Her son had just finished piano lessons in the light of a lantern. Like millions of others, his grandparents had fled to safety elsewhere. At the time, they had considered sending the little fellow abroad but decided instead that it was better to keep him with them. She spoke of how last week, they celebrated the Feast of St Nicholas.
According to their local traditions, it is that night rather than on Christmas Eve, that Santa Claus makes an early visit. Like children the world over – he went to bed full of wonder and excited expectation.
However, in the middle of the night, the air raid sirens sounded as a barrage of incoming missiles approached. With Daddy working with the army hundreds of miles away – mother and child had to leave their beds to take refuge in a nearby shelter. As I listened, a few days ago, to the drive time interview with this Ukrainian MP, she spoke about how she was, at that very moment, sitting in her apartment in a residential area of Kiev with no electricity, no water and no heat in sub-zero conditions. She described how at that moment she was looking out of her window where all the apartment blocks as far as she could see were in total darkness.
Tonight, we have gathered –as Christians have gathered for centuries now – to recall and remember that first Christmas night those many years ago. Over the years, great artists, musicians and storytellers have brought the familiar scene to life. Our rich tradition of carols sings of this “Holy Night” – this “Night Divine” – this “Night when Christ was born.” The retelling of the events in Bethlehem is a story about ordinary people. By all accounts, Mary was a young woman whose life had been turned upside down by an unexpected pregnancy.
Joseph had to dig deep to come to terms with the situation. Now they were far from home – nowhere to stay with the onset of childbirth immanent. The innkeeper, trying to make a living – glad of the census and the extra business it brought – offered them an outhouse for the night. It was there, we are told that, she “gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger …” (Lk 2)
I am sure all mothers here will know the pain and the fear, the hope and the joy of brining a child into the world. Not far away there were shepherds tending to their flocks. It was a tough life – a job for the poor and the futureless. That night the boredom of it all was to be interrupted by the inexplicable. “Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a saviour has been born for you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Lk 2)
Mary, Joseph, the Innkeeper, Shepherds – they were all ordinary people who were trying to live their lives as best they could – often under somewhat difficult circumstances. Perhaps they were not fully aware of it– but later it would become clear to Christians that at that very time and in that very place, God himself was reaching out to them and through them to humanity in a way we could never have thought of or even imagined.
At times, I struggle to get my head around it all. Why would God – the creator of the universe – of all that is - choose to take on the ordinary lowliness and vulnerability of a tiny helpless child? Why would God embark upon the adventure of human life and living? There are other times when, I can glimpse the surprising magnificence of God in it. As such, Christmas turns many of our worldly ideas upside-down. It gifts us with a profound wisdom. Firstly – things, money, positions, or power, even all the toys that Santa Claus could ever bring, will never make us truly happy. People are what is ultimately important – ordinary everyday people living their ordinary lives amid the challenges and opportunities of the times in which they live. Secondly – God’s way of being is love not power. Love selfless love – the daily practice of a love that places other people before ourselves – is the secret to a life well lived and a world in peace and harmony.
This Christmas let us turn to those we love in life – husbands to wives, wives to husbands, parents to children, children to parents, brother to sister, sister to brother. Let neighbour turn to neighbour and friend to friend and let us love them that little bit more. Let us think of those we find hard to love and try to genuinely love them that little bit more. Let us take heed of those who are unloved or who find it hard to feel loved and reach out to love them a little bit more. Let us reach out to those who struggle to put food on the table - to make ends meet – the homeless, those who suffer addiction or who live in the darkness of depression – the sick, those who have lost loved ones – those who are far from home- those seeking safety and refuge and let us practically try to love them a little bit more.
This Christmas, Christmas 2022 – let us remember all those places throughout the world ravaged by that cruel barbarity of war. Let us reach out in love to people like that woman and her son- who with her husband far away – will sit in the dark cold of her Kiev apartment block.
However, let us take heart from those words of the Gospel of John where he confidently proclaims that the divine light of love itself has come into the world. A light now shines in the dark - a light that darkness, no matter how dark it might be, cannot and will not ever overpower. Amen
Bishop Michael