Christmas eve midnight – 2025
St Luke’s Nativity
One of the greatest joys this past month has been sharing – again – the Christmas story with the elderly, in residential care homes. Since the beginning of December we have visited several homes and read these exact words from Luke’s gospel that we heard again, just now. It is quite remarkable to watch the careful, occasional recognition flit across faces often blank with dementia and to see smiles appear. It is beautiful to hear often silent voices singing the familiar words of deeply entrenched Christmas carols.
On each visit, after retelling this beautiful account of the birth of Jesus, with the angels and shepherds, the stable and manger and the precious holy family, I asked each group who their favourite character was in the Christmas story and it turned into a fascinating piece of market research.
The first time I asked, Godfrey made the rare confession that he liked Caesar Augustus best because he was a man of great order and structure, and he loved the roman empire. Completely unexpected.
At another home every resident said they liked Jesus best – always a solid answer. One relented slightly with the caveat, ‘closely followed by Mary’ and another – almost certainly peer pressured into answering ‘Jesus’ by every other resident doing so – came out with the classic, kind of understated, line, ‘I’m pretty fond of Jesus…but I really like the donkey’. Priceless. (I hope I didn’t ruin what might be her last Christmas by telling her the donkey doesn’t feature in the bible story anywhere…).
And then, the best moment came when I asked David who he liked best and he replied ‘the wise men’. His wife was sleeping in her chair next to him and when I said, ‘are you a wise man David?’ she didn’t miss a beat. Her eyes opened. She sat bolt upright for one moment and then said, ‘he is NOT!’ and then she was gone again.
A little while later she had woken up and I asked her, ‘Hazel, who is your favourite person in the Christmas story?’ she paused, and I wondered if it was too difficult a question for her to grasp. How foolish I was. She was thinking. And then she said ‘I think that depends on what I need at the time’. I think that depends on what I need at the time…and she went through many of the characters explaining why, or when, they might be her favourite. And it’s so true, isn’t it?
This fabulous story, this amazing gift to humankind – where God came near, in Christ, to live and walk among us as a reminder and example of how to live and love fully – it really does contain everything we need.
Mary said yes, without truly knowing what she was agreeing to; wildly and boldly saying yes to whatever it was God was asking, because she knew God was trustworthy and true.
Those kings – the three wise men – who we meet in a few weeks time – gave up everything, left everything behind, to follow after what they believed would be worth losing it all for. Such determination. Such diligence. Such singlemindedness.
The shepherds – those lowly outcast dirty guys, shunned to edge of society, kept out of sight. They show that God does not forget those people. In fact, they see the glory first. They hear the good news first. They get a front row seat at the dawn of the brand new world.
Joseph was measured and gentle and wise and kind. He was caught up in Mary’s yes and he backed her and supported her and protected her and gave the son of God an earthly dad.
The angels proclaimed glory – glory to God in the highest – and promised peace – peace to all the earth. Glory and peace.
And Jesus came to earth to bring love – to shine brightly, dispel darkness, destroy hate and to create change that would last forever.
So whatever you are facing this Christmas time, whatever it is you need, I think Hazel is right; whatever you need can be found in these words from the bible – can be found in the people and events of this moment in history that changed everything.
Whose story, whose strength, whose character, whose example?
Who is it you need to focus on this Christmas. They are all available to all of you.
Who will be your Christmas companion this year? Amen.
Holy Adventures 