It was good to see Don and Rachel McKie at Dobbies promoting the work of The Brain Tumour Charity on Wednesday which would have been their son Graham’s birthday. As with many people their bereavement has led to a commitment to ease the pain of others. One positive that so often emerges from dark and difficult days.
Something else that caught my attention at Dobbies was the proliferation of Santas, reindeer and silver trees. This is something of a record for me. The earliest I have seen evidence of Christmas was the middle of October. A shop in Dumbarton. It sure is getting earlier and earlier. And yet something else came to my mind that I read in a recent Obituary. Some years ago Free Church Minister Rev Angus Smith made a name for himself nationwide when we lay down on the slip of the Skye Ferry to prevent Sunday Sailings. But he was also known for his forthright views on a number of subjects and became a favourite ‘rent-a-quote’ for several journalists. He was once asked to explain why his Church did not celebrate Christmas. According to one Obituary he ‘growled’: ‘We celebrate our Saviour’s birth every Lord’s Day.’
There is something in this. We have come to associate Jesus’ birth as John Betjeman would say with ‘caroling in frosty air’ and all the other ‘sweet and silly Christmas things’. But what Betjeman went on to call ‘this most tremendous tale of all’ is not something that can be confined to a few weeks every year. If God became a human being and lived amongst us then this needs to be at the heart of our personal devotions and our public proclamation. What would be the implications for the life and mission of the Church if we only sang about the Crucifiction and Resurrection of Jesus at Easter? And yet if we brought out ‘See! in yonder manger low’ in July it would be regarded as more than just a little odd.
Now I am not saying that we should have our halls decked with boughs of holly all the year round but every day is a day to remember that in Jesus God became one of us, immersed Himself in our lives with all its joys and sorrows. He knows what it is like to be human and therefore in our worst of times we can open up to Him in prayer and He understands. We don’t know for sure who wrote the Letter To The Hebrews but we can understand why the early Church became convinced that his words were the Word of God:
‘Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.’ (Hebrews 4: 14-16)
Furthermore, it is from the Incarnation (literally the Enfleshment) that we take our model for mission. Some years ago the former MP and now member of the House of Lords Roy Hattersley wrote an article in which he declared his atheism and opposition to some aspects of traditional Christian morality. But he conceded that wherever there is suffering in the world, even when it is caused by people’s personal choice, you will find the Church in the forefront of supplying help and support. This is the immersive mission of the God revealed in the life and ministry of Jesus and He calls His people to show His Kingdom where they are. Where there is sickness to bring healing, providing a voice for the voiceless, showing there can be a new beginning for lives broken by addiction, proclaiming hope even in the face of death.
This is why we need to celebrate our Saviour’s birth every day and why I have a small icon of Mary and the infant Jesus close to my study desk. A reminder that while He was uniquely born of God He took His humanity from a woman subject to all the limitations of flesh and blood. He is ‘God With Us’.
So two things came together last Wednesday. A reminder of the coming of Jesus, though unintended, and the inspiration of people of faith like Don and Rachel working in the midst of a broken world to tell His story and share His love.
