Light of the World

I have heard a lot in my time in ministry roughly, "The important people to reach at Christmas are those who only come at Christmas." In a way I see the truth; if we are to spread the gospel we have to recognise that those who only attend Christmas and Easter are people we need to reach. The responsibility is also there to provide fresh teaching, teaching that isn't what has been heard by the same people for the last twenty-five years.

Christmas conversions do happen, Christmas can be a very tough time leaving the light of Christ to be powerful. That work of lighting a life in darkness we may be tools in but we are not the workers of. Some people may need to hear a teaching of the church. One of the readings for midnight/early morning is Titus 2.11-14,

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all, training us to renounce impiety and worldly passions, and in the present age to live lives that are self-controlled, upright, and godly, while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. He it is who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify for himself a people of his own who are zealous for good deeds.

In this verse we don't just receive, "Christ is here as a baby" but a reason why this is important in our lives. That a baby was born, fully human but without ever sinning providing an example to us of how to live our lives. A life full of love for the other, giving to the other and not ourselves. The example comes, and we learn that we can't do this ourselves, we will always fall; but Jesus' death washes us clean, a human death for human sin, that is redeemed by God.

Luke 2.19 gives us,

 But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.

Mary treasured these words, that Christ would give peace, this defenseless child in her arms. The child that grew, knew his Father in heaven and culturally correct at the time became a carpenter after Joseph. Mary kept the words of the shepherds in her heart even to the dreaded day on the cross. From this we hold to what is written on our hearts, the law of God which we have been adopted into even when it gets dark and impossible to reach.

Neither of these exclude the outsider of the church, while not being the teaching that will come to mind when you think purely of the outsider of the church. We may never know what drew someone to church on Christmas, but I think both of these starts give someone a moment to look around, see faces differently and maybe come back on Sunday.

May you have a blessed Christmas full of Light, with hope, joy, peace and love. May the Christmas candle burn brighter for someone you know this Christmas.
In Christ's name, Amen