of a couple being isolated, getting taken away from everything they know, to have a baby in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t sound like an ideal time to me.
For Mary and Joseph non of this is how it was planned. It was them being stripped of all comfort, of all the things they rely on, and their world being changed forever. Speak to anyone that has ever had a baby, your parents are a good start. Ask them how life changed from the moment they had their first child.
I can tell you for Mary and Joseph, life definitely changed!
All of sudden in a moment, literally a heartbeat, and their whole world is turned upside down. Jesus is born and now they need to look after this other little human.
This wasn’t how they planned, this is not how they thought and dreamed of this moment to be.
For us this Christmas, I’m sure it is not how we planned, its not how we dreamed it to be.
Those moments that we usually say are the worst bits are the ones we might now cherish or even miss.
But in the story Jesus is now here, in the chaos, in the unprecedented, in the unplanned. I know that for Mary and Joseph they are doing this rough, its not easy, but there will have been a moment. It might have only been a moment, where time stood still and nothing else mattered to them. They had each other and they had their little baby that they called Jesus with them.
Another name given to Jesus is Emmanuel meaning God with Us. Think about that moment Mary, Joseph, Jesus – God with them. Time standing still before the baby starts crying, or the lack of sleep kicks in, or according to the story, shepherds and wise men burst in to say hello. Just their family, God now with them.
I think we can all relate to this idea of time standing still. You know where nothing else matters. Not the way we look or what we are wearing, where literally nothing else matters, just that moment, where time stood still.
What is it for you? Maybe when your sports team wins a trophy… or when you open the envelope for your results… or when you are around your family at Christmas….?
These are the moments that live with you forever and I think far too often we miss them. When I’ve been thinking about these moments I think there has to be a bit of magic in the air, I can’t really describe it better than that, something that you can’t touch or know, but you feel. I think that magic is often coupled by three things. Firstly being completely present, not thinking about anything else, it is just that moment in time that matters. Secondly being grateful for what you do have, like truly grateful understanding of the value that surrounds you. The home you live in, the opportunities you have and the people around you. Finally one which we seriously undervalue… being content. That peaceful satisfaction of where I am right now is good. That right now I don’t need the next thing, I’m not bothered I didn’t get the newest phone or best present ever. That you are happy with what you have and you are at peace with it. I think when we feel those three things together and there is that magic in the air then moments happen. Maybe that magic that is difficult to describe… maybe that is God.
For Mary and Joseph, they were present in the moment of the birth of their baby, they were grateful they had each other and they were content because they were all together. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with them. Then all of sudden time stands still for just a moment and the first Christmas arrives.
Emmanuel, God is with us, that is what is at the heart of this Christmas story is. That Jesus this little baby is far much more than just a child. That Jesus is God with us, on the earth, that is why those moments where time stands still can happen.
This year Christmas is going to be different for us all. For some of us we received the worst Christmas present we could when we got told we can’t see our family and friends. Lets face it, its not going to be ideal for anyone this year. But then again it wasn’t for Mary and Joseph. But in the midst of it all may there be moments where we are truly present, whole grateful and finally content with what we have and then, may we recognise Emmanuel… Jesus, who is God with us, whom sprinkles something magic that creates a moment. A moment where time stands still and we can cherish forever even in the chaos of what has been 2020.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Chris Mason
For some it might be when you receive a present you might not want… You know the moment where someone has bought you something that your not 100% sure about it but you force a smile and deep down you are grateful that they have got you this gift. If it’s a piece of clothing you might only wear it when they are around, or if its an ornament it gets hidden on shelf. You might even re-gift it! You never know someone else might like it a lot more than you do…
For some it might be sprouts, being forced to eat one because its ‘tradition’. It might be having to watch TV you don’t want, because Grandparents are around. Even monopoly might be frustrating because you have been playing for 6 hours because one person just wont land on your hotel!
