Unexpected Journeys

Merry Christmas everyone!

I decided to write this post in response to a minor pang of guilt I experienced last night.

I was sat in the Midnight Eucharist service at church and listening to the vicar as he started his Christmas sermon. All was going well enough when he used a phrase... three little words that completely threw my concentration and caused me to tune out completely; just three words.

The phrase he used was "An unexpected journey". I have no idea how the next 5 minutes of the sermon went because I ended up mentally going here instead:

Yes, my mind had drifted over to The Shire. In fairness, I'm pretty psyched about The Hobbit, the trailer has only recently been released and I've been watching it quite a bit through sheer excitement. However whichever way you cut it, that probably wasn't the best time for me to choose to go off daydreaming... was it? Although... that said, some might argue my timing was perfect ;)

By way of recompense, I decided to write a little  bit on The Nativity that filled the gulf left by my lapse in concentration.

It occurs to me that there are a number of unexpected journeys involved in the Nativity story. First you have Mary... the young virgin pledged in marriage to Joseph. I am sure the last thing she expected was for an angel to appear in her pantry and advise her of God's plan to bring about the birth of the Messiah through her. Then there is Joseph. I am equally certain that the last thing he expected while he was working on a door frame, was for his fiance to tap him on the shoulder and advise him that she was carrying a child... let alone God's own son.

What of the shepherds tending their sheep? Did they expect the night sky to erupt in an explosion of light and rhymes as angels pouring out of the heavens announcing the arrival of the Christ child? Of course not. Or the Magi? Even if in their ruminations and studies they had anticipated that such a special child was coming into the world... they had no inkling whatsoever into the manner that child would arrive... or where he would be born.

All of these people were faced with circumstances that felt very alien to them; and each of them were presented with a difficult choice.  Mary had to choose whether she would be willing to carry God's child inside of her for 9 months and raise him to manhood knowing the potential difficulties society would throw at her. Joseph had to decide whether or not to honour his marriage commitment to Mary given the unusual story she was presenting him with... and the burden of raising and providing for a son that was not his own, while all the time hearing the jeers of scoffers and whispers of gossipmongers whose prejudice condemned his family. The shepherds had to decide if they were going to act on their trippy experience... possibly risking their already rubbish jobs, in order to see a baby whose significance they did not understand. The Magi had travel across half the Middle East picking up very expensive trade products based on a whimsical calculation over the movement of interplanetary bodies that might easily have proved baseless... especially when they got to Jerusalem and found things weren't as they assumed.

You see, with Jesus nobody knows what to expect. This was a key point that her majesty The Queen raised in her Christmas speech earlier today:

"God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive."

It is as true today as it was then. In Jesus, nobody knows quite what to expect. People miss out on knowing and experiencing who Jesus is because they look at him through the lens of their own perceived wisdom and expectations. The Pharisees and Zealots failed to recognise Jesus when he appeared because they were anticipating a warrior king, a general. Similarly today, people mistakenly relegate Jesus to the same league as the philosophers and teachers of old - a line of thinking that C.S. Lewis robustly refuted in his Liar, Lunatic or Lord argument.

As a Christian I accept that Jesus Christ is far more than a decent man and a good teacher... but more than this I accept that his sovereignty as part of the Godhead and his role in my own life, give him the authority to step into my life and call upon me to set foot on unexpected journeys... to undertake unexpected things, constantly.

You may be reading this and not actually be a Christian and if so perhaps this is the beginning of an unexpected journey of your own. Confronted with the possibility that Jesus may be more than you imagine or understand him to be, are you prepared to invite him in and find out what his real agenda is in your life and the life of those around you?

Like Bilbo Baggins, if we set off on our own unexpected journey with Christ, we will find that we will have quite a tale to tell... and wherever our journey takes us, we too will be changed. To journey for Christ is to journey with him...

...and that changes everything.

Are you prepared to begin your own unexpected journey?

Stay.

A very Merry Christmas to each and every one of you... we've finally made it to the big day.

But now all the waiting is over, what should we do?

The modern world moves at an incredibly fast pace - once the counter gets to zero... we move on to the next big thing. Take a look around you: Britain's Got Talent, Dancing on Ice, I'm a Celebrity, Strictly Come Dancing, I'm a Celebrity, X Factor... society builds itself up for the hype, gets over excited at the climax... and then forgets all about it and moves on to the next thing in the calendar. I was watching The Truman Show again just the other day (brilliant film), and was reminded just how much the closing scene of that film perfectly captures the behaviour I'm describing. If you recall, the global viewing audience are overcome with euphoria and cheer ecstatically  as Truman (Jim Carrey), asserts his humanity over the false reality that has been built around him, steps through the doorway at the edge of the set... and finally enters the real world. Yet having been witness to this incredibly real and utterly human event... does it touch them in some way? No. Within seconds of the programme ending, they look in the TV schedules and switch channels to watch something else.

It is exactly the same with how we celebrate the seasons. No sooner is Christmas over, then the card shops will be promoting St. Valentine's Day, then Mothering Sunday, Easter, Father's Day... before completing the circle and returning to Christmas. I'll also wager that within a matter of weeks... maybe even days, the shelves will be crammed with Easter eggs. On Twitter I even saw tweets suggesting this was already occurring before Christmas! I wonder if it was like that in ancient times?

