‘TIS the season to be jolly.

A time of family. A time of giving and a time of hope. For Christians it is a time to celebrate the birth of their Saviour, Jesus Christ. Whatever your beliefs this is a time that either fills you with joy or dread.

When I think back to that first Christmas, I often contemplate that nothing much has changed. It was a divided society. A time of the super-rich and the dirt-poor and whatever came in between. For Mary and Joseph, it was a time of anticipating the fast approaching birth of Mary’s child. But, in the midst of all this, of all their planning, they are called to take part in a census, which meant a journey. A journey that neither one of them would have anticipated with joy. It was a journey of just under a hundred miles to be taken on foot or donkey. Not in the warmth of a car, bus or train but exposed to the elements. A hazardous journey, of approximately ten days.

Then arriving at Bethlehem, along with thousands of others, the task of finding room to finally rest would have been daunting. As the Christmas story tells, there was no room at the inn. For them it was going to and thro, from place to place just to find somewhere comfortable for Mary to sleep. Being turned away, time and time again, until the kindness of an inn keeper and his wife. They had nothing to offer but a smelly, dark stable but, for Mary and Joseph that offer must have felt like ‘heaven sent’.

In all of this, if we take just one moment, out of our business and stress, as we run up to the Christmas, to stop and offer the one small or large thing we can to offer to someone in need. Be that the homeless person on the street, your neighbour, the child with nothing or just a kind word to someone who just needs a little kindness. That one gesture could be the gift of hope and joy this Christmas.

Thelma Hanlon, Senior Pastor, Father’s Heart Church.