Seeing Christmas

I was struck by the words used in one version of Isaiah 35, suggesting that when God comes as judge, he comes to save us. This seems logical: we believe in a God of love, so even when judging, that comes through love. To criticize someone can be soul destroying if done in the wrong way, but can also be helpful, and even life giving, if it is done positively. So why would God’s judgement not be something that can save and help us? However … knowing that translations use different words, and that the original word can have nuances that are lost in the English, I wanted to try several other versions of the text to see what word they used. None use the word ‘judgement’. Vengeance or retribution seem to be the words used, and the impression given to me is that the text is talking about God defending his people, coming to save his people from danger.

Now, I say this quite a lot: I am not a biblical scholar, so please don’t take my word for it. Read Isaiah 35 for yourself, or consult a commentary. I still think that the image of God’s judgement as something helpful to us is correct, but I don’t think it can be affirmed from this text. But the experience got me thinking in a different direction. About how we look at words, about how we view the world from different angles, and about how that view can influence what we see and how we react. I was interpreting the word ‘judgement’ to mean God’s judgement of us, which meant I followed a different path to what the text may actually be saying.

How often do we do that to other passages in the bible? Assume we know how a certain passage must be interpreted; take it out of context, and by context I mean its’ original context (as far as we can be aware of that) as well as the biblical context. How well do we assume we know the Christmas story, but actually sentimentalize it, or do not really listen, or think we know the narrative? It’s tied up with tinsel and glitter and presents; with fairy lights and dark nights. Which, of course, it is. There’s nothing wrong with all that. But does that mean we miss the real impact of Christmas? Are we so used to how Christmas goes, that we do not appreciate the full power of Christ’s birth?

For this is not just a sweet tale of a baby born in a stable with a star overhead and angels singing. Especially given that the star comes with the wise men, in Matthew’s gospel, who makes no mention of a stable; the angels appear to the Shepherds in Luke’s gospel, where Jesus is placed in a manger. I fully support Christmas cards with nativity scenes on them, but it can be rather frustrating when so many of them show shepherds underneath a star! They’re mixing the stories. (Although, I guess, stars have more of an impact given our dark nights).

But what does this all mean for us? (apart from suggesting you check the details on any nativity cards you buy …). What I want to encourage each of us to do this year is to try to look at the nativity story with fresh eyes; to try and see beyond our assumptions of what Christmas is and what it means. Yes, we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us. But what does it mean that God came among us in human form? What does to mean that he was born of a woman? Not just what does it mean theologically (for which please find a theologian); what does it mean for us today? What does it mean for me in my life right now?

It is so easy to hide from the full meaning of Christmas, and, in so doing, to hide from God. It is so easy to treat the Christmas narrative as a tale, a story; one appropriate for young children in a nativity play, but not really relevant for adults, even those of us who follow Jesus, or may attend Church at Christmas. Christmas is Silent Night alongside mince pies and snow. Those things may be good, but Christmas means so much more. It is about our God, whom we worship and adore, coming as a human being; it is about our God, to whom we give glory, laying aside all that to come among us as one of us (see Philippians 2). Do we truly appreciate that whatever we get given this Christmas can never be as vital to us as the Gift given on that first Christmas, and which is the true reason we celebrate every year? Can we accept that Gift in all its’ fullness, and allow our celebration, this year, to truly impact how we live in the months to follow? To realise that, as we follow Jesus, who emptied himself to take the form of a servant, so we can only truly follow if we do the same. Not seeking equality, or glory but emptying ourselves out for Christ’s sake; going where he went, even to the cross. Can we stop hiding from the full impact of Christmas, and allow ourselves this year to see the coming of Jesus in all its fullness … wherever that may lead.