O tidings of comfort and joy!

Here is my December article:

The carol “God rest ye merry, gentlemen” is one my favourite carols, and it is for a lot of others too. Partly it's to do with the traditional sounding tune and partly it's because it expresses the emotions of Christmas- “O tidings of comfort and joy!”

Christmas for a lot of people is a time for joy: when you get together with loved ones for feasts and celebrations. Christmas is also a time that is often characterised by images of comfort: the sense of 'hygge' associated with candles, fires and lights shining in the darkness. These are of course all part of Christmas, but the 'tidings of comfort and joy' that Christmas brings go much deeper and are for everyone, including (and perhaps especially for) those who will be lonely, or in pain, or sorrowful this Christmas.

The carol is very clear about why the message of Christmas is one of comfort and joy: “for Jesus Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas Day.” Well, that sounds a very obvious thing to say about Christmas, (although you might struggle to find references to Jesus sometimes!) but it then goes on to remind us why this is good news. He came “to save us all from Satan's power when we had gone astray” and “to free all those who trust in him from Satan's power and might.” The reason Jesus' birth is special is because of his death. Christmas is only worth celebrating because of Easter.

This is truly joyful tidings! Sin is rebellion against God's authority; when we sin we ally ourselves with his arch-rebel, Satan, so we are under Satan's power. Once there, we can do nothing to free ourselves. However although we have rejected God, he never rejects us. So he showed his love to the world by sending his Son, Jesus, so that through his death our sins could be forgiven and we could be freed from Satan's power. For all those who keep trying to be good and failing, Jesus' birth is a reason to be joyful.

These are also comforting tidings, especially for those who feel burdened by guilt. Jesus' death comforts those who mourn as it assures us that God understands what grief is like, but more than that, Jesus' resurrection reminds us that eternal life is offered to the world. However, the comfort that Christmas brings is not just a consoling feeling, as 'comfort' is used in it's original meaning of 'strengthening'. By freeing us from Satan's power, Jesus strengthens us with the knowledge that God thinks we're worth dying for. As we've been freed from Satan's power and influence, with the knowledge of God's opinion of us and the promise of his Holy Spirit to help us, we are strengthened to live as children of God.

It is with these tidings that God will 'rest' (in the original sense of 'keep, or cause to remain') all of us, whether we're gentlemen or not, merry both at Christmas time and throughout the year. So in the name of Jesus, whose birth the angels announced and made shepherds rejoice, I bless you and your loved ones with knowing the true comfort and joy of Christmas.

I'm dreaming of a hygge Christmas

Here's my article for the December magazine:

Each year the Collins dictionary announces its top ten 'words of the year'. Unsurprisingly this year's Word of the Year is 'Brexit' but also in the top ten was the Scandinavian word 'hygge' (pronounced hue-gah), which they define as “a concept, originating in Denmark, of creating cosy and convivial atmospheres that promote well-being.” Hygge is particularly felt around Christmas when we have images of candles, roaring fires, meals shared with loved ones. Christmas music also, perhaps unconsciously, taps into this concept of hygge: think about chestnuts roasting on an open fire; corn for popping and lights turned way down low; faithful friends who are dear to us gathering near to us once more.

Other cultures have similar concepts to hygge and in Hebrew the word 'shalom' captures some of the essence of hygge. Shalom is usually translated as 'peace' and is commonly used when greeting or saying goodbye to someone, however it also describes a feeling of contentment, completeness, wholeness, well being and harmony. It is this word, shalom, that is meant when Jesus is described as the Prince of Peace and when the angels sang ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests’ (Luke 2:14).

To say that Jesus is the Prince of Peace is to say that Jesus is the ultimate, and ultimately the only source of contentment and wholeness. We get a glimpse of this through a concept like hygge – well-being is found not through power, status, money, beauty, productivity or other things we often spend our life trying to achieve, but through relationship. Ultimate well-being is found in a relationship with the Ultimate Being, God himself. As St Augustine famously said, our hearts are restless until the find their rest in God.

However, this relationship with God has been broken by our sin, by our turning away from God to follow our own desires. That's why the birth of Jesus is truly worth celebrating because he came to die to take the punishment for our sins, so now we can repent and turn away from our sins and have peace with God. We can be reconciled to him and our relationship with him is restored. To be reconciled with God is to know deep in our hearts his boundless love for us, to feel his favour resting on us, so we don't need to strive for acceptance through material possessions and status, in short we are content and made whole.

“Love and laughter and joy ever after, ours for the taking, just follow the master”

So this Christmas whether you're having a hygge Christmas or not, in the name of Jesus the Prince of Peace, “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face towards you and give you peace.”