In the early hours a congregation gathers.
Some are just arriving; others have already found somewhere to sit.
There is the usual whispered conversation.
This is the first time this particular congregation has come together.
Present are:
a husband and wife;
a bunch of shepherds;
and some mysterious travellers from the east.
They are joined by animals: a cow, a donkey, a sheep, and a camel.
It’s an unusual bunch.
All have gathered to worship the Christ-child.
This is the first Christmas.
Footwear is removed, for like Moses before the burning bush,
to everyone it feels like a holy place.
All are on their knees;
all eyes gazing on the tiny flesh.
This is a sacred moment.
Words of scripture are shared:
‘For to us a child is born, to us a son is given.’
‘But you Bethlehem, though you are small,
out of you will come for me, one who will be ruler over Israel.’
‘And he will be called Immanuel.’
Praises are sung, ‘Glory to God in the highest’
and gifts are given.
This is the first Christmas.
Someone has some bread, its broken and shared.
One of the travellers passes round a flask of wine.
A small meal, gratefully received by all.
It feels like manna from heaven,
in the early hours of a new day.
Everything feels strange. It is as if something new is beginning,
but its hard to put into words.
The child cries in the manger,
wrapped up tight to keep out the cold.
All eyes remained fixed on his face,
overjoyed in his presence,
hearts wondering at what this birth means.
This is the first Christmas.
In to the silence one by one the congregation
speaks a testimony,
a story of how they came to be here.
A star rising drew the eastern travellers to make their journey;
angels, say the shepherds, in the sky singing of good news in David’s city;
a messenger from God says Mary; a heavenly dream says Joseph,
and of course also Caesar’s census — otherwise they’d be back in Galilee.
They all sense the mysterious ways of God
that has led them to share in this moment of grace,
to join in the welcome of this baby:
a Saviour, a Messiah, the Son of God, the Lord of lords.
Nothing is said. Silence falls on the congregation.
The only sound is the murmur of the child,
sleeping in the manger.
This is the first Christmas.
The congregation gathers.
Some are still slipping in at the back as the first carol is sung,
Others have been greeting one another with a merry Christmas.
There are children holding presents,
and parents bleary-eyed, stifling a yawn.
Old and young, all have made their way,
some have walked, some have come by other means,
but there are no donkeys or camels.
This is Christmas.
What connects today with that first Christmas?
What is it that draws a congregation to gather on December the 25th?
What’s the meaning of it all?
It’s the story and promise of God with us.
Jesus is God with us.
And as they gathered at that first Christmas,
to worship the Christ-child,
so we gather still.
Every year this day is broken up by our coming to worship,
every week our lives are broken up by worship because of this day.
The worship of Jesus begins at Christmas.
We keep celebrating Christmas, we keep gathering as a congregation,
because we believe that the one who is born
‘bears within himself the whole truth and nothing but the truth
about us and about all that exists.’ *
What was true of that child in the manger is still true today:
Jesus is Saviour and Lord.
It is that simple and that astonishing.
The Jesus born of Mary
is the same Jesus who we say is alive today.
The old, old story of angels and shepherds, wise men and stars
and a baby born in Bethlehem
is an always new, new story because it speaks of God become flesh.
In Jesus we see the Creator become a creature.
In Jesus we see the One who conceived all things be conceived in a womb
and born in a stable.
In our singing of carols,
in our bringing of gifts,
in our telling the story,
in our lighting of candles,
in our breaking of bread,
Jesus is as close to us
as he was to those present on that first Christmas day.
To be near Jesus,
to know Jesus
is to know and receive joy.
One of my favourite descriptions in the first Christmas story is
where it says the magi ‘were overjoyed.’
They were overwhelmed with joy.
There was an abundance of joy.
Too much joy.
Joy is the gift that comes with the Christ-child.
Jesus is our joy. His presence is the gift of joy.
Joy comes on Christmas morning
and we leave going with joy,
because we go with Christ.
We are overjoyed because we live in a world in which Christ is present.
Joy is not the same as happiness.
Happiness is a feeling, an emotion, that comes and goes.
Joy stays with us, because Christ stays with us,
even through unhappy days.
So I hope you have a happy Christmas,
but more importantly I pray you have a joyful Christmas.
As that first congregation experienced the joy of Jesus,
lying in a manger,
the fullness of God’s love,
so we all these later still experience that same joy of Jesus,
as he fills our hearts
with his love, beauty and truth and presence.
Joy to the world, the Lord has come.
Joy to the earth, the Saviour reigns.
He comes to make his blessings flow.
Joy to you, for Jesus is here.
* Chris Green, All Things Beautiful: An Aesthetic Christology (Baylor, 2021)
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