St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Rev Christine preached this sermon on Christmas morning 2024. Here it is for you again:

Over the last 4 weeks we have been preparing ourselves for this very day.

The day that God Incarnate came to earth as a vulnerable baby, born in a humble manger in Bethlehem.

Incarnation is not an easy word for anyone to understand or get your head around, but the word itself means to be ‘made flesh’.  We believe that today over 2000 years ago God became a man in the person of Jesus, who was fully human and fully divine.  Meaning God became human in the form of Jesus.

Just a week ago today, Rev. Helen told us about the difficulty of explaining the meaning of the incarnation to her 8 year old niece.  Who after hearing the explanation queried, quite rightly, if God came to earth and became a human baby, who was looking after heaven?  A good question and one beyond our understanding.

Which makes me think of a sentence in Paul’s letter to the Philippians when he is speaking about prayer and he says, “And God’s peace which is far beyond all human understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Jesus Christ.”  No, Paul wasn’t talking about the birth of Jesus, or about the Incarnation. He was talking about the importance ofprayer and our relationship with God and the fact that the mysteries of God’s work are beyond our understanding.  We just can’t fully understand the Incarnation, maybe we’re just not meant to, but we do know that Jesus came to earth to draw us closer to God, to reconcile us to him.

People over the years had been making so many errors, they were not following God’s commandments and they were not caring for his creation.  A creation also hinted about in the opening words of John’s Gospel, “In the beginning was the Word.”

In the beginning?  Today is again a new beginning, a beginning created by God.

I’m sure many of you know what this picture is of (egg timer), but I want you to look more carefully at the second picture (hour glass).  I used to be mesmerised as a young child, watching the sand slowly slip down to the bottom half of the glass when it was turned over.  Now, if you hold the picture so the globe at the bottom contain the sand I want us to imagine that sand at the bottom, is creation, the earth, the seas, the sky and stars, the sands of time.  The top half is empty, because gravity has caused the sand to filter through the narrow gap between the two globes, so let’s imagine that as heaven, which, of course, would be much bigger than the bottom of the glass and it’s clear because no-one knows exactly what’s in heaven.

Then look carefully at the gap that joins the top to the bottom, which allows the sand to flow through. The first thing we notice is just how tiny that gap is and how much weight there must be on it when the timer is turned over.  The third thing you may wonder is how on earth everything, thinking about creation, that’s at the bottom half could ever get through this tiny gap to reach the other half.

Let’s stop for a moment and think about those words, how on earth, could everything get through to the other part and here’s where we go back in time to over 2000 years.

One person emerged who was totally part of the top half and totally part of the bottom half.  

That tiny gap represents what we believe Jesus is, that moment in time which connects heaven to earth and time to eternity.  

This tiny baby born today, lying in a manger and swaddled in cloth is the greatest gift that God could give to us. Those who witnessed his birth gave their own gifts in the same way we offer our gifts to friends and family.  Mary carried him in her womb and cherished him in his dependence and need.  However, she knew she would have to let him go eventually so he could love and serve the whole world.   Mary had risked humiliation and even death, but she gave herself obediently to God so we could receive the greatest gift of all.

Our Incarnate God, made flesh in Jesus, came to be present in this world with all it’s mess and confusion and he is still present with us, not just some of us, but all of us.  He is the one joining heaven to earth who calls us brothers and sisters. He is in the gap between the two globes, earth and heaven who intercedes for us and has taught us how to be reconciled to God.

This tiny baby grows into the Man, Jesus, who teaches us how to pray, how to live good lives and how to seek God.  Who tells us, I am the way, the truth and the light, follow me. So let usfollow him, be glad and rejoice in this mysterious and wonderous birth today of our Incarnate God.

And in the words of Rachel Mann, “………on this joyous day, let us come back to the intimate grace Jesus offers us.” As we rejoice in the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, God with us now and always.

Let us pray: A prayer written by (Rachel Mann)

God of Love, on this glorious day, may our waiting be at an end.  In a baby’s cry and laughter may we meet the fullness of your grace and receive your faith, hope and love renewed. Through Jesus Christ Amen.