Christmas greetings, wherever and however you are

In my last post I left out one Wondering question. Yes, I did ask all four. And the third was the only one that got answered. (Often it can be the other way around!) 

I wonder which part of the Advent lesson we could leave out, and still have all the story we need?

One of the adults suggested we could leave out the journey to Bethlehem. I nodded and asked whether Mary and Joseph had really had to go to Bethlehem. This gave one child the opportunity to raise their hand very high, volunteering an answer, which was, Yes because they had to write their names in the book. Ok, there was a census. But mightn't it have been even better if there hadn't been any census?

pointing (like the prophet's hand) to the space for "the journey to Bethlehem"

One the adults now pointed out that although Mary might not have been very happy about travelling so close to her due date, perhaps Joseph did want to go. A fair point, I suggested. It was his ancestral homeland. There are people in this congregation who would like to be celebrating Christmas in their ancestral homelands. 

Given that one of the families present had just cancelled a trip "home" due to illness, this was pretty close to the bone. One child (from a different family) matter-of-factly explained that their non-Finnish parent had a trip planned, although it was still some months away. 

It felt good to me to get some of that acknowledged. 

So some of us are travelling and wish we weren't, while others are not travelling and wish we were. Some are glad to be at home and some are glad to be far away. Some are lonely, some are seeking a moment's peace. Some are at work, some are at war. 

Our faith is that Jesus is with us in all our circumstances: Emmanuel. 

May you be aware of his presence this Christmas.