Christmas is upon us once again. What goes on in our minds when we think of the Christmas season? Is it the crowds descending on you and your family, to invade your home and cram your space? Is it the excitement of receiving family and friends, loved ones you have not seen for some time and excited about the privilege of offering hospitality in your home? Is it the drag of shopping, jostling for space in the malls and supermarket aisles, trolleys crashing into you at every turn? Noise, joy, love, food, drink, traffic jams, accidents, presents, parties, loneliness, sadness, money, bank balance. Stop the world, I want to get off! Is this what Christmas is all about? If we are to stay with reality, this is what it is about for many people; a mixture of experiences, emotions and feelings which can make this time taxing in our lives. Thank God that it is not all about these things, but primarily about God’s action and work in the life of the world. It is all about Jesus whom God gave to the world because he loved us so much (see John 3:16). The first chapter of John’s Gospel is one of those wonderful passages, which point us to what the coming of Jesus is all about. The chapter contains those beautiful words in verse 14; “The Word became flesh and lived for a while among us.” (N.I.V)
In Revelation 21:3 there is a wonderful image of God coming to dwell among us. This is what the different versions of the Bible say:
“Now the dwelling of God is with the people, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (N.I.V.)
“See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them.” (New R.S.V.)
Look! Look! God has moved into the neighbourhood, making his home with men and women! They are his people. He is their God.” (The Message)
God in the neighbourhood means that God has come to be as close as possible to us, to be involved in our lives in a much fuller and meaningful way. Neighbours are supposed to live together in peace, to care for one another, to look out for one another, protect one another. God in the neighbourhood has come to do just that! When you are in trouble, God will be with you; when you are sick, God will be with you. When you have cause to celebrate, God will be with you in your joy. There is nothing that will come over you that God will not know about because he is as close to you as your neighbour.
Our joy as Christians needs to be in the knowledge that God is present among us at all times, therefore we need not be afraid. We need to live our lives in such a way that we will witness to the presence of God among us. The Christmas season is a time to celebrate this presence, but this is always forgotten as the world gets caught up in the commercialised Christmas. We hear the ringing of tills more than the sound of the angels’ song. We see the elaborate decorations more than the star of Bethlehem. Lest I sound like a joyless creature, let me say that I love getting presents for Christmas and I enjoy the decorations in our homes, but I have to keep reminding myself to look beyond these things to the reason for celebrating Christmas. That is to look towards Jesus. I used to resent the fact that some people who do not believe in Jesus also have the benefit of the Christmas season. Every one, Christian or not look forward to “Christmas holidays”. I have grown out of that resentment to see that in fact, even while they do not believe in or accept Jesus, there is an acknowledgement, even unknowingly of the his Lordship. Jesus still influences their lives, at least once a year.
The word became flesh and dwelt among us is also Immanuel – God with us; born in a stable, to ordinary folk – a carpenter and a young woman from Nazareth; thus identifying with all humanity in our weakness, our suffering, our pain and poverty. This is the Servant God who comes into our lives to say “I understand and know your hurts and your pain”. For there is nothing as helpful as someone who will come to you when you are hurting to say, “I understand, I know what you are going through, I have travelled the same road too”.
If you are hurting at this time for one reason or another, let me offer Jesus to you. He knows what it is to be homeless, lonely, rejected and to suffer pain. May I also offer a suggestion; do yourself a favour and find someone who is also hurting, someone to whom will be like Jesus – a servant and healer. Do something that will make Immanuel real to the person. I do not suggest, by any means that this will take away your pain, but I know it will make you feel better for giving care and compassion to someone else in need.
This time also helps us to rediscover our ability to love and care for one another. We do our best to spread goodwill and love to others. We abandon ourselves to the spirit of giving and sharing, and in that process discover that we are actually good people, capable of these wonderful acts. We give thanks to God for reminding us that we can be such good people. Our prayer is that it does not end here, but that the same spirit is carried beyond the festive season, so that every day actually becomes like Christmas. May God with us, Immanuel, the Word who became flesh be with you and your loved ones now and every day of your life. Peace be with you.
Themba
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