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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1963-12-19, Page 15`fie . exelerZinesaboocafe 11((-5) 6 61:,' k • BY REV. J. P. GANDON Rector, Trivitt Memorial Anglican Church The events of the first Christmas took place, St. Luke tells us, "when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." These six words seem to make Christmas real. It is no fairy story; it is not a myth; it is not a parable; it is not a piece of unintelligible theology. Rather it is something that actually happened — it is rooted in history, and is concerned with the everyday affairs of human beings. It happened "when Cyrenius was governor of Syria." Just what was it that happened? The answer in its simplest form is that Almighty God took flesh, and was born as one of us. He wanted to express to human beings His deep concern for everything that affects life on earth, and the only complete way He could do this was to share this life with us. So in the Person of Jesus Christ, God was born that first Christmas Day into our world — into a world of Roman governors, of public houses, of village car- penters, peasant mothers, shepherds, and animals. And today? Cyrenius is not governor: but Queen Elizabeth II is, and so is Lester Pearson, and Lyndon Johnson, Nikita Krushchev, and John Robarts. Perhaps you think God isn't concerned with all this? Perhaps you think Christmas isn't concerned with all this? Perhaps you think that Christmas is just a break in the dreary round of work and worry a temporary escape from the harsh realities of life. But the message of the Bible is that Christmas happened just because God is concerned with all the affairs of men. At Bethlehem the iron curtain between religion and life was broken down. As an Anglican bishop has ex- pressed it, "God doesn't spend all His time in church." He is to be found in the carpenter's shop, the factory, the home, the council chamber. These are the things that concern God, and it is the events of Christmas that make this so plain. One of the names of our Lord, associated espe- cially with this season, is Emmanuel, which means literally, 'God with us'. So the fact which makes this a time of such great joy; which enables us to talk about 'Peace on earth and good will among men'; and which gives us new strength to face the year head, is the fact that in every experience of life we can ,Es)trbr now have Emmanuel, God with us. nIrr a, ; • . .e-