TONIGHT, many of us will go to church and hear again a story of a young woman, pregnant and ready to give birth to a baby boy. Her protective older husband will be frantically looking for somewhere to stay in a strange far-from-home town, and then there is a king out to murder their child.
Put like that, it seems a bleak story. In fact, someone who knows absolutely nothing about Christmas could be forgiven for thinking that it is a tale of gloom and despondency.
How then could we convince them that it is actually a wonderful story of hope and angel-filled skies? And that the child would be “the Light of the World”, a boy who would go on to preach peace to those who were far off, peace to those who were near, and in the process turn the world upside-down?
Read more: The story of ‘Silent Night’, a beloved Christmas carol born from faith and hope
As you listen tonight to the story for the umpteenth time, or stay at home wrapping presents having forgotten what it’s all about, the Christmas message never changes.
The message for a world lost in sin is that whoever takes refuge in Christ and trusts Him to be their Saviour shall be saved forevermore. Truly Jesus is God’s Christmas gift for a broken world.
Rt Rev Dr Richard Murray
Moderator
Presbyterian Church in Ireland
