CHRIST CHURCH URC PASTORAL LETTER FOR DECEMBER

From Rev Irene John 

Dear Friends,

Into the mess of this world a tiny child has come, tiny and frail, nappy wet, and crying in the night: A baby boy born to a virgin, bringing miracle, and mystery into ordinary things. Our complex technological minds look for the elaborate, the radical and astonishing, but all we find is just ordinary, plain and simple- There was Mary a young peasant girl, who must have been in so much pain and confusion, giving birth to her first son, far away from home, and in such a plain and mundane setting. There was Joseph an ordinary carpenter, who watched on helplessly still trying to come to terms with the fact that his fiancé was giving birth to God incarnate in human flesh. There were social reversals with the good news coming to outcast shepherds working on a cold hillside, and foreign scholars, travelling miles away from home to worship the baby.

Yet the focus of the Christmas story is on the fact of Jesus Christ, not just in the setting where he was born; for he is no longer in that setting, he is here with us. Indeed, the story of Jesus birth does not add up to very much without the story of his claims, his deeds, his death, and his resurrection. So, in our Christmas celebrations let us remember the good news that Jesus does not belong to the stable or a different time, he is here with us in the present. Jesus Christ is the Son sent by God to walk in our shoes, feel our pain, experience our temptations and in the end give himself for us. There is an American Indian saying that: you only know a man if you have walked a mile in his moccasins (Mary T. Lathrop 1895). Jesus encapsulates the essence of this saying, sharing in all the complexities of human life, all the hurts and pains, as well as the joys and laughter as an Insider.

This Christmas and in the New Year, let us daily worship him, renew our hope and trust in him, and be a part of his life, in our thoughts, words and actions:

Meekness and majesty, manhood and deity, in perfect harmony,

the man who is God: Lord of eternity dwells in humanity,

kneels in humility and washes our feet.

O what a mystery, meekness and majesty:

Bow down and worship, for this is your God (Graham Kendrick, 1986)

Also, at this time, please know that my thoughts and prayers are with you, especially those bereaved during the year and those who are ill who going through a difficult phase. God has not forgotten you – may you know His presence, giving you hope and strength today and always.

Wishing you a Christ-filled Christmas and a blessed 2026

Irene