‘Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat’ so goes the yuletide song. There is of course an implication in this phrase that our main business, the focus of our energy and attention, over the next few weeks should be about preparing for a feast. Now feasting is important, as is time spent with friends or family, whether that be a quiet day with one old friend or the happy mayhem of a house full with an extended family. And such feasting needs preparation and planning.
But no amount of following the recipes of TV chefs or the present tips from glossy magazines will ever guarantee ‘the perfect christmas.’ As frail human beings we cannot rule out by careful planning all personal tensions. There is always the possibility of tragedy or trauma for ourselves or our loved ones, and the shadow of sad or difficult events from previous years will never quite go away.
I am not seeking to be unnecessarily pessimistic about this: merely popping the media bubble that an idyllic scene can always be created by human willpower alone. And in painting a more realistic picture I want of course to emphasise alongside our weaknesses that Christ was born for this, and died for this, and lives among this.
And that is why I am so fond of the advent wreath song from the Iona Community that makes a holy parody on the old song like this, ‘Christmas is coming, the Church is glad to sing.’ Singing because, whatever life may throw at us, our gladness and peace and hope and joy lie in Christ whose coming 2000 years ago we celebrate today.
