This year has been a tough year, a year of natural disasters which have devastated the lives of people in many different parts of the world. A year in which hopes for peaceful solutions for nations in crisis have dimmed. There must have been many people throughout the world who have cried out ‘God, why?’ or ‘God, where are you?’ When we celebrate the coming of Christmas it is too easy to indulge in a touch of nostalgia and picture a cosy scene in the stable in a Bethlehem that is still in a deep and dreamless sleep under the silent stars. We too easily forget the harsh realities of life under a foreign power that surrounded the coming of Jesus to earth.
Life then was as perplexing and difficult as it is today. One of the names given to Jesus is ‘Immanuel’ which means ‘God is with us’. God, the creator and ruler of the universe, does not distance himself from the harsh realities faced by men and women. He chose to take flesh, to be incarnate amongst us and to share with us the joy and pain of life on earth. God’s particular concern for people on the ‘margins’ of society, for the poor and for the oppressed, is signalled by the circumstances of Jesus’ birth and early life.
After a difficult and arduous journey Jesus was born in an outhouse designed to shelter animals. The first people to hear of his birth were the shepherds, ordinary working people despised by strict Jews. Mary and Joseph had to flee into exile with Jesus because of persecution by Herod.
Jesus came into the world to challenge the injustice that was as present then as it is now. He came to offer his life for the sin that is the root cause of the inhumanity that is characteristic of this and every age. He came to show us God’s way of living in community, a way that reflects God’s love for all people. If we wish to discover God’s presence amidst the festivities of this Christmas time, we must look for it not just in the joy of celebration with those we know and love but also in seeking to meet the needs of those who are on the margins of our own communities and by reaching out to those who suffer. Then Jesus will be truly present with all.
Jill Chatfield