I wonder if it was at all like that for the first Christmas?

When the startled shepherds raced down from the hills after their angelic encounter... and stumbled, panting and exhausted in through the stable entrance, to witness the newborn infant Jesus; how long did they stay?

Did they just poke their heads round the door and say "Wow!!! That's awesome!!!" and then stroll back up the hill and go about their own business? Or what of the Magi... who encountered Jesus later in his infancy? Having travelled the breadth of the Middle East, did they just part with their precious gifts and head off back home?

I doubt it.

In both cases - the shepherds by virtue of special revelation; the Magi by virtue of their studies, each party understood that the event they were being called to witness was a deeply significant one. Every child born on Earth changes and shapes the future of this world... but the birth of Jesus heralded the arrival of the One who would alter the very destiny of humankind, both collectively and individually.

I somehow giving the circumstances of their visit, the shepherds and Magi may have remained in Christ's presence for more than a few minutes. I suspect that they remained for an hour or two at least. The Magi may have stayed somewhere in Bethlehem overnight, as they were warned in a dream to return home via another route.

But my question to you all this Christmas is simply... how long will you stay?

Will you simply tip your hat in Jesus direction, making the slightest acknowledgement of the reason behind the modern celebration? Or will you make an annual pilgrimage to a family church as an act of tradition... and then move on? Or perhaps you will shun the nativity in it's entirety... seeing it as no more than mere myth and an affront to your deeply held conviction in the power of reason? Or maybe, just maybe like the shepherds and Magi... you may find yourselves pondering who this child actually was or is.

And that is the one thing I want to leave you with this Christmas - the one challenge I ask of you:

Find some time to sit down amid the festivities... today, tonight, tomorrow or some other time this week when perhaps it is a little more quiet for you... and contemplate for yourself who Jesus is. Look on the child and think on he was, who he will become and what that means for you. Do not belittle the question with your own presumption or previously held convictions (Christian or not). Take a little time to sit down and think. Use pictures, use music, use words... whatever helps you to focus.... just find that space to think and.... stay.

The Nativity

In those days Caesar Augustus issued  decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.  (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.  But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

  “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
   and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Luke 2:1-20

 Merry Christmas and blessings to you all.

Small Beginnings

Do you ever wonder why churches are packed at Christmas... and not so busy at Easter? As a child, I was once taught by a lay minister (who looked suspiciously like Ben Kenobi), that if you could only make one service a year... it should be Easter and not Christmas.

Yet each year we see the midnight services on Christmas Eve and the Christmas Day communion are filled to bursting. .. whilst Easter services are rarely any different in attendance figures. Why do you suppose that is?

It's very simple, Jesus as a baby is very inoffensive - nobody has a problem with the infant Christ because there is very little radical about a baby. Yet when we see Jesus as an adult, it is a direct challenge to us where we are. Do we take him at his word? Accept his amazing techings and more than this... accept that he lay down his life for us... rose to new life, and will come to claim us as our risen King? Or do we put the baby away with the rest of the decorations, when the season of goodwill is finally over? It's a deceptively tough choice isn't it? Do we keep our rose tinted nativity scene, and never look into the consequences of that event? Do we look at the cute baby and think how amazing it was that God the Father kept him safe through all the threats and hazards... that he went to all that effort to bring that very special baby into the world.... and yet still fail to be moved by the reasons WHY God did that... and WHAT happened next and WHO the baby was? Do we?

It's all too easy to sweep the remainder of the story under the carpet and forget who Jesus is. As Charles Wesley wrote in his carol Hark the Herald Angels Sing (one of my faves), Jesus was:

Born that man no more may die:

Born to raise the sons of earth,

Born to give them second birth.

This day, I'd like to challenge you. When you next look at a nativity scene... look deeper. If you feel able, meditate on it. I'd like you to picture in your mind Jesus as a child. Think of all the things you could have done if you were there? Herod tried to kill him... the shepherds and wise men came to adore him. How do you want to react? Think of that child growing up as a boy; as a young man; as an adult. Do you still want to stand by him? Think of the things Jesus did and said. Then think about the greatest thing he did. Think about the fact he lay down his life for you. Finally I want to challenge you with words from an old carol:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?

If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;

If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

Would you be willing to do that? It does not matter what condition your heart is in. We are all broken:

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." Ezekiel 36:26,27

Christ came to heal our hearts, to make us right with God. He came to our world... our physical home; that we might be able to one day come to his world... our eternal home.

I read this morning that a little girl... just hours old, was left abandoned - cold and naked in the streets. Nurses in Yeovil (where she was found), have dubbed her "Angel". In our society, we frown on people who would abandon a helpless child to die... and rightly so. However, I wonder... is that technically what we do every Christmas - abandon Jesus in the manger and return to the rush or madness or pain of daily life?

There's an old cliche that has been adapted from an RSPCA saying - "God is for life... not just for Christmas!"

Whatever you do this Christmas, I pray that God blesses you immensely and draws near to you. May you know the peace of God... the peace that passes ALL understanding.

May you have a very merry Christmas.

N