At the Moment When the Miracle Occured

Christmas is here.... and whether its been the culmination of a long period of waiting and reflection, or a manic dash of shopping, cooking, cleaning and preparing, today is the day everything has been leading up to... the day of the birth of the Saviour - a day of celebration!

But what was the real miracle of Christmas? The choirs of angels? The new star? The visitation from the outcast, vagabond shepherds, or the (sometime later) visit of the wise men?

But for me these are peripheral - at most signs of the true miracle of Christmas, which is summed up in the name Emmanuel - God With Us. Because what Christmas actually represents is God, in all his divinity, all his majesty, all his power, chosing to put that aside and come to be with us, here in the messiness of our humanity, in the nitty-gritty down and dirty real world that we inhabit. God, the creator of the entire universe coming to live in his creation. 

Interestingly, there has been some recent debate about the traditional nativity story, and whether Jesus was actually born in a stable (a word not used anywhere in the New Testament accounts) - in fact the suggestion is that the birth would have taken place in the midst of Joseph's family in the family living space (a space which would have been shared with the animals, hence the presence of the manger). 

As I'm not a scholar of New Testament greek, or an expert on 1st Century Palestinian living I'm not going to debate the right or wrong of this "new" interpretation (see http://www.psephizo.com/biblical-studies/jesus-really-wasnt-born-in-a-stable/ if you want to find out more), but as I read this I was struck by the reality of "God With Us" that this presents - an ordinary birth, in an ordinary family home, but of an extraordinary child.

Because true miracle of Christmas Day was just the start, although for us this is often seen as the culmination. For in the birth God began the process of ending the separation between Himself and us. The process ends with a new heaven and a new earth, and goes via a wooden cross and an empty tomb, but its a journey that starts in a manger in Bethlehem, with Emmanuel. 

It was You on a wooden cross

When it seemed everything was lost

What they didn't know is death was beaten

It was You standing at the grave

Son of God, rising up again

For all the world to know that God is with us

Emmanuel by Martin Smith, (C) 2013

I Can't Wait Any Longer...

Those who know me well (or even a little) will probably know that patience isn't one of my strengths.... I'm not renowned for my ability to wait patiently for anything really - I'd much rather know what's going to happen, when and how, rather than have to wait to find out.

Take, as a trivial example, the new Star Wars film. I freely admit to being a bit of a Star Wars geek. OK, a lot of a Star Wars geek. So the release of a new Star Wars film was something of a highlight of the year for me. I was excited about it, and I really wanted to know what was going to happen. You don't know how much willpower it took for me to stay relatively spoiler free in the build up - particularly after a number of my friends saw the midnight opening showings, and I had to wait until the next evening... Yes, I was pleased to go into the film not knowing everything (I'd picked up some hints and worked some of the "twists" out based on the rumours, but that's very different to having the full plot spoiled!). 

So why does this matter? I was thinking earlier today about Christmas, and how this year in particular Christmas seems to have come upon us so quickly. The shops were full of Christmas stuff back in early October, Costa coffee started handing out Christmas cups around my birthday (the end of October), people started decorating their houses in November, and even (most) schools have broken up a week before the big day. What's going on? Perhaps I'm not the only one who can't wait anymore? 

So what are we missing out on? As we rush headlong towards Christmas, I can't help but feel we are forgetting the traditional time of advent. Advent today seems to have been relegated to lighting a few candles (if Health and Safety allows) and then pressing on towards Christmas, but in doing so, we miss out on the time of "expectant waiting" - our opportunity to share in the ancient longing for our Saviour - and in doing so, do we run the risk of forgetting the real meaning of Christmas - not just that Christmas is about the birth of a baby in a stable, but the Christmas is about the coming of the One who has and will change our lives. 

Waiting can sometimes be a good thing. It can be a chance to reflect and really understand what, or who, we are waiting for. And in waiting, we accept the truth that our wills, our desires are not always the most important things in the world. For the few days that remain of Advent, I will be waiting, waiting for the One who transforms all things.