Would you believe that today, Boxing Day, is actually only the second day of Christmas?! We’ve a long way to go yet in order to get through the whole “partridge and a pear tree”.
 
Despite that, for many of us, with the modern Christmas tradition we are now in “leftovers” territory. Leftover turkey, the post-Christmas parties catching up with wider family and friends, wrapping paper more or less all in the recycling bin, and now eyeing up the sales (though that may be very old-fashioned nowadays, given Black Friday etc). Within a couple of days, the tree needles on the carpet may cause us to decide it’s time to tidy up and get “back to normal”, preparing for the New Year, and the inevitable return to school etc.
 
What has changed? Is anything any different? Possibly not. We sing in the carols of Peace on earth, but the reality is horribly different. Today, Boxing Day, the Church remembers St Stephen, the very first person to die for his faith in Jesus as the Son of God. Tomorrow is St John, another martyr, who wrote the gospel in which we find those wonderful words of the Ninth Lesson at carol services (In the beginning was the Word…) and the deep reassurance “for God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…”. Then Holy Innocents, recalling how the tyrant King Herod in a jealous rage, fearful for his throne, ordered the slaughter of all children under the age of two to ensure that Jesus could never challenge his kingship. With recent events in Syria and all that has come to light of what happened there under Assad, such an atrocity has a tragically modern ring to it.
 
So what difference has Christmas made? Was it just a moment of wonder, some comforting carols, with mulled wine and mince pies? Or was there something more? Peace on earth is about as remote a dream now as it was two millennia ago in that stable, and there is still so much evil in the world.
 
The difference, I would argue, is that evil no longer has the final word – though it certainly continues to shout as loud as it can in the present. The fact that we still sing those carols and dream of peace shows how much we all desire it. We sing of a saviour who will make the world a better place, in hope that one day this will come true. But I think we miss one small thing.
 
Yes we still wait for God to transform this world, though for many that is a pipedream, a child’s hope, out of touch with reality. That may be so. But there are so many who bear witness to the God who walks with us through the mire and mess and pain of everyday life as it is now. Christmas is not joy to everyone – for many it is a reminder of those who are no longer here. It can be so lonely to be near others who are celebrating, when all that is in our own heart is sadness and pain. The point is the Christ does not leave us alone in that sadness. Instead He comes to share it with us.
 
This is the crossroads of the year, between what has been and what will be. It is here that our journey intersects with another path, one of those points where we can encounter a new fellow-traveller, who will gladly journey with us on our road ahead. I don’t know about you, but having company can make the time pass more easily, and make the hard parts of the path easier to travel. Jesus offers to travel with us, and He is no stranger to hardship and challenge – from his birth in a stable because there was no other place to be found, to His death upon a cross, and all that came in between.
 
May you know God’s peace and presence with you at this in-between time of the year, and may you invite Him as your companion into the year ahead, to help you on your journey, wherever it may take you.

Rev. Talisker

Photo by Vladislav Babienko on Unsplash