Reepham Benefice

This week sees many office parties taking place, as people begin to get into the festive spirit. With only a handful of days left to Christmas, the light shows on houses here in Reepham are becoming more spectacular by the day. Each evening as I walk back from Church I notice another house that is lit up with prancing reindeer, Santa’s climbing up ladders towards the roof and a vast array of twinkling lights. This reminds me that the clock is ticking, and quite apart from writing my Christmas sermon, ensuring that I have everything ready for the many carol services I have to play a part in , the list is endless, that there is also the family celebrations to think about. Have I bought all the gifts that I want to give to others? When will we find time to pop to Salle to get our tree, and then find time to decorate it , again the list is endless.

I am conscious that whilst many people will be driving home to begin their Christmas break at the end of this week, there will also be many people working right up to the big day itself, and even  having to work on Christmas day, doctors, nurses, policeman, ambulance drivers, and a whole host of people who care for others, and who keep the world ticking over whilst we tuck into our oven basted turkey. As someone who has to “work” on Christmas day , I have found that this can actually be a spiritual experience in itself. Jesus was born for us , so that we could be set free, so that we could celebrate and share in that joy. He sacrificed everything for others, and there is a sense of sharing in that sacrificial love when we too have to give up some of our Christmas day with our families for others. It’s not just those who have to go out to work, slaving over a hot stove to create the perfect Christmas dinner, driving the family round to friends and relatives on Christmas day, and a whole host of other things are done so that others may have a chance to celebrate. Few of us actually do nothing for others on that day. Perhaps that is where the spirit of Christmas lies, enabling others to share in that joy. We so often hear Christmas being described as the season of Good will, this is often because of a mistranslation in the old King James Bible, where the words of the Angel Gabriel are wrongly translated as “Peace on earth and goodwill to all men”, the actual translation is “peace on earth to men of goodwill”, a very different way of looking at things. May we be people of goodwill this Christmas, as we begin our drive towards that great day.