Thoughts from the Benefice

It may surprise some of you that the fixing of the date of Christmas was a relatively late decision. It was actually in 336AD that the Emperor Constantine decided to establish December 25th as the day to celebrate Jesus’ birth. Quite why he chose this date is up for debate: some think it was to replace pagan festivities that already happened at this time…others think it was 9 months after the Annunciation (which is March 25th) …and others that it should be 6 months after John the Baptist’s birth. (Scripture tells us that Elizabeth was 6 months pregnant at the time that the angel Gabriel visited Mary) Of course the answer remains unknown.

But the consequence is that we celebrate a festival which occurs in the darkest of months… close to the winter solstice…. at a time when we naturally appreciate the value of light. And the timing all fits in with Scripture: remember the prophecy of Isaiah ‘The people who lived in darkness have seen a great light’… a prophecy which we believe that Jesus fulfilled when he was born. Jesus Himself said: ‘I am the
Light of the World’… and John says of Jesus: ‘The Light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.’

Christmas celebrates the coming of God’s light into the darkness of this world. Our Christmas liturgy and hymns that we sing refer so many times to the light and the glory of God. We put up lights on our Christmas trees and we light candles in our Carol Services. It always amazes me how much light can be spread by a small source of light.

And Christ’s light is not a one-off… lit when he was born in Bethlehem and then extinguished. The divine light of Jesus shined in and through all He did and said. It was seen through the people He encountered. Many came to Him in pain and need… and went away bathed in His light, redeemed and healed. And today Christ’s light continues to shine in all who follow and believe in Him. It is a constant light and has the power to draw people to its shining. It does not give false comfort… or a superficial reassurance that all is well… but rather continues to shine out even where there is devastation and disaster and suffering.

Christ’s light comes to us gently and as a friend. It can bring healing to our hurts, freedom from our burdens, new life through our deaths. Come to the manger this year and see that Light for yourselves, that you may know God has come into this world and there is Hope.