It’s an odd question I’ve asked, I know it is. However at the heart of all of these things that we might not like, at Christmas we are generally spending time with our loved ones. Yes you might exchange gifts, but actually, it is a time in our calendar year where people usually have a spare moment to share with the people they love.
However this year is going to be different.
This year has been really difficult for everyone, people have lost their jobs, not been able to see friends or families and far too many people are no longer with us. Those gifts are now been given on doorsteps, there is not as many people in our homes to play games like monopoly and those sprouts are now on the end of a 2m long fork…
We often look at the Christmas story as this happy event resulting in baby Jesus coming into the world and then everything is fine. However if you take the story and really look at it, I think for a lot of the story it’s often the opposite of happy. The story of a couple being isolated, getting taken away from everything they know, to have a baby in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t sound like an ideal time to me.
For Mary and Joseph non of this is how it was planned. It was them being stripped of all comfort, of all the things they rely on, and their world being changed forever. Speak to anyone that has ever had a baby, your parents are a good start. Ask them how life changed from the moment they had their first child.
I can tell you for Mary and Joseph, life definitely changed!
All of sudden in a moment, literally a heartbeat, and their whole world is turned upside down. Jesus is born and now they need to look after this other little human.
This wasn’t how they planned, this is not how they thought and dreamed of this moment to be.
For us this Christmas, I’m sure it is not how we planned, its not how we dreamed it to be.
Those moments that we usually say are the worst bits are the ones we might now cherish or even miss.
But in the story Jesus is now here, in the chaos, in the unprecedented, in the unplanned. I know that for Mary and Joseph they are doing this rough, its not easy, but there will have been a moment. It might have only been a moment, where time stood still and nothing else mattered to them. They had each other and they had their little baby that they called Jesus with them.
Another name given to Jesus is Emmanuel meaning God with Us. Think about that moment Mary, Joseph, Jesus – God with them. Time standing still before the baby starts crying, or the lack of sleep kicks in, or according to the story, shepherds and wise men burst in to say hello. Just their family, God now with them.
I think we can all relate to this idea of time standing still. You know where nothing else matters. Not the way we look or what we are wearing, where literally nothing else matters, just that moment, where time stood still.
What is it for you? Maybe when your sports team wins a trophy… or when you open the envelope for your results… or when you are around your family at Christmas….?
These are the moments that live with you forever and I think far too often we miss them. When I’ve been thinking about these moments I think there has to be a bit of magic in the air, I can’t really describe it better than that, something that you can’t touch or know, but you feel. I think that magic is often coupled by three things. Firstly being completely present, not thinking about anything else, it is just that moment in time that matters. Secondly being grateful for what you do have, like truly grateful understanding of the value that surrounds you. The home you live in, the opportunities you have and the people around you. Finally one which we seriously undervalue… being content. That peaceful satisfaction of where I am right now is good. That right now I don’t need the next thing, I’m not bothered I didn’t get the newest phone or best present ever. That you are happy with what you have and you are at peace with it. I think when we feel those three things together and there is that magic in the air then moments happen. Maybe that magic that is difficult to describe… maybe that is God.
For Mary and Joseph, they were present in the moment of the birth of their baby, they were grateful they had each other and they were content because they were all together. Jesus, Emmanuel, God with them. Then all of sudden time stands still for just a moment and the first Christmas arrives.
Emmanuel, God is with us, that is what is at the heart of this Christmas story is. That Jesus this little baby is far much more than just a child. That Jesus is God with us, on the earth, that is why those moments where time stands still can happen.
This year Christmas is going to be different for us all. For some of us we received the worst Christmas present we could when we got told we can’t see our family and friends. Lets face it, its not going to be ideal for anyone this year. But then again it wasn’t for Mary and Joseph. But in the midst of it all may there be moments where we are truly present, whole grateful and finally content with what we have and then, may we recognise Emmanuel… Jesus, who is God with us, whom sprinkles something magic that creates a moment. A moment where time stands still and we can cherish forever even in the chaos of what has been 2020.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Chris Mason
