First Larne Presbyterian Church

First Larne Presbyterian Church

A World Undone at Christmas

Maybe, just maybe, over the Christmas and New Year period I will be taken to see the latest Star Wars story “Rogue One”. I am not one of the aficionados who gets the significance of every detail and reference. I just enjoy the spectacle!

Just in case I do get to a cinema I took the opportunity of watching the official trailer for the movie. The opening sequence of the trailer features a character making a chillingly contemporary statement: “The world is coming undone.” Disturbingly familiar images and statistics from Aleppo, from Yemen, from South Sudan would give credence to that. Closer to home there is what is unravelling at Stormont and what is curtailing our own personal space. I know at Christmas we are expected to be happy and jolly and step aside from the ongoing challenges of family, community and nation. However, the real celebration of Christmas is not a festival for escapist optimists! The real Christmas message really does deal with the realities.

We don't serve a king who sits in an ivory tower, disconnected from all our pain, but one who came down and experienced it and lived among it. He was born in occupied territory, spent some time as a refugee, and knew personal loss, rejection and anguish.

The same God is at work among the rulers of this world today.

Christmas is a reminder that He sees, knows and understands.

Knowing this, I hope you get to celebrate a truly happy Christmas!

Colin.