A Christmas message from the Reverend Paul Lawlor, vicar of St Stephen’s and Town Centre Chaplain:
TAKING a simple carol service, I had two simple things to do and failed to do either properly!
The problem being my head is full. Full of making sure I am in the right place at the right time and with the right preparation done. And that is just for work!
I must confess I don’t worry about Christmas dinner or many of the other aspects of Christmas.
No room for one more thing in my limited human brain. No room at the Inn for a family looking for a place to stay 2,000 years ago. No room in the busyness to stop and think.
Can we stop for just a moment? What do we remember at Christmas?
Christians recall that God came to live with us and to walk with us. He did this by being born as we all are.
The entirety of God, the God who created everything we can see, held by a young woman. The entirety of God in the frame of a tiny baby.
And I think there is no room in my head? We think there is no room for compassion. We think there is no room for…what do you need to make space for this Christmas?
This year, I have been struck by the need for relationship; relationship with each other and relationship with God. In the Christmas story we see God’s desire for this relationship.
The miracle of God coming to dwell with us is truly remarkable. For some of you, ridiculous. For some of you, sacrilegious. But if God loves us that much, how should we respond? The birth of Jesus is not the end of the story of God’s love; it is only the start.
Perhaps I will write of that part of the story in a few short months; we don’t really know the cost of Christmas until Easter.
Happy Christmas.
Rev Paul
