Christmas Eve

Matthew 1:18-23

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall name him Emmanuel,”

which means, “God is with us.”

Are you ready?

asked the checkout operator

as she scanned the last minute gifts we remembered

Are you ready?

A question posed numerous times

in myriad ways

this past few days.

Are you ready?

Our response to that will vary greatly

There is always the fear that we have overlooked something

forgotten something vital

had a senior moment

left things too late.

But the good news of Christmas

For all of us 

Is that it doesn't matter

how ready we are.

God is born.

Emmanuel - God with us

happens over and over again.

Ready or not.

Emmanuel - God with us

comes to those who grieve

to those who worry and fret

to those who feel unprepared

to those who feel calm and ready

to those who are excited

to those who dread

to those who feel that Christmas 

has already been snatched from them

and to those who are waiting to see

what tomorrow brings.

The good news, for all, is

we do not make Christmas 

we do not have to be ready

In every circumstance,

God is born

Emmanuel - God with us.

Fathering God

Matthew 1:24

When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife,

Joseph

These past few months have been the most demanding of my life

the most emotionally draining

I've known the fierceness of love and anger

The depths of despair, the unravelling of joy.

But I'm a man

I'm supposed to be hard

Demanding

Unforgiving

I'm not supposed to be turned to mush

by watching the woman I love suffer

She looks so beautiful carrying my child

And it is my child

I may not have planted the seed that grows within her

But I have watched her body change

I have rubbed her swollen flesh

in the night when she aches

I have felt our baby move and grow

I have felt the kicks and the hiccoughs

And I have felt her pain

as our friends have shunned us

No cosy chats with the other women for Mary

Swapping stories, normalising pregnancy

And no back slapping congratulations for me

Or even leery comments

Just menacing silence

sizzling with reproach

Little do they know, my former so called friends

If they had stuck with me instead of cutting me off

They might, just might, have brought me to my senses

But Mary and I, pushed together in our adversity

Have learned resilience 

And grown together, forced into maturity

It's not just us

We have a little life to care for

And we will prove them wrong

Those who think we'll never manage.

We will show them

That we are the people God calls us to be

Parents for the Son of God.

Liz Crumlish 2014

Piercing truth

Luke 2:34-35

Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

It was a long time in coming

A lifetime and more

But even though he'd waited a lifetime

to greet the Messiah

Simeon could not temper his words

The old prophet could not keep silent 

about what he saw.

This baby, brought to the temple

to fulfil tradition and custom

was recognised by Simeon

as the Messiah on whom he waited.

A Messiah who was destined 

to shake up the institutions 

to challenge a way of life

and to bring searing pain

to the woman who had borne him.

And, having waited so long to greet him.

he could not keep quiet

about the future he saw

in the face of the Son of God.

You are the story

Luke 2:20

The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

They came to worship.

knowing that

on this last Sunday in Advent

we'd be ready

to break out the Christmas Carols

and  to unfold the Christmas story.

The star that had been making its way

through the sanctuary

as Advent progressed 

was placed over the choir at the front.

As the children processed

dropping glitter in their wake

there was a buzz of expectation.

Children and adults dressed up

and took part

Angels, shepherds, wise men too.

Mary was a single mum for a time

until one of the shepherds 

stepped into the breach.

One angel was well into his 70s

The three kings were four

And the baby God?

Was there the whole time

from beginning to end

Not asleep on the hay

but coorying in beside

the widower chilled with grief

Embracing the young mother

worn out working all hours to make ends meet

Lifting the spirits of the gran

whose family are all far away

And heading home

with all who were entranced

by the beauty and simplicity

of the story 

of Emmanuel

God with us.

It's all about the story

Matthew 1:18

The Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

The Day of the Nativity Play

There's a buzz in the air

The adults arrive early

intent on snagging the best seats,

the best viewpoint

from which to see their charges re-enact

the greatest story ever told.

The children too seem extra fidgety

They won't stand still

while tea towels are affixed to shepherds

and tinsel to glittery angels

Even the Kings seem electrified

though they are older

and supposedly more jaded

But with their crowns perched atop slicked back hair

and their gifts clutched tightly in their hands

they too seem ruffled by the moment.

Only Mary seems calm and serene.

Although I don't know how, since Joseph is tearing around

pretend fighting with the shepherds

Just as well those staffs are foam and not wood!

Those tea towels are off again!

And who put the camels, the donkey and the sheep

in those ridiculous positions?

Someone has been messing with the manger!

And the baby Jesus is nowhere to be seen.

But it's time to go.

The choir have finished singing.

The angel Gabriel is making her way down the aisle

Oops - Mary was supposed to go first.

Never mind - the Angel's message will be delivered

Mary and Joseph will carry the donkey 

all the way across the chancel to Bethlehem,

The baby will be born.

The angels will tell the shepherds

who will hurry down to Bethlehem.

And the wise men will make an entrance

with their gifts, hopefully not tripping over their curtains

on the way up the chancel steps.

Someone will find the baby Jesus

and place him in the manger

just in time.

And everyone will say

"What a lovely story"

And, in all the cuteness of the re-telling,

maybe, just maybe,

we will glimpse the greatest gift ever given

and see God born in our midst today.

(To be continued)

Mothering God

Luke 1v 42

Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.

Mary

God, you pick your moments

and your people.

Talk about a big fat Jewish wedding?

Well, the big, fat part came true

as I swelled with the weight of the Son of God.

People thought Joseph was a fool

But I knew differently

It took guts to stick with me

and not run from God

and the crazy plans

he'd racked
up for us.

Once he'd set his mind to it

like everything else he did,

Joseph made a great job

of caring for me

the mother of God's child. 

What other man

would be there at the birth

and not leave it to the women.

Mind you, Joseph had no choice.

No one else would speak to us

disgracing them as we had.

It wasn't really until the birth

that I missed the other women folk

Because Joseph was so loving and caring

He saw the hurt I felt

and tried to make it up to me.

And, for a time, he did.

But, when the time came

to push this fragile life

out into the world

that was when I needed another woman

One who knew what to expect

One who could talk me through the pain

and reassure me

that this was how it had to be

to bring a new life to birth.

I couldn't even blame Joseph

He hadn't planted this seed in me

But I cursed him anyway

with every profanity I knew.

He had to stay

and take it

There was no one else

to catch the Son of God

as he was delivered

onto a straw covered floor

in a place hidden from sight.

No one else to bring him to my breast

so that I could nurture God's Son

the Light of the world.

Liz Crumlish 2014

Beloved child of the light

John 1:9-12

The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God.

Today we bade farewell

and celebrated the life

of one of God's saints.

A child of God.

Even in the darkness of grief

or maybe even especially in that darkness

the light was visible.

The light that came into the world

in the form of a baby.

We celebrated the hope, love joy and peace of Advent

all rolled up in a life of faith

that pointed others to the light 

that cannot be extinguished. 

We gave thanks not just for the light

but for one in whom light shone

one who claimed her power

as a child of God.

And the darkness was pierced

with the light of love

that lasts forever.

Thanks be to God.