Last Friday, St John's was buzzing with noise when Epping Primary School assembled for their Christmas service.  A slight technical difficulty with the sound system led to a bit of a wait before the service could begin so I showed them the knitted crib figures that had stood on the altar during the Tree Festival -  figures  lovingly knitted by a friend of mine.  I asked the children to identify whether they preferred to give presents or receive them at Christmas.  Surprisingly, quite few admitted to the giving being more important than the getting!  I then explained that the Crib Scene represented God's gift to us -  of His Love in Jesus Christ which is at the heart of the Christmas message.

At the end of the service I asked a few of the children what they thought they might be getting as a present and most of them seemed to be looking forward to various 'games' which require some technological skill using computer generated images.  A long way, I felt, from the simplicity of my own childhood Christmas toys.  Nobody mentioned any books.  One or two told me that they didn't know what they were getting and that it was going to be a surprise.

I think it was quite a surprise that first Christmas for those who had been waiting for God to act decisively to restore the fortunes of a nation long subjected to oppression.  There was all sorts of expectations amongst the hopeful people who knew the story of their faith.  They had been given clues about a Messiah, especially by people like Isaiah who spoke of a child being born who would deliver his people Israel.  The kind of thing we read in Isaiah Chapter 9, verses 2-8 which contain words immortalized in Handel's 'Messiah'.  What they got wasn't quite what they expected.  Richard Fanolio put this into these words:

They expected a general ... they were given a child

They expected a coronation ... they were given a star.

They expected victory .. they were given love.

God doesn't always give us what we expect and sometimes this causes disappointment.  But God always gives us what we need.  What Israel needed and what we still need is Love.  We need to be accepted and loved for who we are.  We need to feel valued and wanted.  We need to feel secure and supported.  These are basic human needs and this is what we find in Jesus not just of Bethlehem but Jesus of Calvary.  The gift of God's love at Christmas needs to be linked with the gift of God's love on the Cross if we are to understand it fully.  As we wait for the renewal of God's gift this Christmas we must hope that what we receive is a deeper awareness of His love for us.  Of course that's about getting but the paradox of Christianity is that we discover the gift through the giving.  It is when we love much that we learn of God's love for us.  The best present that we can give this Christmas is love given to others.  A love which we have already received from God.  Christmas simply reminds us of a gift already given.