Christmas Mess

I wonder what mess you have in your lives. (Don’t try telling me there isn’t any – I won’t believe you!)

Volunteers to make mess? (Cardboard, Newspaper, Veg choppings, Soil? Weeds? Old material?) In a box.

Mess – life is full of it, isn’t it?

Some mess is really nasty – like dog poop – seeing the news and all the tragedy and death in the world – there is a lot going on which is devastating to hear about and it’s very possible to get really quite depressed about the state of the world – covid, wars, political battles, the environmental crisis – I’ve actually stopped looking at the news too often as it upsets me too much

Some mess is not so nasty – like clothes and books left lying around - taking up space in our lives - like screen time, all-consuming jobs, social calendars, and never-ending admin.

But it’s still mess in our lives – cluttering things up – preventing us from seeing some of the really important things.

We know we do it – we fill our lives and time with so much – most of which is really not so bad in and of itself……

But the question is – what are we not leaving space for when we do this?

What do we fail to see?

Advent was historically a time when we cleared space, to prepare for Christmas – this is now largely forgotten amidst the mince pies, Christmas parties and shopping that seem to last for most of December. But I wonder what we are missing when we do this?

When we don’t make space – what do we miss?

Can you try and make space in the box? Can you clear the mess? What will you find?

Have we left enough space to actually see what Christmas is about?

What do you think Christmas is about? Any ideas?

-         Jesus

-         God with Us

-         Light in the Darkness

The problem is – we are so familiar with these ideas, that we forget the completely shocking nature of the Christmas message – we take it for granted rather than going deeper into what it really means….

And what it really means is that God is not the sort of God that we need to earn approval from, who stays at a remote distance. Rather, God is unable to contain his love for us – it’s a love that outpours into our world whether we acknowledge it or not – he can’t help himself – that is his nature – to love.

It means that God values every one of us enough to be one of us – to be with us in person and then in Spirit – to enter into our mess and sin, and share our chaotic and imperfect lives. It reminds us that every person – even those we like the least, even the most unworthy and unloveable – every single person is considered valuable and is loved by God.

And lastly, it shows us that God will never force himself on us, as a powerful leader might, but rather takes the path of the insignificant carpenter from a small town, born in a stable - born into the normal messy life of an ordinary person. God does not enter into our world with a big fanfare saying here I am – he comes quietly, unobserved – except by those who open their eyes to see – like the shepherds and the wise men.

So maybe this Christmas, we can make some space from our mess, to open our eyes to God – to his overflowing love, bringing joy and peace to our world. And maybe we can allow God’s love, joy and peace to flow through us and beyond us - to all those we encounter.

And maybe, just maybe, we can hear again the angels, singing – Glory to God in the highest and on earth, Peace and Goodwill amongst all people.