In the weeks leading up to Christmas we will all hear the song
‘Jingle Bells’ time and again. It was written by a clergyman in
about 1857, and it was the first song to be played on the moon at
Christmas 1965! It is probably the nearest most people will get to
thinking about the Incarnation this year. Its theological content is
limited but it does speak about the frenetic pace of life during
these weeks of preparing for Christmas – it really is ‘Jingle all the Way’!
So, it is important to carve out for ourselves time and ‘space’ to
reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Jingle Bells doesn’t ‘get
it’ just as many people don’t ‘get it’ which is why God has had to keep
reminding us throughout history. King Herod didn’t ‘get it’ because
he was too preoccupied with his neurosis about power. Pontius Pilate
didn’t ‘get it’ because Jesus wasn’t the kind of king he would
understand. Even the inn keeper missed his chance to ‘get it’ and
closed the door.
On the other hand the shepherds ‘got it’. They weren’t
theologically up to speed but perhaps spending nights out under the
stars encourages a contemplative frame of mind! After all if you
went to the synagogue what would you do with the sheep?
And Mary ‘got it’. When the Angel Gabriel visited her with his
message she was perturbed and she was perplexed but she still said
‘Be it done to me according to your word’. Her heart was tuned in
to the goodness and the truth of what was happening even though
she didn’t understand it.
I do have to be careful though. If I look for God only in certain
places, I exclude the possibility of God reaching us in all
circumstances – even as we ‘jingle all the way’ to the great day
itself. A priest friend of mine visited an elderly lady to give her
holy communion each week. She was only ever semi conscious at the
best of times and so he was annoyed that, whenever he called to give
her the sacraments, the radio was always playing in the background.
The nurse said to him it was the only thing that made her relax –
even when she was unconscious. Sure enough it was on again the
next time he called. He was annoyed as usual until he noticed with
fresh eyes the relaxing effect it was having on her. The voice was
that of Rod Stewart – hardly someone we would associate with
bringing spiritual comfort. The song he serenaded her with was;
‘Have I told you lately that I love you.’ God sometimes finds ways of
stepping in to touch our lives even through the ‘secular’ and banal.
At Christmas time we celebrate our God who is ‘Emmanuel’ – ‘God
with us’. Not the God who will be with us in the future, or who will
only be with us in the church and sacred spaces, but the God who
came to be with us (and who remains with us) in the mess which is
often the reality of our lives. God will speak today even in the
‘jingle’. Let the reality of your life be the place of prayer. God is
already among us and always will be. So in the words of the Advent
proclamation, “stay awake and stand ready” to celebrate His
presence on Christmas Day itself wherever you are.
Mr K Ballard
Deputy Headteacher
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