Feeling Between a Rock & a Hard Place?

 

Are you feeling like you're between a rock and a hard place? Well, welcome to 'Twixmas' - that annual period between Christmas and the New Year holidays when everything seems to shut down! The glories of the festive season are behind us now, and the wonder and nostalgia that coloured the whole period in pastel shades of emotion and reminiscence, are past. In their place is the nagging feeling that we may have overdone it in the eating or drinking department, or both, and certainly the awareness that our wallets are a great deal lighter than they were a month ago! Hmm, the real reason for the season may be slipping away like a burning sunset - glorious in its time but hard to take into the next day.

And then there's the future, growing and growling before us like some kind of new family pet - will it bite us or be the best friend we have ever had? And what about this enormous number - 2024? Where did that come from? They just don't make these years the same size as they used to. I have only just got used to putting a 20 instead of a 19 in front of my year dates and suddenly we are nearly a quarter of the way through a new century! And just like the last one, it is marked by wars and rumours of wars, pandemics, eruptions, earthquakes and the enemy that eats holes in all our purses - inflation. 

The past and the future do loom over us and can make us very afraid. Thankfully there are resources that we can take hold of, even in this in-between period that can be so scary. For the past we need to discover the power of forgiveness. We need it for ourselves in case we feel that we could have done better. But we also need a store of it to give away. Forgiveness only really works if you share it. Being forgiven is not a solo sport. Getting to know Jesus brings us closer to the biggest store of forgiveness in the universe. His doors don't just open on Boxing Day for the sales, they are wide open the whole year round. 

And for the future? Well, there's a ready source of wisdom and help to face all that lies ahead in the book that is still the world's best seller - the Bible. Jeremiah 29:11 was written to Israel hundreds of years ago, but gives us insight into how God wants to help us face all that's coming: 'For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future'. And then there is one of the most reassuring verses in the book of Psalms, 37:5 'Give yourself to the Lord; trust in him, and he will help you'.

So, this 'Twixmas', and as we prepare to face the New Year whatever it might bring, why not give God your past and your future, and see what he can do with them. When stuck between a rock and a hard place, the only thing you can really do is look up!

Whose Birthday is it Anyway?

 

The card shop in Town was extremely busy when I was there, trying to find gift ideas and get some cards myself, and the flustered Mum next to me was having great difficulty choosing her Christmas cards with a disgruntled toddler in tow.  “Be quiet!” she urged menacingly, as he protested at being prevented from moving on,  “I need to choose my cards!”.

The little boy looked confused and called out in a loud voice “whose birthday is it anyway?”. 

“It’s nobody’s birthday”, came the weary reply, “it’s Christmas!”.

At least that tired Mum was a tiny bit closer to the truth than another child who was interviewed on TV in the UK not long ago.  “Whose birthday do we celebrate at Christmas?” was the question being posed. “Father Christmas!” declared the delighted little girl, her eyes shining with excitement and glee.  

Who can blame her, though?  Despite the cost-of-living crisis it seems that very little of the frantic rush to spend lavishly on celebrating Christmas has diminished. The magic of the season must seem far more connected to gifts and glitter than to God, both for adults and children. As I perused the Christmas cards it was hard to find any with Christian themes. That may be sad, but does it really matter?

We used to live and work in Zimbabwe.  There, in Shona culture, birthdays are unusual.  Birth certificates are rare, and few celebrate the date of their birth annually in the way that we do.  They are, however, very much alive!  Life itself is celebrated, and frequently enjoyed in a much fuller sense than it is here where far greater material riches exist.  In that setting, the question “whose birthday is it?” is irrelevant.  The living presence of the person concerned is sufficient reason to rejoice.  Perhaps for Christians, that outlook is nearer what should be our concept of Christmas.  We may be feeling a little concerned as we approach the date itself, especially since it is being increasingly hijacked by commercial interests, but a personal relationship with the living, resurrected Jesus, - now that’s something worth celebrating, - and not just once a year!

A King Size Bed

 There are beds for every shape and size, even beds for dogs! Yet, in many parts of the world, children don't get to sleep in their own beds. They sleep on the floor or on a mat, or else share a small bed with others. It is interesting to see how much bigger and more luxurious beds have become in the wealthy West in recent years. Still, we do spend a third of our lives in them, so I suppose they had better be comfortable.

But there was no fancy bed for the King of kings. When Jesus was born he was laid in a feeding trough because there was no room for him in the Inn. Whether formed from pieces of wood as in our picture, or hollowed out from stone, the main purpose of this receptacle was providing food for hungry animals, not being a bed fit for a king. Three times in the brief first part of Luke chapter 2 the gospel writer refers to the manger. It was remarkable to him, as it is to me even today.

