Hopes & Fears
What are you pinning your hopes on as you look ahead to this Christmas season? What will make your Christmas? In our house hopes are high for a much better quantity of snow than we had last year! Perhaps for you it’s a thoughtfully filled stocking, the perfect Christmas lunch or simply spending quality time with the people you love that will make your Christmas this year.
Pinning our hopes all on one thing can be quite risky though. What if bad weather stops family from travelling? What if our stocking gets forgotten? What if the turkey goes up in flames? Our hopes can so quickly give way to fears, and not just at Christmas.
One of my favourite carols, O little town of Bethlehem, boldly states that “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.” The claim is that the baby born in Bethlehem that first Christmas is able to carry the weight of not just our hopes but our fears as well, and not just ours but those of every generation.
When Joseph first found out about Mary’s pregnancy, fear took hold of him and he was ready to run for the hills. Then an angel appeared to him and told him that the child to be born was the one Isaiah and many other prophets spoke of hundreds of years before: “Immanuel – God with us.” (Matthew 1v23). Suddenly Joseph’s fears gave way to hope.
The Carol’s claim all comes down to who the baby is. A Carpenter’s son turned Teacher might be able to guide us or even inspire us, but it’s only if he really is Immanuel – the God who made the world coming to be with us in the world, that we can find all our hopes and fears met in him.
As we celebrate Christmas this year, we have a fresh opportunity to consider whether we really can pin our hopes all in this one place. All our services are open to everyone so do come along if you can. May I take this opportunity to wish you a wonderful Christmas and a peaceful start to the new year.