Christmas column

I wrote this column for Kirkko ja me paper in early December (which is when the deadline for last week's paper was). In the paper there are two mistakes which are corrected here. In the end two blessings had merged into one and not very well (my bad for not triple checking - I did double check). And then the second one which is that if you've red your Bible (I have, though) you know that Joseph married Mary before Jesus was born but I had written husband-to-be! Goodness! This is what happens when the texts of the Sunday are in your mind when you are writing something else which will be in the future. But, oh boy! It seems to me I've made too many plunders these past weeks and I sincerely apologize for all of them.

Have a blessed blessed last week before Christmas! :)

Touch

Blessed are you, almighty God, our light and our salvation,

to you be all glory and praise for ever!

Lord and lover of humankind,

you sent your Son to earth out of compassion and love,

to shine with your eternal light.

We proclaim him Saviour and Lord,

and praise your goodness and mercy.

We join with all creation in praising you, Lord of heaven and earth,

of all that exists, and is yet to be created.

All honour and praise be to you,

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

Blessed be God for ever!

The softness of a baby’s skin. The coarseness of the bricks that make the chapel where we worship. The smooth feel of a candle when you light it. The prickling of the needles of a Christmas tree. The cold breeze of a winter’s night and the warm air when you are back inside.

Touch and feel mean so much. Sometimes they mean everything. For a newborn baby the most important thing there is, is that she is held. For anyone in pain be it physical, spiritual or mental the only thing that helps can sometimes be that someone touches you. Deep inside we are the baby we were and we yearn for touch.

God knew this. God knows this. And I see a parallel here with His plan. He gave us His Son. Someone who was as much a human being as every other human being ever has been. And in His Son He acknowledges our need to touch, our need to be touched, our need to see and feel and hear Him.

The essence of Christianity is in incarnation. It is the most absurd, unthinkable, odd and incredible thing to happen. And yet this is what we believe. We believe that God became man.

I keep coming back to that first night when the baby was born. I try to imagine the smells, the sounds of the night, how everything looked, what Mary was feeling and Joseph. I can imagine how the baby felt in her father’s and mother’s arms, I know exactly how a baby smells, I know the awe and happiness his parents must have felt.

What I can’t imagine, and very much wish I could, are the dark brown eyes – or are they blue for all infants? – of the baby looking at his mother and father. That look must have melted their hearts. That look must have brought them to their knees. How can it not have? God’s pure light shining through them combined with the innocence, the newness of a new born.

God’s love is magnificent. God’s love is pure and powerful. God’s love is incredible. And God’s love is a baby boy in a manger two thousand years ago in the middle of the night born to a very young mother and her husband.

Beneath the heart-stirring starlight of that holy night,

was found in a baby the world's Guiding Light

and in the light was a light for all time,

and in the love, a love for all people.

May His light lead your heart to the sweet gift of His love.

Adapted from a greeting card by Kearas