It was a borrowed bed. Much later in his life Jesus pointed out that foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests, but he had no place to regularly lay his weary head. Everything Jesus had was lent to him, usually by grateful followers. But, this manger was lent by the animals and their owners. How amazing that the arrival of the Son of God, the world's creator, should be greeted by willing creatures lending him a place to sleep! Jesus still inhabits borrowed quarters. He waits for us to hear his call and lend him our hearts and lives. 

It was a humble bed. No fancy throne here. In Matthew's gospel Jesus said; 'Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls' (Mt 11:29). Jesus chose to humble himself so that we could be lifted up in him! At the cross his lowering of himself became complete. 'God made him who had no sin to be sin[a] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Cor. 5:21).

It was a sign. The angel appearing to the shepherds said as much. 'This will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger' (Luke 2:12). The humble manger became a sign of a humble saviour. It pointed to something and someone way beyond its lowly confines. It pointed to the one who can truly be King and Lord of our lives if we will let him. And if we will? Then our lives can become signs also - pointing others to the Christ of Christmas.

Have a blessed and peaceful Christmas and a glorious New Year!

Strictly Obeying Orders

 I had plans. Big plans. It is Christmas after all. I certainly want to be at everything in my local church over this special season. I love the carols, watching the children's faces, sensing the sacred atmosphere, and speaking about the real meaning of Christmas from the pulpit. But, then came that dreaded four letter word. I was sitting in the doctor's surgery with my wife Diane there as witness. 'Rest' the GP said, 'do nothing at all'. 'What?' I replied shocked, 'you have got to be kidding me'. Her stern but caring look said it all. No kidding! My heart is struggling. 'Cascade angina' she opined. 'I want you to have your feet up watching Strictly Come Dancing'. My goodness, I would have to be ill to do that!

It's not just that I have had so much care and attention paid to my physical recovery from 22 years of agony that if I keel over this Christmas, would all be wasted. Nor is it just that I love my family so much that I owe it to them not to drive myself to an early grave. I think that God is trying tell me something about learning to lean on Him and enter into a rest which is important for us all. It may be inconvenient, but it is no less significant. 

Learning to rest in God and the work of Jesus on our behalf is a key Christian virtue. In the book of Hebrews we read "The promise of “arrival” and “rest” is still there for God’s people. God himself is at rest. And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God. So let’s keep at it and eventually arrive at the place of rest, not drop out through some sort of disobedience." (Heb. 4:11 The Message) So, I want to obey and learn to rest.

I think God can 'do' Christmas without my help. With tongue in cheek I recall the line from Monty Python's film 'Life of Brian' which so shocked the Christian world in the late 1970's. "No, he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy". Perhaps I need to deal with my messianic complex myself - the desire to always 'be there' for others.

So, it is going to be a quiet Christmas for me. But nothing and nobody can take away the joy and peace that I feel celebrating the birthday of my precious Lord. Just with my feet up.

Is there any hope?

 

I listened to an interview with the renowned artist Tracey Emin on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on the 3rd December. After having major cancer in 2020 and being told she would not see Christmas, Tracey is now recovering well following major surgery and treatment. She said, ‘I’m taking every day as it comes, I’m just so happy to be alive’. You could hear the joy and relief in her voice. Her surgical team call her ‘miracle woman’ because she was not expected to be alive to see Christmas. 

Tracey told us how that she is more balanced now, more cautious and feels like she has been forgiven and that a great curse has been lifted from her life. ‘If the choice was losing your bladder to survive and be happy – I chose to be happy’. She had a near-death experience, making her will and ordering her affairs, and then she was set free. ‘You prepare yourself and then receive a sudden reprieve. I will never ever take anything for granted again and I will do my best in every day, every moment. I’m on the cusp of something great’, she burbled joyfully. 

Hope has come to her. Hope is the Christmas message. I too came near to death, more than once, and survived. I made my will several times and wrote out my funeral plans etc. But that was not God’s plan for me, and I am grateful. I also feel that a great curse has been lifted off from my life, and despite my advancing years, I too can’t shake off the feeling that she describes that I’m on the cusp of something great! I see it happening in the church I serve. I have hope now, but it’s all because of Jesus and Christmas.

This pandemic has been awful. There’s a lot of darkness and despair around, but I take hope from hope, and from the message of Christmas. This is how Eddie Askew puts it in his book of prayers and poems called No Strange Land (p65):

I hope for hope, Lord.

