Great Expectations?

I wonder what your expectations of Christmas are? I wonder if you feel the pressure for everything to be perfect? Do you have pictures in your minds of children playing, church choirs singing, people smiling and getting along. We look to the Christmas season to be a time of perfect peace, harmony, and joy. It is supposed to be, as the song says, "the most wonderful time of the year”, but so often it is not that way." For many it will be a very difficult time because something has interrupted the joy and hope. It may be sickness, or loss of a loved one, or a relationship breakdown, or loneliness and they carry it quietly, whilst the noise of Christmas preparations go on.

Some of you are so busy and working so hard that there is no time for sitting around a fire roasting chestnuts. Or, maybe there is not anything really wrong, but for some reason you just don’t enjoy Christmas. It is not providing the emotional lift that you expected. In fact, it feels almost depressing. The world does not look like a winter wonderland. It just looks like winter.

But there is hope…..Because the true message of Christmas is about hope.

In the story of the Magi (or the three wise men), they saw a star that indicated the birth of a new king in Israel. Wanting to honour Him with gifts, they set out on a journey following the star to find this newborn King.

Maybe we can learn from their story by asking ourselves, “What are we looking for?” The Magi knew that something very special was happening. They were looking for Jesus. This tiny baby who would change the world forever.

We can ask ourselves, “Where do we look?” We learn from the magi that there are wrong and right places to look for Christmas. They started by looking in the wrong place based on their own human reasoning. The star indicated the birth of a new king in Israel and so they went where kings should be born - to the palace of Herod the Great in the capital city of Jerusalem. But when Herod heard of the birth of a new king, he jealousy sought to destroy him.

We, too, are tempted to look for joy at Christmas in the wrong places. We are told by the world that by getting or giving the right gift we will be satisfied. Or that being with right person/people and having the perfect food and drink, we will be satisfied. Sadly, all of these can easily disappoint us. You may not be able to afford the right gift for a loved one or they may be missing from your holiday celebration.

And lastly, “What do we give?” The magi came to Jesus' house bearing gifts. The gifts they gave were entirely meaningful and prophetic. They gave gold, gift for a king. And by giving it they acknowledged that Jesus was and is the King. They gave frankincense, a gift for a priest. This was incense the priests used in Temple. By giving it they acknowledged that Jesus was a priest - the One who would bring us to God. And they gave myrrh, a fragrant ointment used to anoint a body before burial. By giving it they acknowledged that Jesus had come to die for the sins of the world.

So maybe to our families, friends, neighbours and communities, the gifts this Christmas could be to give the gift of our love and kindness to those we meet, to give the gift of our help to those who are hurting, to give the gift of forgiveness to those who have hurt us. These are the gifts that reflect the true meaning of Christmas and they will never disappoint.

Blessings this Christmas,

Vikki