Messiness for the Messiah

  As part of the preparation for this year’s Christmas Services I have, of course, gone back to re-read and remind myself of the nativity story - familiar though it is - to see what new insights God can give through it.
  As I have looked again at the gospels, I have been struck by the sheer earthiness of the account of Jesus birth.  It is an earthiness that, somehow, we block out in our romantic carols such as, 'O Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie, above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by'.
  Bethlehem was not quiet and still on the night that Jesus was born.  It was heaving with people - people like Mary and Joseph who had travelled in to register for the census.  Those who could not be given accommodation by relatives were taking what places they could - even with the livestock!  The town had never been so busy.
  Then there was the pervasive atmosphere of the moment.  A sense of oppression and threat hung over the population.  The Roman governor, the representative of the occupying power, was forcing a movement of people all over Palestine to satisfy a bureaucratic whim which, I imagine, would have caused a fair amount dissent and grumbling at the time.
  Leaving aside the mess and gore of childbirth in and among the livestock; there are other earthy things going on.
  What about those shepherds who came in from the fields to see the new born child?  They had not just appeared on 'One man and his dog' in green wellies and wax jackets!  These were rough and tough men who were among the least desirable characters in town.  They were best avoided - but they were the first to be invited to see the Christ child.
  And so it goes on. The men from the East find themselves face to face with a paranoid, power-crazed king and are almost involved in a diplomatic incident.
  This is a noisy, messy world into which God comes in Jesus.  It is a world that is like our own: full of political and social tension, of marginalised groups, of people trying to make sense of all that is going around them.
  And that is where we can all find God: at any time.  He is not just in the quiet places of beauty and the sublime worship of Midnight Communion on Christmas Eve.  He is in the hustle and bustle of life, offering us hope, love, joy, peace through the gift of his son Jesus: Emmanuel, God with us.
  Jesus was not born into a romantic world in which 'all is calm, all is bright'.  He was born to bring peace and light into the lives of all who will follow him and trust him.
  If we want to meet Jesus this Christmas, we will find him in the messiness of life and not merely confined to the romance of carols and Christmas cards.

by Graham Clarke.