By Isle of Wight Observer
The angel of the Lord told the shepherds: “I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10).
The shepherds would have been familiar with Israel’s long wait for the Messiah, and to be told that a saviour had been born would indeed have been news of great joy. The events of the night must have been a source of great wonderment to the shepherds.
The child might be the Messiah – why else would he be described as ‘saviour’? His birth is so extraordinary, so he had to, at least, be a major prophet.
Years later, when John was writing his gospel, he understood what the shepherds could not know on the night the angel appeared to them.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). With the benefit of the time, he had spent in the company of Jesus, both physically and through prayer after the Ascension, John understood the conception and birth of Jesus as the central acts in the mystery of the Incarnation.
The birth of a child gives us a very human joy. The shepherds knew an extraordinary joy in the birth of a child who might be their saviour. But when he was writing the first chapter of his gospel, John’s joy was of another dimension altogether. He understood that the Son of God assumed human nature, he was truly God and truly human, and that he had chosen to be among us in order to bring about our salvation.
Belief in the Incarnation is central to our faith. It is a great mystery, and while we will never fully comprehend it, we can, like John, be drawn into it in our prayer.
At the entrance to the mystery stands Santa, the marker of Christmas in our secular society (but a figure with a religious history).
This is as far as many people will go. Push past Santa and enter the stable where a baby is being born, ‘the reason for the season’. Enjoy the scene, the people, especially the Child, and the wonderment and joy of the parents and the shepherds; when words and thoughts flow, this is prayer.
Many Christians will get this far into the mystery.
But there is a deeper place – look into the eyes of the Child and know that this is God among us. The journey beyond the stable takes us to the place of deepest joy, into the mystery of God who loved us so much that he sent his Son to dwell among us.
The journey from Santa to the stable to the Incarnation is open to us all. The only requirement is the desire to make the journey, so that we might come closer to God who came among us.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
The message of Jesus’ birth calls us to be people of love, hope, and reconciliation. It calls us to open our hearts to those around us being family, friends, neighbours, and even strangers, sharing the love which we received through Jesus Christ.
Whether through acts of kindness, words of encouragement, or moments of patience and understanding, we are invited to love each other as deeply as God loved us by sending us his Son.
With peace and goodwill to all this Christmas. May God bless you now and in the New Year ahead.