Christmas Worship - 25 December 2024

Summary of today's theme

This year’s theme for the Pesebres or Belens - miniature depictions of the life of Christ to be found in the Salon de Sant Antoni in Mahón - is of scenes and places from Menorca that have vanished. Based on old photographs and pictures, these works capture what has been radically changed or lost over time.

These handcrafted displays are captivating. They emphasise a vital truth of Christmas: that Christ meets us where we are. The incarnation - ‘God pitching his tent with us’ - brings Jesus into the fullness of human experience, embracing joy, pain, and loss.

These scenes of a bygone Menorca might tempt us to lament what has been lost, whether in Christmas traditions, faith, or the Church itself. It’s easy to mourn how commercialism and materialism overshadow Christ’s birth, or to reflect on the failings of religious institutions. However, let’s resist dwelling on such darkness. Christmas reminds us of light that cannot be extinguished, as the Gospels affirm.

The enduring message of these Pesebres is that Jesus transcends time and place. He comes to us in our present realities, just as he came to those whose lives are now only memories. At Christmas, we recognise him in the vulnerability of humanity - a displaced baby born into hardship, greeted by the socially excluded.

This vulnerability invites us into relationship with God, who knows us intimately, beyond our pretensions and failures, and loves us unconditionally. While malevolence exists, its effects are vastly amplified by apathy and indifference. What truly deserves grieving is the erosion of mutual care and compassion.

Yet, the Christ child persists. Whether depicted in historical or contemporary settings, he brings hope, light, and love. This is the heart of Christmas: God’s unwavering commitment to justice, truth, and relationship. As we behold the child in the manger, we glimpse the present and future, a call to live with hope and, in the words of the carol, to invite Christ to be born in us today.