Our meditation tonight is based on the Christmas story from Luke chapter 2, as well as these verses from John chapter 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. 10 He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognise him. (John 1:1,10 NLT)
We pray: Lord Jesus, come to us tonight as we hear your Word. Give us peace and joy by your presence with us. Amen.
There’s a story about the Prince of Wales, heir apparent to Queen Victoria, and future King Edward VII. In the late 1890’s, before illustrated newspapers with print photographs, the prince travelled incognito to Dorset, England. As the story goes, he arrived at his hotel, without an entourage, only to find the hotel full. After some searching, the staff managed to arrange a couch for him to sleep on. Can you imagine — the son of Queen Victoria sleeping on a hotel couch?! During his stay he never revealed his royal connections, and no one recognised him.
Christmas is a time to remember that God comes to you. Jesus was born into the world for you. But like a future king sleeping on a hotel couch, God comes in unexpected ways. Because of this, sometimes we don’t recognise him, we miss his presence with us. I would like to briefly touch on three ways God comes unexpectedly.
First, God unexpectedly comes as a human. Think about this: God, the creator of the whole universe, came to earth as one of his creatures, a human. And not only a human, but a baby human. This is utterly amazing and unexpected. What’s more, he unexpectedly arrives in the little town of Bethlehem, 8km south of dusty Jerusalem, to unmarried parents, with smelly farm animals, and lying in a feed trough for a bed. He’s unexpectedly greeted by rough shepherds — the riff-raff of Jewish society. He’s unexpectedly welcomed by foreign wise men. I wonder: if you walked passed the scene, would you recognise God at work?
Second, God unexpectedly comes to you as you hear the Bible. The Bible is often confusing. We can pick it up and have difficulty knowing where to start. It was written by scores of different authors over the space of thousands of years. God chose to have it written in ancient languages, much of it using bad grammar, and strange bastardized expressions — you might say it’s rough, like the shepherds. It employs words and concepts which, at times, we find very foreign, like the wise men. And yet, it is through hearing the stories in the Bible that Jesus comes to you. This is particularly true when we hear about Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the grave. Do you recognise God when you hear these Bible stories?
Last, God unexpectedly comes through others. In the play performed by our young people, we heard and saw that when we serve others, God unexpectedly comes to us through the other person. Jesus told a parable about this, saying, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in… Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:35–36,40). Look around at the people around you. Do you recognise Jesus in your fellow brothers and sisters?
If Christmas is the unexpected coming of Jesus, then Christmas is every day. That sounds pretty good doesn’t it?! Christmas every day! Every time you look upon a nativity scene, every time you hear Scripture, every time you serve a fellow human being — Jesus Christ unexpectedly comes to you. Mother Teresa puts it like this: “It is Christmas every time you let God love others through you… Yes, it is Christmas every time you smile at your brother [or sister] and offer [them] your hand.”
This Christmas may you recognise Jesus as he comes to you in unexpected ways. We don’t always recognise his presence with us, so may you be given eyes to see and ears to hear him. May you recognise him as a baby human, born 2000 years ago. May you recognise him as you hear the Bible. And may you recognise him as you serve others. This coming year, may it be Christmas every day as Jesus comes to you in unexpected ways. Amen.
