People sometimes say to me: Christmas is for families – meaning that Christmas is a time for families to get together and have a great time.
It sounds like a good idea and I hope you and your family do have a great time together. But in truth, family Christmases aren’t easy and can often be quite strained – especially if Uncle Philip turns up on Christmas Eve unable to say thank you and never buying anyone else a present yet still expects one himself!
But is the assumption right? Is Christmas for families?
The first Christmas, Mary and Joseph were a very long way from home and Mary’s mother couldn’t lend a helping hand to her pregnant daughter. True, Joseph was in his family home but the relatives he looked for were all far too busy to welcome them– no room.
If Christmas is meant to be a jolly time, I don’t suppose you’d count desparately trying to find somewhere to stay in a strange town when you’re nine months pregnant, “jolly”!
In stark contrast to the TV adverts of laden tables and beautiful trees, Mary and Joseph’s first Christmas was incredibly basic – some might say terrifying. But it wasn’t the surroundings that made that first Christmas wonderful – it was the truth that God was there – in the midst of the desparation and vulnerability – a young woman gave birth to the very presence of God – Immanuel (God with us).
As we revisit the Christmas story, I hope and pray that the vulnerability of the story and God’s plan to come in humility quietly and unnoticed will inspire you because it wasn’t about a nice happy family time – quite the contrary. It was about the presence of God in the midst of a stressful and potentially dangerous time – God with Mary and Joseph 2000 years ago and by extension – God with us whatever our circumstances in 2011.
So as you prepare to celebrate Christmas this year, don’t get too absorbed with trying to do the perfect family Christmas – you’ll never make it! Instead take moments out of the business of preparation to be still and to sense the Spirit of God helping you to cope and to be aware of the needs of others this Christmas.