Celebrating

‘Come and join the celebration; it’s a very special day;

Come and share our jubilation;

There’s a new King born today!’

The day has dawned! A child is born to us, our Saviour, Christ the Lord!

On this Holy Day let us celebrate his coming as the Word made flesh: God with us.

Just as I wish that the Church might make more of Advent and the deep and rich themes of that season, instead of simply observing it as a ‘Christmas-in-advance’, I also wish that we would make more of the whole Christmas Season (which simply begins today and lasts for the next 12 days) instead of moving on too quickly once Boxing Day has passed! The biblical accounts of the Visit of the Magi and the tragic Slaughter of the Innocents, and also the profound theological insights of the prologue to John’s Gospel demand and deserve much more in depth reflection than we tend to give them.

But that argument is all for another day.

Today is a day for celebrating. It is a day for rejoicing in the Birth of our Lord Jesus. It is a day for giving and receiving.

So, let’s celebrate today this joyous thing that has happened!

And, those of you who read my blog from time to time, might wish to join Jane and me in a special and personal celebration, the news that our daughter is announcing to everyone today that she is expecting our first grandchild!

We are very excited about this!

It will certainly make a big difference to Christmas Days from now on.

May you all have a very happy, blessed, peaceful and joy-filled Christmas Day.