Christmas is a time of celebration in all sorts of ways, but what is it we actually celebrate. Lose sight of that and, for all its indulgence and merriment, it can feel strangely hollow. The following extract, taken from my book Daily Advent Reflections, reminds us of what Christmas is actually about: good news to rejoice in not just today but every day.
Good news to celebrate
Pray
Gracious God, for the joy of loving you and of being loved, receive my praise. Amen.
Read
There were shepherds in that area, living in the fields and keeping watch over their flock during the night. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were petrified. However the angel said to them, ‘No need to be afraid; see, I am bringing you wonderful news of immeasurable joy for all people: today a Saviour has been born to you in the city of David, who is Christ the Lord. Let this be a sign to you: you will find a child swaddled in strips of cloth and lying in a manger.’ All at once, there was with the angel rank on rank of other heavenly beings, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth among all on whom his favour rests!’ Luke 2:8-14
Reflect
Advent and Christmas speak to us of so much: of promise but also of challenge, of mercy but also of judgement, of gift but also of response. They bring home the love God has for us, but also the love we are called to show others in turn, witnessing to our faith through word and deed. If there is one aspect, though, I would choose as paramount, one truth that I would urge you to take away from this joyful time of year, it is that God want us to celebrate. That, surely, is the heart of the gospel, repeatedly emerging from the texts associated with these seasons. ‘You have multiplied the nation,’ writes Isaiah (9:3), ‘you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as people exult when dividing plunder.’ ‘My soul magnifies the Lord,’ sings Mary (Luke 1:46-47), ‘and my spirit exults in God my Saviour.’ ‘No need to be afraid,’ says the angel (Luke 2:10), ‘see, I am bringing you wonderful news of immeasurable joy for all people.’ And so we could go on. Shepherds go on their way, praising God. Wise men offer their gifts in worship, overjoyed to find the Christ-child. Simeon and Anna exult when Jesus is brought to the temple, their hopes and prayers concerning the coming of the Messiah answered. Likewise, a countless multitude across the years have rejoiced in turn, celebrating what God has done for them, revelling in the new life he offers in Christ. They, like us, lived far from perfect lives. Their service has sometimes been flawed, their faith weak, their love partial and their commitment compromised, but they offered their discipleship nonetheless, knowing that God values it because he values them. He does not expect us to be faultless; he asks simply that we come to him and respond as best we can to his love. That, surely, is good news to celebrate!
Pray
Gracious God, I lose sight sometimes of what discipleship is all about, of your gift at the heart of the gospel – a joy beyond words, bubbling up within me, overflowing. I brood instead on faults and failings, worry about the weakness of my love, wrestle with matters of doctrine, and fret over the cost of discipleship, forgetting that though these are all part of commitment they are not the whole, and not finally what matters most. Remind me that you accept me as I am, your love not earned but given. Remind me that though I repeatedly let you down, still you stay faithful, nothing being able to exhaust your grace. Remind me that though the old self lives on, you are constantly making all things new, offering life in abundance, now and for all eternity. Gracious God, I pause, I reflect, I remember the wonder of your love, and so once more I celebrate with heart and mind and soul. This day, like all days, is your gift: I will rejoice and be glad in it. Amen.
Ponder
- Does your life reflect the joy you claim to have found in Christ?
- Are there aspects of discipleship you tend sometimes to focus on at the cost of celebrating new life in Christ? What are they? Why is it that we lose our sense of proportion over such things?
- In what does the joy we speak of as Christians differ from what we might term ‘everyday happiness’? How, for example, can such joy survive after our lives have been touched by tragedy and corresponding heartbreak?
Close
God of joy, put a song in my mouth, a smile on my lips, laughter in my eyes and celebration in my heart, this and every day. Amen.