Happy Christmas

In 1946 or thereabouts, my father bought a nativity set in Bethlehem, or Jerusalem, where he was an RAF chaplain conducting moral training for the forces. He brought it home, and it was put up every Christmas in our home. We've inherited it, and it still goes up every Christmas time, one-eared donkey and all.

There's a certain appropriateness about it being 64 years old, because that was the time of radical Zionist action for Israeli independence. And yet, as the Pope pointed out in today's "Thought for the Day", it was not for that sort of freedom that Jesus was born. He came into a context when the people were looking for the promised messiah to bring them political freedom. "God is always faithful to His promises, but He often surprises us in the way He fulfils them."

There is a page on Facebook today, headed "The Nativity - thank you BBC and Tony Jordan". I clicked on "Like". Last night was the final episode of the four-part serial, The Nativity, and it was a fitting and touching climax. I know some of my friends are miffed by the infidelities to the Biblical narrative, but in my view there's far more positive to it than negative, especially in understanding it as a human story, with the full divine revelation being reserved for the last few minutes. As someone has commented, it's not evangelism; that's not the BBC's job. But they did a good job in making a story which people think they know come alive. I guess it's Christians who need to spell out what it means today.

And so, I conclude by wishing you a very happy Christmas, with a shot from the series and a sentence from Pope Benedict's message this morning. 

From the BBC website

"Out of love for us He took upon Himself our human condition of fragility, our vulnerability, and opened up to us the path that leads to fullness of life, to share the life of God Himself." 

Not bad for a Christmas present! Emmanuel, thank you for the Nativity.

Christmas under fire

I did miss both Episodes 2 & 3 of The Nativity and of last night's Channel 4 news, which had a report on 'Christmas in Iraq living in fear', but caught up with them on iPlayer and 4oD. I'll reserve any comments about The Nativity until I've seen the end. But the report on Iraq is certainly worth eight minutes of your time: http://www.channel4.com/news/christmas-in-iraq-living-in-fear. Click on the picture of Andrew White among St George's congregation.

From Channel 4 website

Lindsey Hilsum, Channel 4's international editor, describes the continuing exodus of Christians from post-war Iraq, from a million to half that today. She takes us to the Catholic church of Our Lady of Salvation attacked by al-Qaida suicide bombers leaving more than 50 dead, where now a forlorn remnant remain to worship.

Christians are now targets in their homes. The aim of the extremists is to drive them all from Iraq. It's little wonder they live in such fear, and Christianity of course predates Islam there by centuries. Andrew White, in St George's in Baghdad, still uses Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, in the liturgy of his services. I believe the apostle Thomas founded the Christian church in Iraq before travelling further east; so maybe not "more than" but getting on for 2000 years ago.

St George's, it seems, will be the only place where Christmas is joyfully celebrated in Baghdad this year, and that obviously makes it more of a target for terrorist attacks. It's a real reminder to us who'll be debating whether to face a bit of cold to get to church of what many have to face merely for worshipping the Christ-child. It's also a reminder of the climate of fear which prevailed in first-century Palestine.

Wonder in the winter

A friend in Manchester put this picture on her Facebook page, with a comment beneath it:

I love the picture, which Marijke tells me she didn't take, but I'm giving her the credit for putting it together with the words. I think it's like a modern-day Pieter Brueghel the younger. The words she's put beneath are, “God has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men. Yet, they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3)


It's good to reminded that the snow IS beautiful. Even the non-collection of the recycling boxes in the close outside provides convenient dodging points for the snow-ball fights which are our equivalent of Amsterdam's canal skating! Shame about the utilitarian gritting that took place at midday, creating the dirty pink brown slush - which I'm sure is safer to drive on, but not a patch on the original to look at. 


I won't be able to watch episode 2 of the BBC's Nativity tonight, as it's the time when all our neighbours come round for mince pies and mulled wine. It's a good feeling that we know twice as well as we did last year. I guess it was kindness and politeness that brought them last a year ago; now it feels like friendship. I'm hoping it will be a merry time! (I can smell the mulled wine in the making now!)


Meanwhile Nativity will be recording and we can watch it later. Episode 1 lived up to my hopes pretty well. The characters are beginning to come alive and the political background is being built up. It's not being made over-gritty or over-pretty. You can sense there's a blow-up coming between Joseph and Mary. And we also want to find out how the young shepherd and his sick wife fare under pressure from Herod's tax-extortioner.... It's fleshing out as a human story, a story of "poor ornery people, like you and like I". I wonder!