Dear Dalston-Crown Hill United Church friends,
I hope you are well and that 2022 has been a good year for you. No doubt we have all faced challenges in our own ways, but I hope we have experienced God’s grace even in the midst of our difficult times.
As we approach another Christmas season, many of us look forward to good times, familiar traditions, tasty treats and maybe a gift to warms our hearts. In our house, this latter hope is an extra cause for excitement. Lately, I’ve been asked, “May I open a present now?” This raises a broader question I often wondered about as a boy, “Why can’t it be Christmas all year ‘round?”
Of course, it cannot be Christmas twelve months of the year. For one thing, it would be economically impossible—imagine our credit card statements if that were so! I’m sure we would also get Christmas-fatigue pretty quickly. Even more, there is no heightened emotional state we can sustain for too long. If Christmas were all the time, Christmas would no longer be Christmas.
My favourite part of the nativity story is the response of the shepherds. They were watching over their flocks that first Christmas night without any expectation. They were not looking at their watches wondering, “When will the angel appear?” That night started out just like any other. Then, after the angel appeared suddenly to announce the good news of the Messiah’s birth, and after the host of heaven filled the sky to sing God’s praise, the shepherds had faith to leave what they were doing, go into Bethlehem, and look for the child. Then, after they had seen the baby Jesus and spoken to his parents, “the shepherds returned [to their flocks], glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). Having had an amazing revelation of God’s saving work, they worshipped, gave testimony, and then went on with their (often difficult) lives.
Our calling as God’s people is to hear and receive the good news of Immanuel—God-with-us—and carry on with our everyday lives, albeit with renewed thankfulness and delight. Christmas and its seasonal pleasures cannot take up more than a few weeks every year, but that is just enough to fill our hearts with joy at any time! I pray a blessed holiday season and a happy 2023 for you and your families.
Yours,
Will Haughton