Say ‘Christmas’ and a fl ood of associati ons stream into our minds: presents, nati vity, Santa, turkey etc…. Also, anti cipati on or dread, joy or loneliness because of our unique personal experiences. These various associati ons
are so dominant that Christmas is incredibly diffi cult to speak to. Nonetheless, I invite you to suspend these associati ons, step back and consider it as if for the fi rst ti me.
Humans like us have been around for a mere 300,000 yrs. If earth began at 00.00hrs, life began around 5am and we arrive at 21seconds to midnight! The earliest cave painti ngs are 38,000 yrs old. Empires from China to Egypt
and elsewhere and religions/cultures such as Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and indigenous spiritual wisdom all emerged variously over the last 6000 years. Only 2000 years ago was Jesus born – a relati ve newcomer! Yet, in a fl ash, Jesus is now known by most of the 8 billion humans, and the religion that claims to follow him (massively diverse as it is) is the world’s biggest. Whatever your angle, it’s hard to ignore! The unimaginably vast universe began in one infi nitely small singularity 13.5billion years ago. Beyond comprehension but beyond serious scientifi c doubt! There is something utt erly inexplicable inherent in everything. The more we learn, the greater the enigma! Reality has Mystery woven in, connecti ve energy which envelopes the 13.5 billion year old cosmos and aeons of evoluti onary life on earth. Virtually all humans throughout our very brief history have had a sense of the Sacred (only in recent decades in the west have many rejected this – a ti ny minority of humans!). Even if Divinity has been routi nely codifi ed,
distorted and wielded by the powerful, this primal, inherent and ubiquitous intuiti on is hard to ignore. The ridiculously unlikely Christi an claim is that this Mystery is astonishingly revealed in the life of an ordinary human being who lived a life of searing compassion in ancient Palesti ne. This Jesus was born a refugee and grew up in chaoti c ti mes. He was murdered for his fi erce compassion, unsett ling teachings and love of those pilloried and judged by his society. But aft er this, unbelievably – fl eeti ngly, in enigmati c form, but unmistakably him – the story tells us Jesus appeared and conti nues to live on in the lives of human beings by his Spirit. That this Person reveals the great Mystery of Everything in an embodied human life is called incarnati on.
On the grand scale, it has only just happened – a mere 0.14 seconds ago on that cosmic day scale!! Like most new things, humans have so oft en misunderstood it, not least when Christi ans claim to be exclusive owners of this story, put themselves above other religions, use it to dominate others and act very unlike Jesus. But Christmas/Epiphany is perhaps saying to us: it’s far too soon to dismiss this story because of abuses or misunderstandings, because it’s only just happened!
Yes, it’s astonishing and incomprehensible. But, as we’ve seen, so is everything!
In our chaoti c ti mes, shall we give Jesus another chance? Merry Christmas and Happy New Year
Timberscombe 