John’s Notes: Clapham Village Newsletter, December 2020
Can we save Christmas? There’s a lot of anxiety at the moment around that question. Or if not anxiety, then a pushing back against the sobering thought that coronavirus regulations will restrict the ways we can celebrate, where we can go, who we can meet with, and so on. We’re anticipating a trimmed-back Christmas with absurdities like Carol Services with no singing, pubs closing at 10.00 on New Years Eve, blowing kisses to granny through the window of her care home, and so on.
‘Saving Christmas’ means far more than salvaging the high street shops by our bounteous spending. For many the question is clearly, how can we ‘save’ this Christmas from being a sad time of silence and distance and loss? Of course, we understand that for some people, every Christmas is a time like this, for all sorts of reasons; that because of bereavement to family breakdown or other circumstances, for many people every Christmas needs ‘saving’ - or avoiding. The idea of our ‘hibernating’ Christmas this year may be an attractive one for those who find this season painful.
If we can’t find a simple answer to the question, can we save Christmas?, will it help to dig a little deeper by asking instead, can Christmas save us? In this year’s stripped-back celebration, if we go back to basics - give time to the original story - will that help and direct us in the challenges of our lives today? It’s a story full of magical moments, with angels and cosmic signs and exotic visitors; but at heart it’s a human story, of how some ordinary people responded to the extraordinary circumstances they found themselves in, with faith and hope and love.
One good consequence of this past year was the way that for a while, the monetisation of every aspect of life took second place to neighbourliness, fellowship and community. For a few weeks, even months, we reset our values to a human level, finding ways to express how we most merit those who show love and generosity and self-sacrifice in their life and work; and taking time to listen to each other, including to some more-often-than-not neglected voices.
Can Christmas save our young ones trying to find a place in a world which seems to be closing more doors than it’s opening to them at present? Can Christmas save our faithful old ones wondering if the countless hours they’ve spent in the place of worship have been worth anything at all? Can Christmas save our leaders torn between the trappings of power and the calling to integrity? Can Christmas save our working men and women in squeezed economic times?
I’m confident that we can tease out some answers to these questions if we spend time with Mary, with Simeon and Anna, with Herod and with those innkeepers and shepherds this year; by reading the early chapters of Matthew and Luke, seeking to make connections between their very human story and our own.
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