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 readers,

It is a privilege this month to be able to write a Christmas message to you. I know that like many people I was hoping for a better Christmas than last year, but recent Covid developments would seem to be challenging that.

Christmas will mean different things to different people. For some it is just another day or a working day; for others it is a chance to have a day off or a break from the usual routine or a chance to party or spend time with family and friends.

For others, Christmas is a time when they feel particularly lonely, isolated, or grieving losses; a special spiritual time when people can celebrate the birth of Jesus; or for others it is a mix of the secular and spiritual aspects of Christmas. Christmas can be a joyful time to give and receive presents but for some Christmas can be stressful and painful because there is no possibility of giving or receiving presents as there is not enough money for basic necessities, so forget gifts.

Last week I received three presents. On Monday the post man managed to push through the letterbox my first Christmas present. I am guessing that friends sent me a scarf as it was squishy; I have not opened it (though temptations are high). On Wednesday I found a box in my post; it looked interesting until I read the front - from the NHS - a bowel cancer testing kit. Then on Friday I met a friend for coffee after work; as we wandered through the shop, I saw a lamp I really liked. My friend offered to buy it for Christmas; it is now on my table and lights up the corner beautifully (okay maybe I should have waited but I am weak). Three gifts: one will be a surprise, hopefully a good one, one is something that I am already using and appreciating, and one that I am not excited about using but really glad to have because I fully appreciate our health care system helping me have the best health possible. Gifts come in all sorts of shapes and sizes with a variety of uses and impacts.

Christmas is about gifts and giving! Why? You might think that the first Christmas gifts came from the wise men; they gave gold (suitable for a king) frankincense (indicating royalty and priesthood) and myrrh (symbolic of death and burial) - each one reflecting who Jesus is and what He did. Before these gifts though, the shepherds came to see Jesus and more than likely gave a lamb or sheep, but even before them the owners of the place where Jesus was born gave generosity and compassion to Mary and Joseph. An earlier gift was given by Joseph who gave his obedience to God and accepted the responsibility of going ahead with marrying Mary and bringing up God’s Son despite the cost that it would require. Mary gave a precious gift; she gave her submission to God’s will for her life and a radical resetting of her future. Some of these gifts may have been easier to give than others but each one was important and valued.

None of these though were the first gift of Christmas! The first gift of Christmas came from God; the Bible tells us that God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son. John in the New Testament goes on to write that God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him. Jesus was love personified and part of God’s sacrificial love to save the world. The first gift of Christmas was love. Love cannot be bought, love cannot be banked to earn interest, love does not require fancy gift wrapping, love cannot be earned or bought in a shop and love cannot be stopped by Covid. Love is being together sharing good times - it is caring more for the other person than ourselves.

I appreciate and respect everyone’s right to choose what they want to believe and to decide how they want to celebrate Christmas or not, but for me as a Christian I believe that God is love and we are able to love and be loved because God first loved us. Irrespective of what gifts I am given this Christmas, what I will be thankful for is that people thought of me and cared enough to show it.

As I planned this message, I had UCB radio on; a song came on by Joel Vaughn…

Am I the only one who’s struggling here to have an attitude full of Christmas cheer
After the crazy kind of year we’ve had
Maybe it’s the stress of the crowded stores trying to buy gifts that I can’t afford
I know the season is so much more than that
So I am choosing here and now to see what this day is all about to me
Coz I still feel the wonder of that story how you came down from heaven as a baby
And I’m still so amazed at Your love for me that when I think about it even now
I feel like a kid on Christmas morning

This must strike a chord (no pun intended) for many of us. I choose to be amazed because I believe that God loves me and loves you all. Christmas reminds me that God loved us enough to give Himself, so my Christmas prayer for Rochdale is that every single person will feel loved and cared for and in turn can know the blessing of loving others. This will be enough for me to feel like an excited child!

Christmas blessings and love to you all.

Reverend Margaret Smith