The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.
This line from the famous hymn O Little Town of Bethlehem, hits the nail on the head.
The next 24 hours really do contain all the hopes we have as human beings for what the world should be like and conversely the fear of what it really is like.
Christmas preparations start early for many people.
I talked to one lady who already starts her shopping in January.
It’s no surprise because there is a lot that has to be done.
Family schedules around work and travelling have to be figured out so that we can get together.
Decorations, including lights, Christmas tree and all the usual ornaments need to be put in place to make it look like Christmas
Of course we have to shop for presents, send out Christmas cards and any parcels.
Giving money to the Salvation Army Christmas tree fund and a visit to St Vincent De Paul is definitely in order.
There are work parties to attend, school concerts and baking parties.
Are you getting tired yet?
Sure it seems like a lot but I believe that deep down these activities reveal a deeper longing about Christmas.
The desire to be with family is a longing for closer relationships with parents, children and relatives not the usual lack of phone calls, emotional baggage, bad memories or even death.
The presents and donations of time and money are a longing for a world were we share with those who are less fortunate and are generous giving people not the selfish and self absorbed people.
The get togethers are a desire for community and togetherness in our world not loneliness and separation.
Good food because we want to feel satisfied at the end.
The problem is no matter how hard we try it never turns out how we hoped and if it does the satisfaction wanes as Christmas fades in the background.
Just head over to the mall and you’ll see what I mean.
Vanessa told me that as she went to Pine Centre she got a chance to watch Christmas in action.
As she pulled into the parking lot she saw a car backing out and pulled up behind with her blinker on.
Once the stall was open she went to drive in and someone drove in right in front of her.
In the mall she watched a child crying and one parent yelling “Shut up or you won’t get anything for Christmas.”
On the way home people cutting others off to get to the next event in an already packed day.
Lest I be labeled a cynic there are plenty of people giving hampers, dropping money in the Salvation Army pot and genuinely trying to get something meaningful for the people they love.
But like a firework shooting into the sky Christmas goes off with a beautiful bang and then fizzles into nothing.
It’s no wonder it takes us 11 months to prepare.
We wouldn’t be able to sustain this type of behavior all year round.
It’s exhausting being so generous, so loving and so accommodating.
It’s no wonder after Christmas when the credit card debt rolls in, the extra pounds on the scale show up and life gets back to normal that we collapse on the sofa determined that we wondering where it all went.
So why bother?
Because the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight O Little Town of Bethlehem.
Because we know that something is supposed to happen at Christmas but no matter how hard we try it never seems to live up to expectations or last for more than a moment.
The problem is that the alternative is just to darn disappointing.
We’re promised hope, peace, love and joy by God through Jesus birth but I look around and wonder when it will show up.
And really it couldn’t be that easy anyway; that we should do nothing and still receive this.
To be honest it’s probably better if we keep doing it our way and work on creating those things ourselves.
I mean we can almost do it right?
If we just keep practicing someday it will all turn out the way we want it to be won’t it?
Whether we know it or not everything we do at Christmas points to the fact that what God has done is simply not up to snuff.
God coming to us in a manger doesn’t cut it.
It’s disappointing and simply unacceptable.
And so we go about creating Christmas in our own image, the way we think it should all play out with happy families, good food and generosity.
The only problem is that’s not how it happens.
Mary and Joseph have no family around and probably are on the outs with them because of Mary’s unplanned pregnancy.
Good food is definitely not on the menu after all that travelling and generosity is not what they find when looking for a place to stay.
Christmas, or the birth of Christ looks nothing like it does today.
All they have is a place to sleep, some shepherds who confirm that this is indeed the Son of God and Jesus lying the manger.
Not really much of a Christmas for Mary, Joseph and Jesus, is it?
They could probably use hamper or two.
But even if our Christmas looks nothing like theirs, Mary’s encounter with the birth of Christ is our encounter.
An angel visits her and says she will give birth to the Son of God.
An angel shows up to her husband to confirm it.
Angels and the heavenly hosts show up and tell the shepherds who tell Mary and Joseph what they already know.
Mary treasures these things in her heart and what…ponders them.
But this pondering of Mary’s is not so simple.
It’s the type of pondering that involves wrestling with what she’s seen, debating what has happened and trying to make sense of it.
Even after being told over and over again she still doesn’t know exactly what this whole thing means.
And neither do we because if know what it means that God enters into the world we wouldn’t be running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to do it all ourselves.
To know that God has entered the world means we no longer have to do all the things we do for it to happen.
It means we can let go of all the have tos and musts.
You don’t have to do it all.
Did you hear that?
You don’t have to do it all.
God is the one who makes Christmas happen not you.
Joy, peace, love and hopecome to us because God has come into the world not because you put up a tree or bought the right presents or made a perfect dinner.
Jesus is born into the imperfection of our lives.
So be free, people of God, to live an imperfect Christmas with all the flaws and brokenness that come with it because no matter what you do or don’t do this night to you is born a Saviour, who is the Messiah, The Lord.
Amen.
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