Christmas tunes when we shop, adverts on television, decorations, excitement amongst little ones and a slight bite to the wind all serve to remind us that Christmas is upon us again.  For most of us Christmas is a time of joy, of giving and receiving presents, of spending some time with family and friends and perhaps over-indulging ever so slightly.

In the hustle and bustle of preparation and making ready it is easy to forget that for some, Christmas is less a time for joy, than of dread.  Those who have lost loved ones, the families of soldiers separated from loved ones serving in foreign lands, those who are financially stretched and who feel the weight of pressure to spend money that’s just not there.  It is often around Christmas that conflicts erupt too and that the worst excesses of inhumanity are at large.

So it was on that first Christmas when Jesus was born to Mary in a manger, with none of the comforts we associate with childbirth, and against a back-drop of Roman oppression – pursued by King Herod who had already heard of his potential new rival and sent out orders to kill him.

It is in such turbulent settings and difficult times that the true meaning of Christmas is revealed.  For God so loved the World, that he sent his only Son Jesus Christ to save us from the tyranny of Sin and give us Hope.  Not as a powerful King with wealth and armies at his disposal, but as a small vulnerable child, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.  To those with the foresight, the birth of Christ heralded a new era of hope and light for the World.  The shepherds came at the call of the angels, the Three Wise Men came from the East having seen a star and indeed, all Christians, who to this day over 2000 years on, believe that that tiny baby is the light of the World – come to Jesus looking for hope in the future – for light in the darkness that surrounds them.

Let us all, through our prayers and deeds, have a hand in spreading the message of Christmas.  It’s easy to get a bit impatient with long queues, overcrowded car parks, overpriced goods and the other vexations that Christmas brings, but take a deep breath and think of that cold Christmas night all those years ago, when a pregnant Mary and her fretful husband Joseph were turned away from every inn and hostel, until one kind act allowed them refuge in a stable – a symbol of hope for millions of people the world over – that unto us a saviour is born and he will be called Jesus and he will save his people.

May you all have a blessed Christmas and may peace and joy be with you and your loved ones at this time and throughout 2013!

With love
Ann