All you within this place,
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace;
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth efface.
O tidings of comfort and joy,
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy.
I was reminded on Tuesday morning of a gift that was left on my doorstep two years ago, something that gave me comfort at a difficult time in my life. It began a practice I have continued every day, ever since. Every morning when I awake, as part of my daily spiritual practice, I reflect on the day before and take note of the little things that have occurred in my life. I then share this with others on social media. It is a way of sharing “glad tidings of comfort and joy”. The other morning, the second anniversary of “The little things”, I was reflecting on an experience of being offered comfort the day before, as I sat and listened to the findings of my friend’s inquest. I was alone, except for a court volunteer, who is there to support friends and family of the deceased. I talked with the woman who shared why she had become such a volunteer, following a tragedy in her own life. She herself had attended the inquest of a relative. She was wonderful and a beautiful example of the good that can grow from tragedy, if we transform it into loving service for others. Surely this is the point of the religious life. She truly was a comforter, although that was not her official title. She strengthened me greatly as did my God and two or three friends who I was in contact with. I had to experience what I did, but I was comforted through it. I felt held and strengthened as I walked through what I felt I must. A little later I spent some time in the joyful company of a friend, this also brought glad tidings too.
“Oh glad tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy. Oh glad tidings of comfort and joy.”
This truly is the spirit of Christmas, past, present and future, alive and well in this our world.
How do we bring glad tidings of comfort and joy to the world, especially if we ourselves are feeing a little weary. How do we Unitarians, those of a free religious tradition offer “Glad tidings of comfort and joy”?
Well, it is there in our past, our present and our believe our future. Our is a hope filled faith, one that believes in possibility and potential of all life, all people that on earth do dwell. Our approach to religion is real, grounded in this life. That we sanctify in and through this life. That the likes of Priestley and our forebears, in rejecting “Original Sin”, and thus the need to be saved from ourselves, embraced the humanness of Jesus and this life, the sacredness of this life, and as I would see it, that we are here to sanctify in and through life. Jesus was thus seen as the example of what we could be. That redemption can come not by saving us from life, but to life. Yes, redemption is available, but not by pure unearned Grace, rather through a combination of faith and works, thus maintaining human agency.
Now this brings to my heart one of the Christmas classic tales, Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol”
In the story Scrooge beautifully portrays the power at the heart of Christmas, how love can redeem even the most lost. It emerges through the journey of integration that he is taken on, of the past, present and future; of both the light and the dark of life; of hope and despair. During the telling of “A Christmas Carol” he was visited by three spirits, the ghosts of the past, present and yet to be.
“The Ghost of Christmas Past” forced him to not only look back at his past but to relive it, to truly feel it. He was made to remember what Christmas had once meant, before cynicism had taken hold. It showed him both the happiness and the sadness present in his past, there was no sugar coating. It is of course a true humbug to pretend that all the sadness in life is washed away at Christmas time. And yet while there is sadness present in all life there is also love and joy, there is much to be grateful for. It is the “The Ghost of Christmas Past” that revealed this to Scrooge.
“The Ghost of Christmas Present” showed Scrooge the full picture of the world in which he lived, especially at Christmas time. He saw the warts and the beauty spots too. It revealed the affluence as well as the want. It showed Christmas being enjoyed in far off places, on the high seas in lighthouses, it showed every heart being warmed by the season. This surely touched Scrooge, as his heart was warmed by the universal love, present in all life, regardless of material circumstances, expressed by the spirit of Christmas.
“The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Be” brought the reality of Scrooge’s own lonely and un-mourned death to him. People either did not care or actually cheered his passing. All that he owned was quickly stripped from him; it meant nothing in the end. They even took the curtains from his bed. When the spirit showed him his grave, he did not recognise it as his own, he tried to deny it, but the spirits finger pointed from the grave back to him. This terrified Scrooge who cried out that he was a changed man, as he begged for mercy clutching the spirits robe. And then from his lips came those immortal words, “I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The spirits of all three will strive within me. I will not shut out the lesson that they teach.”
Scrooge became the Christmas hero because he brought the reality of what Christmas is all about to life; through him the spirit of Christmas came to life. It is the same for everyone, regardless of time and place. For surely Christmas is about honouring life in its wholeness; surely it is about reconciliation in its completeness. It is about giving birth to the love within each of by reconciling our past in our present and therefore creating a future inspired by love.
Scrooge is transformed not be unearned Grace, but by integrating his whole life. He is shown his story of what is was and what he will become. He awakens transformed, he undergoes a conversion experience but does not lose his agency. The ghosts are his comforter as they accompany him through this journey and becomes the man he could be, dedicating his life to something new.
There are parallels here to another Christmas classic “It’s a Wonderful Life”. The main character here George Bailey is not in any way Scrooge like. He has lived a life of service in so many ways. Yet it all goes wrong, despite the good he does, through no fault of his own. He loses his mind and in his desperation decides that the best thing for all is to take his life. In the film an angel “Clarence Oddbody” is sent to save him, in order to gain his wings. George believes all would be better if he had never been born. Clarence takes him on journey showing him how life would be if had never been born. Having being shown this vision of his life he begs for his life back and returns home to accept his fate. On his return he finds all the towns folk had chipped in to help him and redemption occurs. Can you see how clearly everyone here becomes the comforter, those who offer glad tidings of comfort and joy as George had been doing for years. They exemplify the message at the heart of Christmas, I believe.
These stories remind me of another classic piece of literature, not a Christmas story, but one that has similarities at its heart and soul. This is “Silas Marner” by George Eliot (real name Mary Ann Evans) who like Dickens was heavily influenced by Unitarian thought. The novel explored themes of faith, redemption and the healing power of love. Silas Marner loses his faith in both God, humanity and society through a series of unfortunate events, but is transformed through his relationship with the orphan girl Eppie who is left with him and who he adopts. Like Scrooge’s heart, his is transformed and thawed, through love. The novel beautifully portrays the power of love and human connection. Isn’t this another example of the heart of the Christmas story. Interestingly in this story it is Eppie who is the comforter, who brings to life “Glad tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, oh glad tidings of comfort and joy.”
Christmas is about possibility, it is about hope of what might be. It is about love being born, being incarnated in our hearts and minds. It is about possibility. It’s about bringing glad tidings of comfort and joy. The Christ child is the example to us all of what we can be if we live from that spirit of love. We all have the same hope, the possibility in us. We are all Scrooge, we are all Silas Marner, we are all George Bailey. Just as we are all the Ghosts of the past, present and what is yet to be, just as we are all Clarence Oddbody and little Eppie and all the other characters in this and countless other tales. These are real tales, tales of life. That love can come again, can be born again. We must incarnate it though our own lives. We must be the comforter and when we need it to accept what is offered, as I did again this week. We are here to accompany one another in our joy and suffering as we integrate the whole of our lives past present and future.
The it might just be Christmas every day. Or as good old Mr Scrooge said, towards the end of a “Christmas Carol”
“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach!”
Let us honour that spirit too. Let us offer “Glad Tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy, glad tidings of comfort and joy.”
The video devotion below is based on the material in this "blogspot"
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