A Christmas message from Arran Baptist Church minister Andrew S M Clark on behalf of Arran Churches Together.
Most who are familiar with Arran are used to the sight of tents dotted about the place, especially in the balmy (if ever so slightly wet) days of summer. Whether it’s up in one of the glens, or on the grass verge outside the Corrie and Sannox village hall for the music festival, they’re a regular feature. Only the hardy folk dare get under canvas in the middle of December, though.
Only a few months ago, tents and their dwellers made the big news when the previous home secretary described living in tents in the doorways of shops and in parks as a “lifestyle choice”. During my 15 years of working for The Salvation Army, I don’t think I ever met one person who felt they were living the “high life” under canvas outside a Sauchiehall Street department store. Quite the opposite. We remember, too, many spending Christmas under canvas in places devastated by war. Again, no “lifestyle choice”.
And yet, we get a surprise tucked away in the opening words of John’s gospel. If you’ve ever been to a Christmas carol service with seasonal readings, you’re likely to have heard the words: ‘The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”(John 1:14). This is a bit of a gloss on the original Greek meaning of that line. It might more accurately read: “The Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us”.
Christ came not to the palace, the halls of power, a political office, or even the lofty temple, church or synagogue. He moved in next door and lived out his life and his teaching in the mess of ordinary life. That encourages me no end – there’s no mess that God isn’t willing to enter. He doesn’t restrict himself to special holy places, and that was made clear right from his stable beginnings. Jesus is more likely to turn up at your table for a hearty dinner than he is to drag you to a long religious service.
On behalf of Arran Churches Together, have a wonderful, peaceful Christmas however you celebrate, and may you know the real presence of God in the everyday circumstances of your own life.
Rev Andrew S M Clark NO_B51message01_andrew_clark