[This Reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 15/Dec/2019]
Perhaps it has something to do with my Grandfather’s first name being ‘Ebenezer’ but I am not really a great fan of Christmas. More accurately, I am not a great fan of what Christmas has become.
The holly and the ivy have been supplanted by cheap Chinese leds and silent nights are rent by decidedly un-angelic choirs. Behind the butcher’s shop the cattle are no longer lowing and away from the manger the herald angels are glorifying the latest offering from Burger King. In the little town the glad sound is that of tills ringing, the merry gentlemen are all down at the Six Bells and, amid the winter snow (availability subject to global warming), it is not just the shepherds who are lying on a bed of straw.
As the other Ebenezer would have said – Humbug! (Actually, humbugs are one of the best parts of Christmas – they refresh the palate in a way that even Christmas-pudding flavoured ice cream cannot do.)
Why is it that Christmas-present never matches up to our recollections of Christmas-past? The gifts are no longer worth their weight in gold and are discarded quicker than a flask of myrrh.
And as for the turkey …
But wait!
Who is he in yonder stall?
What child is this?
Mary, did you know?
Might there still be, somewhere, a vestige of curiosity about Christ at Christmas? Two thousand years ago three kings came looking for Jesus and wise men still seek him. Are we willing, like the good king of old, to go out of our comfort zone and show them the way?
If you get bored with the sermon then try counting the carols …
- The Holly and the Ivy
- Silent Night
- Away in a Manger (x2)
- Hark the Herald Angels
- O Little Town of Bethlehem
- Hark the Glad Sound
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- Carol of the Bells
- See Amid the Winter’s Snow
- While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
- See Him Lying on a Bed of Straw
- Who is He in Yonder Stall?
- What Child is This?
- Mary, Did You Know?
- We Three Kings
- Good King Wenceslas
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Contributed by Steve Humphreys; © Steve Humphreys