The seeds of light sown in the darkness round your cross,

germinate, and flower and fruit

in the fallow fields of my small life.

My hope starts in your death and resurrection.

Continues in the certainty of your presence.

Fulfills itself in the clear calm confidence

of final victory.

For now, I cling to hope's small seedling.

Feel like cancelling Christmas?

 

Feel like cancelling Christmas? Maybe the early surge of Christmas mania leaves you feeling cold - perhaps sad. This year's Christmas celebrations are bound to be tinged with a certain degree of fear, if not disappointment. Can I hug my grandchildren? Well - no not in my case because our borders are tightly closed and they live across the sea. But can anyone hug their grand-anythings? Nobody wants to be the one who passed on the dreadful Covid-19 bug to the older members of their families. The British government may be declaring a 5-day break from the tightest of rules, but we all know that a spike of infections in January is no way to begin a 'happy New Year'.

And what of Christmas worship celebrations? No carol singing inside? Social distancing for any parents attending what Nativity displays may be put on? As the Prime Minister said 'T'is the season to be jolly careful!'

So do we cancel Christmas then? Not at all. This weekend we enter the season of Advent with perhaps more reasons than any since the Second World War to refocus our thinking on what really matters about the celebration. Of course we all love the trimmings, the glitter, the sense of being together, the food etc, but back of it all is the message that Christ came into a world full of trouble and sorrow. Born into obscurity, at a time of enemy occupation and oppression, to a couple facing major upheaval within a very short time of his birth.

The Christmas story is good news, but it is set against a backcloth of very bad news. All the children under 2 years of age in the district where Jesus was born were slaughtered by troops on a vicious blood-fest. He was only saved by his parents fleeing to an Egyptian refugee camp over the border. So, if you feel like Advent 2020 is coming at the wrong time completely, take heart. That's why Jesus came. To turn our despair to hope, and our distress to comfort and joy.

Step Away from the Treadmill

 We spent three days in Southampton last week as I needed some tests done in the hospital there and whilst in the city we visited the famous West Quay shopping centre. Wow! What a temple to the gods of Christmas shopping! There was so much going on but none of it related to anything I could recognise as linked to the real reason for the season. Not one of the songs being played so loudly was a carol or mentioned God and you could be forgiven for thinking it was Santa's birthday coming, or an event promoted by the Society for the Protection of Elves and Reindeer!

I love the atmosphere of a real family Christmas and the whole celebration of God's great gift of His Son. I also really enjoy this festival of lights in the middle of a dark and dreary winter here in the West. One thing that does bother me, though, is the pressure that it seems to put on upon us all. The need to prepare for a perfect Christmas Day - to get or to give the very latest gadget - to ensure that our kids have all they want or ask for - the rush to make sure we have got everything in before the shops close for 24 hours (yes only 24 hours and some may even stay open then!).

There will be many Bible readings in churches up and down the land in carol services this year. The one I don't expect to hear is my favourite, in the Message version. It goes like this:
Jesus said: "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28-30).

How I need to learn those "unforced rhythms of grace", rather than stumble along in the clumsy footsteps of so many who seem to head for Christmas, lemming-like, heads down in the rush of this crazy season. I don't think Jesus came into the world to give us stress, headaches, pressure and a sense of impending failure. He came to search out and to save people who are lost. He came into a messy stable to bring the fragrance of God instead of the stench of cow poo, and the light of God's glory instead of the shadows of self-doubt and fear. So step away from the treadmill. Put down your heavy bags and choose to walk with Jesus at His pace, His peace, and His perfect plan.

Happy Christmas!

Christmas Calamities?

I had my first "bah humbug!" moment of the season when I heard a piece on my local radio station promoting "Christmas disasters you have known". Folk were being invited to call in and tell the dark story of the very worst Christmas calamity they could recall. To illustrate this the presenter began sharing some of the the awful things that some callers had told him about already. There was the family who found that their dishwasher broke down on Christmas Day, the home where the oven packed up on the special day forcing them to take their festive dinner to a neighbour to cook - and even one home where oven breakdown led to a barbecued turkey!

