2.2 What is the Meaning of Christmas?

In recent years, we Irish people have spent close to five billion euro on Christmas presents. Just think of all the socks, the scarves, the shower gel, crazy, right! like I get it, I need to wash more. But when I was younger my favorite gift was chocolate money. It had more value to me than actual money. Gift-giving can be stressful because we want to get the gift that shows we care, we want to get it right. One of the reasons I love Christmas more than ever is because now I'm really starting to understand the true meaning of it. Christmas is all about God giving us his greatest gift, his Son Jesus and he really got it right. It was a bit unexpected though because if I was God, my entry into the world would be completely different. I'm thinking spotlights, epic Soundtracks, the Red Carpet. I'm thinking live stream basically as much noise as possible. And yet the opposite happened, Jesus' entry into society almost goes unnoticed. Even those who witness it aren't even special in society, there's definitely no red carpet. Even the angels that we're singing are only heard by a few. There's no bang, just a whisper of God showing up. Jesus' life was unexpected too, not what you expect from the Son of God. Jesus lived like you and me. He experienced all the ups and downs, all the types of pain that we feel. He got tired, hungry, angry, sad, he laughed, he cried, he skimmed stones, went fishing. He probably even slept out underneath the stars. Jesus also did many unexpected things. This one time Jesus went to a well in the middle of the day. In the scorching heat, a woman came out to the well alone. Normally, you'd collect water at sunrise but this woman was such an outcast, she snuck her water in the middle of the day. What Jesus does next is totally unexpected. Back then men didn't talk to women one-on-one in public, let alone a woman with a reputation like hers, let alone with the Samaritan woman who the Jews did not get on with. Yet, none of that matters to Jesus, and instead of blaming this woman Jesus speaks into her brokenness. He offers her forgiveness and a new way of living. He used the water at the well to explain that 'Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.' In other words, don't use earthly things to satisfy an inner need that only connection with our loving creator can fill. She races back to tell her local people what happened. The change is so dramatic that they want what she has found. This encounter is so significant because this woman had quite the story. It was because of the mistakes within her past relationships that made her an outcast. Yet in this one encounter, her life is completely changed forever. Jesus freed her from any guilt and shame that was weighing her down. This is the reason God became human. To come alongside us and to reconnect us to God, to bring light into our darkness, to be with us where we are, and to help us find our way. Throughout the Gospels, we find people shocked by how kind Jesus was to certain people and taken aback by what he did. Even the apostle Peter was shocked when Jesus tried to wash his feet. The Gospel paints a picture of Peter slapping Jesus' hands out of the way, there was no way he was going to let the God of the universe wash his smelly feet. But Jesus told Peter that 'He came not to be served but to serve.' (Mark 10:45) and the thing about washing someone's feet 2000 years ago is that it was such a disgusting job. People wore very little footwear and there was all sorts of dirt and you know what on the roads. Again, Jesus was up to something here although this was an incredible act of service, Jesus washing the disciples' feet was pointing to something much greater. Jesus's willingness in wiping away the dirt from the disciples' feet was speaking of his willingness to wipe away all the shame and guilt of wrongdoing in their lives. But even as Peter struggled to allow Jesus to wash his feet, we too can struggle with the idea that we need to allow God to serve and love us and let God wash away our sins. This is the true story of Christmas, of light in the darkness, the greatest gift that 'would take away the sins of the world.' (John 1:29).