The contemporary relevance of Christmas

What do you still have left to do before Christmas? Maybe a few presents still need to be bought, or certainly wrapped. Maybe there are cards still to be made. Maybe what you’ll be eating for Christmas Day lunch still needs to be finalized, not to mention the actual cooking thereof. Maybe your Christmas Day sermon still needs to written (or maybe that’s just me!)

Many people describe these last days before Christmas as incredibly busy, rushed and stressful. And many secretly long for it all to be over so that their lives can go back to ‘normal’. It would seem that the issue of there ‘being no room’ for Christ is as true today as when Joseph and Mary found no room at the inn so long ago.

So at the risk of driving you insane, let me add one more item to your ‘to do’ list for these final few days before Christmas. Set aside just ten minutes when you know that you won’t be interrupted to think about these two simple questions:

1. What do I really believe about Christmas?
2. What can I do to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe?

For me, I really do believe that Christmas is not just about something that happened 2000 years ago. For me, there’s a contemporary relevance about Christmas that is largely ignored. For me, the Christmas story has a remarkable ability to speak sharply into many of the issues of today with penetrating insight and searing truth. This is what makes it such good news.

And so, as I prepare to celebrate Christmas in a way that expresses what I believe, I’d like to reflect on some current issues in the light of the Christmas story. Over the next few days I’ll be doing that in these devotions, as I take some of the stories that have recently been in the headlines, and consider what the Christmas story has to say to them.

Some of the headline stories I’ll be looking at will be Tiger Woods; the response to the crisis of climate change in the Copenhagen Accord; and the recent furore over the killing of a bull in a traditional ceremony with Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. I hope that you’ll find the time over these next few days to participate in these reflections. And any comments you may have will be most welcome.

PRAYER
Lord, guard me from the danger of seeing Christmas as some kind of fairy story from long ago. Help me to recognize the compelling relevance of the Christmas story for the issues of today. May my celebration of Christmas this year be a meaningful expression of what I believe, and may my convictions and understanding of what Christmas really means be stretched and grown. Amen

COMMENT
What good ideas do you have for making Christmas celebrations this year more meaningful / relevant?





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