Once I had calmed down from my indignation I thought about some of the Christmases we have known - they certainly weren't all white, whatever Bing Crosby sang. There was the Christmas Day where I was called to the local hospital just before lunch to be with the dying husband of a church member. And then there was the turkey meal I couldn't enjoy because I had an attack of acute pancreatitis in the morning and by the time the Queen's speech was over I was an in-patient and nil-by-mouth. Another Christmas I had a spell in a London hospital over the holiday season and was discharged late on Christmas Eve after the last flights home had gone. Diane and I stayed in a hotel where the kitchen closed on the day itself as did most of the restaurants nearby. But among the biggest calamities I recall was the one where a guy who worked in our home and garden in Zimbabwe wakened us early on the Christmas Eve to tell us that his new baby was dead. The little one had passed away during the night in his accommodation next to us. There being no undertakers or gravediggers available, we wrapped the little one and buried him in the bleak children's cemetery later that day as is the custom in hot countries. We were just grateful that our own boy was safely away with his grandparents in Guernsey for Christmas that year.

Christmas, you see, is not all about magic and nostalgia. It's about life in all its pain and trouble. The Son of God came into the world in a stinking animal shed, not a clean maternity room, and certainly not a palace. He was hunted down by Herod's killers before he could even walk. His family was forced to run for their lives and to seek asylum in Egypt. His coming into a messy, violent world was because we needed a saviour and deliverer from the addictions of  selfishness, materialism and greed. Life is not fair for millions this Christmas, not just for those whose white goods give out on the 24th or 25th. Their dinner may be in danger, but not their lives or their homes.

I hope you don't have a calamity this Christmas, but if you do, please know that it will not be out of keeping with the season, nor, I hope, will it be as bad as many will know. Thank God the coming of Christ was designed for just the sort of real world that many will experience. "Born to raise the sons of Earth - born to give them second birth. Hark, the herald angels sing, glory to the new born King!"

Lessons from a Christmas Baby

Christmas has come around again and then the weeks of advertising it and the days of frenzy preparing for it will be ended. I hope that you will have a few moments to yourself and take stock of what this season of the year is all about. God has come down to live with us in the form of a baby boy. The miracles that are associated with Jesus in his later life, and even the raising of the dead, all pale into insignificance in the light of this great mystery - that the Creator God should confine himself to the form of this little child and live among us.

"Mild he lays his glory by,
Lives that man may never die
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth!"

Some years ago I was a Pastor serving a church on the south coast of England. Every year, just about Christmas, a little family would turn up at the church asking me to dedicate (christen) their new little baby. Johnny and his crew were travelers, Gypsy folk, who hove to in our town annually so that the minister could pray over their latest arrival! One year, I held the little one in my arms, and shared with Johnny and his family my hope that one day, when she is of age, she might accept the Lord Jesus for herself as Lord and Saviour. Well, something must have touched Johnny's heart, because on Christmas day he was back again in the building. This time he waited till the end of my sermon, and when I invited anyone present who wanted to commit their lives to Jesus Christ, maybe for the first time, Johnny was the first one at the front, head bowed and with tears in his eyes. That Christmas Day Johnny Sparks became a believer, and through a little baby, another tough heart had melted.

Just like the shepherds really - the night shift outside Bethlehem. They were ordinary men, quite tough too, but their hearts were melted as they bowed and worshipped the tiny babe. And the wise men, drawn from their intellectual pursuits to make this baby the object of their adoration and pilgrimage. And what about you? Will you come and bow before the baby who became a man and died to save all those who would believe and trust him? Why not? Why not now? Why not you?

Have a really happy Christmas!

Lighten our Darkness

It is so appropriate that in our part of the world Christmas comes at the darkest time of the year. Displays of light, whether consisting of candles or LED's, abound as we make the most of this dark season to proclaim the coming of 'the light of the world'. But in another sense this reminds me that every year, almost without fail, the most appalling acts of darkness, natural or unnatural disasters, seem to take place at or around Christmas. Even in my own short memory I recall events like the Penlee lifeboat disaster from 1981 in which 8 volunteer life-boatmen gave their lives to rescue the crew of a sinking freighter at Christmas. Then there was the dreadful downing of the Lockerbie PanAm flight right near the special day, and of course, 10 years ago, I was in London for hospital treatment when Diane came back from a Boxing Day carol service to say that thousands were feared dead in a terrifying tsunami. By the time that particular horror had run its course nearly a quarter of a million people had perished - what a Christmas! And then this year we have wept at the savage, inhuman slaughter of the little ones in Pakistan.

But then, like it or not, that's how Christmas started out. We love to idealise the stable scene with its kneeling wise men, adoring shepherds and hushed animals all worshiping the baby in the manger, but the reality included much less savoury facts. The young parents in Bethlehem were very soon to be engulfed with the most appalling sorrow as every child under 2 years of age was put to death by evil King Herod. The young Jesus with his Mum and Dad escaped as refugees like thousands of others in Jordan and Syria today, leaving behind them mourning and crying as the prophet Jeremiah described so powerfully, "Rachel crying for her children and not able to be comforted".

