It’s always hard for me to find just the right Christmas card. As I search, sometimes I like a particular image on the cover, but the message inside is overly sentimental. Or the word “Saviour” is spelled without a “u,” a dead giveaway that the cards are from south of the border.
At other times, I really like the message inside the card, but the image on the front isn’t quite right. It’s either too secular (Santa Claus and reindeer) or it depicts the image of the Magi presenting their gifts at the manger, which would make it more of an Epiphany card than a Christmas card. The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (which has recently been renamed Alongside Hope) produces beautiful Christmas cards every year. They are a great option, as the sale of them supports vital international work by our Church, but lots of other people use them too.
For me, the elusive search for just the right Christmas card points to a greater reality about Christmas. That is, many of us try to get Christmas just right, and that can be stressful! We go searching for a tree that is not too short and stubby, but also not too tall to fit through the door; we scour the stores and internet for the perfect gift for a loved one; we try to strike the right balance of time with various family members; we keep a watchful eye on the oven to get the ideal tenderness of the turkey on Christmas Day. There is somehow this expectation each year that Christmas is going to be just right.
In the many pressures of this season, it helps me to remember that the first Christmas wasn’t perfect either – far from it. So many elements of this story are unplanned. Luke, in his gospel, tells us that Mary and Joseph were far away from their home in Nazareth. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was over 100 km – a walk of several days for a very pregnant Mary! After arriving in Bethlehem for the required census, the couple searched for an inn that could house them. But there was no room in the inn, so their baby was born in a stable instead. Those first on the scene after the birth were not family members and friends, but shepherds, who had been keeping watch over their flocks out in the fields.
None of this was ideal for Mary and Joseph, I am sure. And yet, Jesus came. Into the messiness of the world, and in timing that was far from ideal, Jesus came. For me, this is the reassurance of Christmas. Our celebrations are never perfect, but the gift of Jesus is always perfect. For “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17) and we rejoice that this perfect gift becomes for us the “pioneer and perfecter of our own faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The abundant life we receive in Christ is the very best gift we could be given and is the source of our joy this and every Christmas. Even if nothing else turns out quite right, we take hold of this truth that Jesus is God’s amazing gift of salvation for the whole world.
Many authors over the centuries have tried to capture this sense that the birth of Jesus cuts through the mundaneness and disorder of our world and our lives. Whether we are ready for it or not, Christ comes. One of my favourite expressions of this is from Madeline L’Engle in her poem “First Coming”:
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.
He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, and touch our pain,
He came with love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
As we prepare to celebrate once again the birth in time of the timeless Son of God, may we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. And in our striving to make everything perfect, may we instead rest in the joy of God’s perfect gift. Merry Christmas!
Jesus, the Perfect Gift
Christmas message
It’s always hard for me to find just the right Christmas card. As I search, sometimes I like a particular image on the cover, but the message inside is overly sentimental. Or the word “Saviour” is spelled without a “u,” a dead giveaway that the cards are from south of the border.
At other times, I really like the message inside the card, but the image on the front isn’t quite right. It’s either too secular (Santa Claus and reindeer) or it depicts the image of the Magi presenting their gifts at the manger, which would make it more of an Epiphany card than a Christmas card. The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (which has recently been renamed Alongside Hope) produces beautiful Christmas cards every year. They are a great option, as the sale of them supports vital international work by our Church, but lots of other people use them too.
For me, the elusive search for just the right Christmas card points to a greater reality about Christmas. That is, many of us try to get Christmas just right, and that can be stressful! We go searching for a tree that is not too short and stubby, but also not too tall to fit through the door; we scour the stores and internet for the perfect gift for a loved one; we try to strike the right balance of time with various family members; we keep a watchful eye on the oven to get the ideal tenderness of the turkey on Christmas Day. There is somehow this expectation each year that Christmas is going to be just right.
In the many pressures of this season, it helps me to remember that the first Christmas wasn’t perfect either – far from it. So many elements of this story are unplanned. Luke, in his gospel, tells us that Mary and Joseph were far away from their home in Nazareth. The journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem was over 100 km – a walk of several days for a very pregnant Mary! After arriving in Bethlehem for the required census, the couple searched for an inn that could house them. But there was no room in the inn, so their baby was born in a stable instead. Those first on the scene after the birth were not family members and friends, but shepherds, who had been keeping watch over their flocks out in the fields.
None of this was ideal for Mary and Joseph, I am sure. And yet, Jesus came. Into the messiness of the world, and in timing that was far from ideal, Jesus came. For me, this is the reassurance of Christmas. Our celebrations are never perfect, but the gift of Jesus is always perfect. For “every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17) and we rejoice that this perfect gift becomes for us the “pioneer and perfecter of our own faith” (Hebrews 12:2). The abundant life we receive in Christ is the very best gift we could be given and is the source of our joy this and every Christmas. Even if nothing else turns out quite right, we take hold of this truth that Jesus is God’s amazing gift of salvation for the whole world.
Many authors over the centuries have tried to capture this sense that the birth of Jesus cuts through the mundaneness and disorder of our world and our lives. Whether we are ready for it or not, Christ comes. One of my favourite expressions of this is from Madeline L’Engle in her poem “First Coming”:
He did not wait till the world was ready,
till men and nations were at peace.
He came when the heavens were unsteady,
and prisoners cried out for release.
He did not wait for the perfect time.
He came when the need was deep and great.
He dined with sinners in all their grime,
turned water into wine.
He did not wait till hearts were pure.
In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt.
To a world like ours, of anguished shame
he came, and his Light would not go out.
He came to a world which did not mesh,
to heal its tangles, shield its scorn.
In the mystery of the Word made Flesh
the Maker of the stars was born.
We cannot wait till the world is sane
to raise our songs with joyful voice,
for to share our grief, and touch our pain,
He came with love: Rejoice! Rejoice!
As we prepare to celebrate once again the birth in time of the timeless Son of God, may we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ. And in our striving to make everything perfect, may we instead rest in the joy of God’s perfect gift. Merry Christmas!
Author
Bishop Kevin Robertson
The Rt. Rev. Kevin Robertson is a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Toronto.
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