2.1 What is the Origin of Christmas?

There's one season each year that we all look forward to the most. We spend lots of money, decorate our houses even move the dial on the radio. That's right it's Christmas, and I absolutely love it. But here's the thing, this picture of Christmas is not at all what the first Christmas actually looked like. Think of your favorite Christmas smells, the warmth of the fire, the joy of seeing the Christmas classics on TV, none of these were present at the very first Christmas. The origin story of Christmas is one of weakness and vulnerability. God, in the form of a helpless baby, lying in a wooden trough intended for animal feed. Yet, this moment changed the course of human history, shaping the world we live in 2000 years later. How is this even possible? ...to understand the real meaning of Christmas, we have to go back to the very beginning. If it's possible to love anything more than Christmas, it would have to be here on the west coast of Ireland in Donegal. Ireland is known for its beauty but this place takes the biscuit, it's stunning. The ferocity of the waves as they crash against the cliffs, the smell of the salty air, and the beauty of the exotic plants all speak of something other, something greater than ourselves. None of this is man-made. When I'm here I always think about the goodness of God. I imagine the world at the beginning when all was as it should be. Creation was perfect and our relationship with God was untainted. But I'm soon reminded as I'm tripping over this piece of rubbish that our mess has corrupted this place and how our whole world is affected by our bad choices. In the story of creation, we meet the serpent, the one who put doubt into the minds of God's first people Adam and Eve. He convinced them that God could not be trusted as if God was holding back on them and he whispered into the ears of Adam and Eve and he said, 'Did God really say not to eat from that tree?' Do you see what he did there? You see, God spoke beauty and truth and life and in one instant that crafty little animal had turned the whole thing on its head. And so Adam and Eve, they went against what God had asked for them. They ate from that forbidden tree, they gave into temptation and this is when sin enters the world. Everything had changed in that moment. Like losing a best friend Adam and Eve felt suddenly distant from God. As they were sent out from the garden blame for the very first time showed its face as they sought to pin responsibility on each other and shame snuck in as they realized the consequences of their actions. In their shame, they ran into the woods, hiding from God and if we're being honest we do the very same thing. Because of this relationship breakdown with God we work hard to try and cover up our mess. We often struggle being ourselves. We can be quick to pass the buck and we live with companions that we wish we never had like Jealousy, Envy, Pride. We inherited this mess and we add to it too but God promised that he would never leave us. He promised to make things good again.