Why is there this dark side to Christmas?  Just co-incidence?  Maybe if you subscribe to the co-incidence view of history, but I prefer to recognise that the coming of Jesus was the greatest threat to the powers of darkness that they had ever faced, or would ever face. Just as evil King Herod feared that this baby had come to take away his kingdom and power, so there are forces in our world that tremble at the sound of the songs of Christmas. The birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the hinges on which the door of human history hangs. As we celebrate his coming this Christmas let's not lose sight of the dark side but rejoice that the light has come! "Joy to the world, the Lord has come.  Let Earth receive her king!" Amen to that!

Pre-Christmas Exhaustion and its Cure!

A mum was out Christmas shopping with her two children. After many hours of looking at row after row of toys and everything else imaginable; and hearing both her children asking for everything they saw on the shelves, she finally made it to the lift to leave the store. She rubbed her weary eyes with a hand weighed down with three loaded carrier bags and sighed as she waited for the lift to come to her floor, the kids pulling constantly on her coat sleeves and screeching in tired frustration. She was feeling what so many of us feel during this time of the year. Overwhelming pressure! Pressure to go to every party, or get the kids to theirs, taste all the holiday food and treats, get that perfect gift for every single person on our shopping list, not forgetting anyone on our card list, and the pressure of making sure that Christmas is altogether 'magical'.

Finally the lift doors opened and there was already a crowd inside. She pushed her way into the lift and dragged her two kids in with her and all the bags of stuff. When the doors closed she couldn't take it anymore and muttered with bitter resignation, "Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be found, strung up and shot." From the back of the lift everyone heard a quiet calm voice respond, "Don't worry, we already did that - we crucified Him." For the rest of the trip down the lift was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop.

It can be so hard to keep our heads above water at this time of the year and find space to maintain our own peace, and especially our walk with God.  I don't think Jesus invented the modern Christmas and must be feeling pretty left out of it all anyway. But I came across a really helpful translation of a passage in the ancient gospel of Matthew that just about sums up what Jesus might say to us if we had a minute for him. "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly." (Matthew 11:28 – 30 from The Message).

If Christmas feels "heavy or ill-fitting" we can be pretty sure Jesus didn't lay it on us, and maybe we should spend a few moments tuning his way at a time supposed to be all about him? Give it a go anyway and see if you can get through this season "freely and lightly".

While Shepherds Watched...

'While shepherds watched their flocks by night...' - a familiar line from an even more familiar carol - puts me in mind of my visits to the Shepherds' Fields just outside Bethlehem.  There the tat and tinsel of typical Christmas scenes faded as we stepped out of the coach to gaze across the barren hillside towards the outline of the little town of Bethlehem. There was just a cave nearby and a few straggly sheep to mark the scene but it was possible there to imagine that first Christmas night.

As a shepherd myself - for that is what the word 'Pastor' means - I am glad that God chose to send the angels to a group of middle-Eastern shepherds then.  Like pastors today, shepherds in Israel did not hold a high place in society.  They were not really respected or trusted in the wider community and practiced their profession largely away from the crowd. Yet they performed a vital role and especially so in the Christmas story.  For it is likely that these shepherds were looking after the sacrificial flocks for the Temple in Jerusalem. They were preparing lambs for the slaughter. And that is the real reason why God's Son was coming into the world, as over the manger hung the shadow of a cross. "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord".

I took this photo of a shepherd in Israel in Dec 2011

Diane and I wish you a very happy Christmas.  May God bless you and your family this special season and beyond.

Christmas Tragedies

Christmas is often marred by tragedy.  Just as in the tragic community in Connecticut where terrible shootings have taken place, Christmas decorations seem out of place when such a thing has occurred. I well remember the Penlee lifeboat disaster that occurred on the 19th of December 1981 off the coast of Cornwall, in England, UK. The Penlee Lifeboat went to the aid of the coaster Union Star after its engines failed in heavy seas. After the lifeboat had managed to rescue four people both vessels were lost with all hands; sixteen people died including eight volunteer lifeboatmen. Like the parents of the children shot down in their Newtown primary class, the families of these brave men must have felt like cancelling Christmas that year.

