We live next to a State school which this morning broadcast the following for 'marching-into-class': 'He came down to earth from heaven, who is God and Lord of all. And our eyes at last shall see him, through his own redeeming love; for that Child who seemed so helpless is our Lord in heaven above.' I wonder each year how Jews, Moslems, and atheists cope with it all. Has it occurred to us that we Christians 'wear' Christmas in the market-place like Jews wear yarmulkes or Muslim women hibabs? But as a Christian I also wonder at the (naïve/stupid/amazing?) arrogance of those few who won't stand for the Messiah's Hallelujah Chorus. The first Christmas was a time of fear - indeed awe - for some. Perhaps we've made it all too banal. Christmas is a time for celebration: God is with us, in Jesus Christ. At family-gatherings we celebrate God's goodness by being generous to one another - and, also, hopefully to the poor, by doing our bit to 'make poverty history'. Let us not forget that this includes emotional poverty: suicide rates go up each Christmas. Which lonely person will you invite into your family? In the incarnation God was reconciling the world to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19 - or 'hugging the world to himself' as the Cottonpatch version has it). An Advent hymn sung by the earliest Christians (Philippians 2:6-11), tells us what God is like, and how we can be like God. God is a servant, and comes to us to serve us. A hungry child in a city slum prayed earnestly one Christmas for some food and toys, but nothing happened. She related this to a cynical friend, who asked with a sneer: 'What happened to this God of yours? Why didn't he hear and answer you?' To which the child answered simply, 'Oh, I'm sure God did hear me, and told someone to bring me a Christmas gift, but I guess they just forgot.' Happy/Holy Christmas! Rowland Croucher
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