How is the Christmas season going for you? In the Church, we talk a lot about hope in the run-up to Christmas and the birth of a saviour. However, I often speak of hope as being something in the far distant future and welcoming a saviour implies we have things we need to be saved from. I don’t knock this, one of my Christmas sermons this year was about how we need to be saved from ourselves. However, many of the oldest Christmas carols focus much more on the business of making merry, of people experiencing joy and happiness at Christmas. In medieval times, Christmas was called a feast for a reason; it was an occasion to party in an age where there was not always much to be merry about. The serious-minded Puritans who tried to abolish this in the 16th and 17th centuries. They failed because they were too solemn for their own good. It is good to make merry when we can. Of course Christmas is very commercialised, of course it can be a very difficult time for some. However, after all the Christmas services I have done this year, there has been socialising, banter, good conversation, often with refreshments that always help. I have enjoyed this a lot. So I wish you all a merry Christmas season; the ancient feast has 12 days so plenty more to enjoy!
Rev David Poyner