This will be my first Christmas in Chester and I was so excited to see the Christmas market setting up along with what feels like a whole forest of trees around the Cathedral and that’s not to mention all the wonderful services, concerts and events coming up during Advent and counting down to Christmas itself. I can’t wait!
As I look forward to my first Christmas here, I’ve been thinking about the first Christmas and how different it must have been to my experience of Christmas today. None of the fancy robes ... well, maybe for the wise men; none of the sparkly lights ... well, the angels’ halos might have sparkled a bit; none of the crowded shopping streets .. well, Bethlehem was probably pretty crowded with all those visitors looking for places to stay. Actually, when I stop and think about it, there are more connections with that first Christmas than I first imagined!
One thing in particular that always helps me at this busy time of year is remembering how in the Christmas story almost nothing went to plan. The story is full of disruptions and interruptions, from the sudden appearance of an angel to an unexpected pregnancy, from a troubling census to visions on a hillside, from the prospect of homelessness to a host of unexpected visitors. When so much Christmas advertising portrays the ‘perfect’ Christmas, it can be easy to feel that our own chaotic and messy version is lacking something. But the truth is that if our Christmas doesn’t go quite to plan, we can take comfort in knowing that neither did that first Christmas for Mary and Joseph.
Many of us will have experienced Christmases when things have not gone as we’d hoped. It is a time when we are especially aware of empty seats around the table. Our world is full of people whose lives are chaotic and messy. As a Cathedral of Sanctuary, we want to provide a safe space for those whose journeys through life have not gone to plan for all sorts of reasons, many of which are out of their control.
In the midst of the chaos and mess of our world, Christmas celebrates the love of God for the world, made flesh in a vulnerable child, a child who was given names like the Prince of Peace and Emmanuel or ‘God with us’. Whether it’s your first Christmas at the Cathedral or just the latest of many Christmases you have celebrated here, I hope and pray that this year surpasses your expectations, not in terms of being ‘perfect’ but in providing meaning and hope in a world where things do not always go to plan.
Anthony Lees-Smith
Canon Missioner
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