Christmas Message From The Vicar
I get very bored with the predictable but seem to get caught out every time. For instance, I usually get the only table in the café with one leg shorter than the rest. I’m the one who grabs the trolley at the supermarket with wheels that go in opposite directions! I love iced buns, but whenever I remove the cellophane packaging, the icing sticks to it! If I’m in a hurry to get somewhere, I always get stuck behind a horse box!
The Christmas story is all about an unpredictable God, doing something outrageous that no-one suspected – apart from a few wise men. The God who created the universe, decided to break into time and space as a fragile baby, born in a backstreet stable in an obscure town called Bethlehem. No grand entry. No red carpet. No stretch limo. No formal cavalcade from the airport under police escort. Why would God do that? It wasn’t long before the big plan became clear.
God arrived on planet earth in the form of Jesus Christ to bring the greatest gift ever known in the history of the universe. The gift of a new start and life beyond the grave to all who would put their trust in him. It’s an outrageous proposition. Seems unreasonable, it’s not logical. And yet for countless millions throughout history, whose lives have been utterly transformed by the words of Jesus, it all makes perfect sense. What he offered defies scientific explanation. You can’t put God in a test tube.
The well known story of the famous stuntman Blondin, attempting to cross Niagara Falls pushing a wheel barrow on a tightrope has become an illustration of faith in action. His challenge to the spectators that anyone who really believed in him would be prepared to sit in the wheelbarrow adds a pertinent comment to our own approach to life and faith. You might believe it, but will you put your belief into action. The same allegory is illustrated in the Indiana Jones film, “Last Crusade” where our hero must step out over a ravine of death with complete faith that his foot would connect with an invisible bridge. I know it’s really annoying – but God never shows up on our terms, only on his. He’s not a “cash on demand” kind of God, because love works both ways, and he wants a relationship with us based on mutual love and respect.
The surprising story of Christmas grabs my attention every year. It gives me hope, that even in a broken and uncertain world, there is a God who longs to break in to our lives in surprising and unpredictable ways, to enable us to see a bigger picture.
God bless you and yours this Christmas time, and give you hope, happiness, security and peace in the new year ahead.