The rosy-eyed nostalgia with which we recall this season in the year has no real basis in Scripture.  The first Noel sounded out in a land occupied by enemy soldiers where blood flowed freely in the streets.  Political discussion was outlawed then and dissent was suppressed violently.  To cap it all, when the visitors from the East had reported their venture to King Herod and then tricked him by going home some other way, the outraged monarch ordered that every baby boy under the age of two be murdered in the vicinity of Bethlehem.  The sobs of the parents and cries of the young must have been very similar to those in Newtown USA in 2012.

No, Christmas is not always merry or bright.  But it is God's response to a broken world.  Into the very midst of evil and suffering he sent his son, so that we would able to come to him in our pain and find one who is 'touched with the feelings of our infirmities'.  Jesus came to a manger not a throne or a palace.  He came to a tragic scene not a Christmas card montage.  He came to save and heal, not to entertain or institute an annual festival.  Above all, he came because he cares - and the dear folk in Newtown are going to need that care as much as anyone in First Century Galilee.  So are we.

No Vacancies

If Mary and Joseph were to arrive in Bethlehem today having travelled from Nazareth they would have found an even bigger problem than they did then. It's very difficult to get in!  Just as 'David's Town' is playing host to huge crowds of international visitors, the people of Bethlehem themselves, many of them Christians, are struggling under the restrictions being placed upon them by the Israeli authorities.  Father Ibrahim Shomali told the Guardian newspaper this week how he thinks the 'holy couple' might fare today. "If Jesus were to come this year, Bethlehem would be closed," says the priest of Bethlehem's Beit Jala parish. "He would either have to be born at a checkpoint or at the separation wall. Mary and Joseph would have needed Israeli permission – or to have been tourists."  Bethlehem is no longer the place we imagine it to be.  Welcome to the real world of the 21st Century Middle East!

But then, this would not be the shock to them that Father Ibrahim imagines.  There was already a 'no vacancies' sign where the young couple wanted to stay.  Luke's gospel calls it 'the Inn' and says that for the lady bearing the Son of God there was no room.  In the original language of the gospel the word translates better as 'guest-chamber' and probably describes that part of the upstairs family accommodation in a typical two-storey dwelling of the period.  Family and guests were upstairs, animals and their mangers were downstairs.  So, maybe Joseph went to his own family relations expecting to be housed there and was refused.  His only option was to place his little family down among the animals where God's Son and his step-son could be born in warmer conditions than outside on the street.  Bethlehem behaves the same then, in 1st and 21st Centuries!

What about my home?  How warm is the welcome in my heart for the Son of God this Christmas?  Is there room for my family - all cosy around a fire - but Jesus finds his place in some draughty church building or even out on the street?  Perhaps the real lesson of the suffering residents of Bethlehem today is that the work of the Prince of Peace is now needed more than ever even in our sophisticated world.

O Little Town of Bethlehem How Sad we see Thee Lie!

Christmas Come Alive!

This was the scene in Nazareth Village last week when Matthew and I visited there as part of our special week in Israel.   We took this time out to be just 'father and son' together in advance of Matthew getting married early in 2012 and my starting work again.  It was just great to be touring such special places together.  We hired a car and a Jewish tour guide and saw some spectacular places.  This moment in Nazareth saw us in a re-enactment of a first century Jewish 'carpenter's shop' such as Joseph worked in and Jesus grew up in.  Nearby was a first century wine-press which would almost certainly have been a centre of community gatherings at times of the year for Mary, Joseph and their special son.  All of this helped to prepare us for this special season of Christmas - yet knowing Christ today is so much more important than visiting the places that he walked in 2,000 years ago.  Having said that, it adds a certain colour to our seasonal celebrations to be more able to picture the events and the atmosphere of that time.

Another very special open air place was the Garden of Gethsemane with its ancient olive trees thought by some to date back to the time of Christ.  They need protecting and preservation now after the centuries but they still gave us the opportunity to pause and reflect here on what Jesus went through in that garden, and why.  Funnily enough, prior to my first visit here I always imagined Gethsemane to be an English country garden with lawns and flower beds perfectly symmetrical in their layout with sprinklers and trimmed bushes!  Now that I have seen its stark and dry harshness again I can appreciate how much pain this place meant to Jesus and yet how significant it was to him, and is now to his followers.

Our visit to the Holy Land has given us both food for thought.  We thoroughly enjoyed each other's company and the good nature and hard work of our guide Omri.  Above all, we were grateful for the health and strength granted to me after my long battle with serious illness and the joy of doing something so different to the scores of trips made to distant hospitals in the past.

Christmas came early for me!