Ministry Team Letter for the Month

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Dear Friends

 

Every year from the end of December into the beginning of January, there seems to be a bit of discussion about Christmas decorations. When do they come down? When does Christmas really end? Do they come down on 12th night? And is that the fifth or the 6th of January anyway? Or do they stay up until Candlemas – the 2nd of February? 

 

In church our tree will stay up until the 2nd of February, and I have to confess that although our tree at home will go on 12th night, not all the Christmas lights will come down, because they are fun, we like them, they make us smile, and there's nothing wrong with needing something to make us smile, especially at the darker times of year. But it does make me think a little bit more deeply about Christmas, and it reminded me of a poem.

 

Many people like Christmas, whether they are people of the Christian faith or not, and there is nothing wrong with that. But from a Christian point of view, Christmas is about Jesus. Celebrating God coming to earth to be a person like us. But although we can leave our decorations up for as long as we like really, there is a risk in spiritual terms in getting stuck at Christmas. If we stay in the stable worshipping a beautiful baby Jesus, but never get onto following the grown-up Jesus, we might be missing the most important thing of all.

 

So, I want to share a poem with you - one that I think holds an important message if we choose to hear it, as we head into 2025. 

 

 ‘Incarnation’  by Ann Lewin

 

He's grown, that baby.

Not that most people have noticed.

He still looks the same,

Lying there in the straw, with

Animals and shepherds looking on.

He’s safe there, locked in that moment

Where time met eternity.

 

Reality of course is different,

He grew up, astonished people with his

Insight, disturbed them with

Ideas that stretched them into new maturity.

 

Some found him much too difficult to cope with,

Nailed him down to fit their narrow minds.

 

We are more subtle, keep him helpless,

Refuse to let him be the man is, adore him as the Christmas baby,

Eternally unable to grow up until we set him free.

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By all means let us pause there

At the stable, and

Marvel at the miracle birth.

But we'll never get to know

God with us, until we learn

To find him at the inn,

A fellow guest who shares the joy and sorrow,

The host who is the life we celebrate.

 

He's grown, that baby. 

 

 

The Reverend Hilary Bond

Associate Priest