Christmas message from Reverend Margaret Smith

Christmas message from Reverend Margaret Smith
Chaplain: Rochdale town centre, Police & Armed Forces Associations

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Dear Rochdale,

I feel honoured to be asked to write a Christmas message for you. It is Christmas, though it may not really feel like it, and you may not feel like celebrating given all that is going on.

I heard on UCB (United Christian Broadcasters) the other morning someone saying that though parties are cancelled, seeing family is cancelled, seeing friends is cancelled, meals out with turkey and all the trimmings are cancelled - love is NOT cancelled, kindness is NOT cancelled, generosity is NOT cancelled, and care does not stop.

I would add that creativity is not cancelled - writing letters and sending cards can go ahead - telephoning people is not cancelled, waving and smiling can carry on. Most importantly for me - Jesus is NOT cancelled. We may celebrate different things at this time according to our beliefs and customs but as a Christian, Jesus is THE reason for the season. There is a lot we can learn and take encouragement from today when we read the accounts of the birth of Jesus.

 

 

First, Joseph; he must have had some grand plans for getting married to Mary and starting a new life and family with her, but his plans went kaput when Mary tells him she is pregnant and it is God's son! To cap it all, God sends an angel in a dream to tell him he must still marry her and bring up the boy who is going to be the Saviour of the world. Joseph had a choice; he could have said no, but instead he made the best of it and trusted God.

We really do not hear much of Joseph after Jesus was born but we can see the result of his choice to make the most of his changed plans. Jesus was cared for and brought up ready to fulfil God's plan to love us all. Joseph did what he had to do and so must we; our Christmas plans may be very different this year, but if it helps us, and other people in the weeks and months ahead, then we need to play our part and just do it. We may not see the results of what we do immediately, but we will affect our future and the futures of others.

Then we have Mary; again, she must have been dreaming about her wedding and starting a family, but she would never have thought that those dreams would become more a nightmare. A visit from an angel may seem exciting, but not if you are a virgin told you are going to have a child conceived out of marriage, and God's own to be called Jesus, which means God with us. Despite this, Mary hangs onto her faith and trust in God and that if this is what God wants then He will be with her throughout it.

God was with Mary and cared for her for the rest of her life, even when Jesus was dying on the cross. He asked John, one of his closest disciples, to treat Mary as his own mother. Dreams are dreams but reality is everyday life and we just need to make the most out of whatever comes our way and trust just like Mary did.

We can learn a lot from the shepherds, minding their own business, well... looking after the sheep. Shepherds were not highly thought of as a group of people and yet God chose them to be the first to find out about Jesus and visit Him.

Having seen Jesus, they told everyone they met and everybody who heard was amazed. Shepherds may have been on the outskirts of communities, but God cared for them. He cares for each one of us: whoever we are, whatever we do, wherever we are. People listened and would have been encouraged by what the shepherds shared with them. They did not have phones, Facebook, letters, and cards etc. but they talked, shouted, and laughed. We can encourage people today; we may not be able to see them face to face, but we can encourage with a smile, a wave by sending cards or texting, or putting positive words on Facebook. Remember it takes more muscles to frown then smile - so smile and stay looking younger longer!

Let's think about the wise men. Now you may be thinking how can I make this a positive. They went on a journey and it led to the right destination. Today many of us are not going to be allowed to make visits. Well first of all though it looks good in the nativity plays to have the wise men and their gifts arrive straight after the shepherds; in reality the wise men would have come several months if not at least a year later. They also would have been planning for their journey and they waited until they got the go ahead i.e., when the star shone! So, though we cannot make the journeys we want to right now - if we wait for the safe go ahead and the right timing then we will have the memorable visits just like the wise men did.

Finally, there is the star. A star shines all the time, but we only see it when the sun and moon are in the right places in the sky. A star shines in the darkness. This December feels to be a particularly dark time this year not simply because of the seasonal nature time of year.

Many are feeling that life is dark; dark because they are coping with bereavement and the death of loved ones; dark because they are worried about the health of people they care about; dark because they have lost jobs or are worried about continued employment; dark because of financial insecurity and worry about having somewhere to live, food to eat and clothes to wear; dark because they are afraid for their own health.

I can share some of these dark experiences with you. I pray for everyone in Rochdale as I work in the town and try to come alongside people there. Even a tiny light can push the darkness aside and there are lights shining. I am thankful for those working to keep our town going; the police, fire service, ambulance staff, NHS, the council staff, social work teams, teachers and those in working in childcare, the foodbank volunteers, those working in homeless charities, family charities, church outreach and community teams, other faith group charities and community work, the Armed Forces support workers, youth workers, shop assistants, office workers, and the list goes on.

The light is shining, and I am convinced that God will not let the lights go out. In fact, more lights seem to be going on as my fellow church leaders develop skills in IT and media (even I have managed a couple of live stream sermons)!

As a Christian one of my favourite chapters to read especially at Christmas is John chapter One; it describes Jesus as the Light of God who has come into the world and states that the darkness will not put this Light out. 

So as hard as I am praying for Covid-19 to go and for us all as individuals and as a town to recover fast from what has happened - I pray that despite changed plans, altered dreams, postponed journeys, and dark times, that we will get through and find moments and experiences of peace, joy, love and hope this Christmas.

Christmas Blessings to you all.