Starlit Darkness

Posted Dec 10, 15:03

It was 2 am in the morning, many years ago, and I was up, in the living room, with my youngest son Tim. He was at that stage between mastering crawling and exploring the possibilities of walking – but he still had to get the hang of this new skill. He had so much energy and determination that it would wake him up in the middle of the night – so he could have another crack at it. And for a period of about six weeks I found myself having to get up in the early morning and just spend time with him as he experimented. After about 30 minutes he’d tire himself out, and would go happily back to his bed. There was little point in robbing him of that time – he’d just make us all suffer for it. But anyway, I found great pleasure in these times when most of the rest of the world was at sleep – and I could share in this ‘great endeavour’ of his.

And then there was the time……well of course I could fill this issue with many, many fond reminiscences. And I know we could all do the same thing – little stories about our own children or children we know, times that have touched our hearts with their profound intimacy.

The Advent and Christmas season brings back such intimate memories, and we can think too about the experiences Mary and Joseph must also have had. I’m sure they too could have filled this magazine with little stories as their child grew up.

In many ways, our own experience can fill out parts of the story that are missing in the Gospels. There is so much we know from our own lives that could be the background to what the Gospels tell us – the sense of awe that comes with the creation of new life, the powerful sense of responsibility in face of the vulnerability of the child, and, of course, the stages in the journey from ‘winding’ to ‘first steps’, from ‘first words’ to ‘first tooth’, and so on.

Through the Christmas story we can revisit so many of the emotions we already understand so well – between intimacy and wonder. But of course the Christmas story takes us even further into the mystery of life, for we know that that vulnerable little child drawing nourishment from his mother’s breast is in fact God at work, bringing nourishment to all our lives. In Christ, as Paul tells us in
2 Corinthians, God was reconciling the world to himself. And that intimacy which God has brought about is cause for a much deeper sense of wonder.

So this Christmas season, perhaps when we get lost amongst our consumer society’s obsession with things, with more and more presents, with jingles, with bustling crowds, and with a surface jollity we should try as hard as we can to not lose touch with these feelings of intimacy and wonder.

And perhaps we can sum that up by not just wishing people a ‘happy’ Christmas or a ‘merry’ Christmas, but by wishing them a ‘wonder-full’ Christmas.

Have a wonderful Christmas,

Love,

George

Source-Ministers Letter-St Thomas’-Junction Road’s December issue of the Church News

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