The Big Question

The Rev Lynsey Brennan, minister, Dundonald Parish Church

Carol Finlay, elder, Edinburgh: Carrick Knowe

The Rev Fergus Buchanan, minister of Baldernock linked with Milngavie: St Paul’s

Robyn Knight, research officer, Faith Action Programme

“The papers and the politicians tell us that Christmas could be cancelled as there are not enough HGV drivers in the UK and there is a shortage of containers in China. Once that would not have mattered but these days everything seems to be made in China.

“Yet, I remember in years past how struggling just to make ends meet and so failing to get the must-have Christmas toys our kids thought they wanted, we still managed to have a wonderful Christmas. The Gospel, after all, tells us that it isn’t the cost of the presents we give that expresses the depth of our love. Rather it’s our presence, the helping hand we offer, the listening ear we give, even the hugs we share and will continue to share despite the risk of Covid-19, these are what show our love and compassion. In this we copy God who gave us Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.

“Christmas reminds us that everyone is of infinite worth. That’s why we remember family and friends at Christmas. We remember what we did, what we said, what we shared. Whereas we quickly forget the pretty baubles that have filled so many of our Christmas stockings over the years. That’s why absent friends and family around our Christmas table can be so hard to bear.”

“The message and joy of Christmas is that we are precious beyond price in the eyes of God.

“We have worth not because we love God but because God loves us”.

“Straight away my answer is ‘No’. Last year with the restrictions in place it created for us opportunities to share the Christmas story and the wonderful ‘Good News’ of the birth and gift of Jesus Christ in new and inspiring ways.

“We used the railing outside the church and lit up the word ‘JESUS’ in light surrounded by a lit-up star. We also invited the children in the village to decorate stars for our ‘wall of star-filled joy’ that contained messages of hope for people to read.

“The primary school also used the church railings to display artwork depicting the full nativity story with each class designing a different part of the story.

“This was a wonderful display and brought joy and light to the village. We encouraged our local radio station to join in with ‘carols on the doorstep’ and as a community we enjoyed singing carols safely from our doorsteps taking photos and videos to share on social media. I got the fun job of hosting the event live at the radio station!

“We also partnered with other community groups to provide every child in the local primary school with a ‘Bag of Christmas Sparkle’ that contained Christmas goodies as well as sharing the nativity story. This was appreciated by the school given Santa was unable to visit in person!

“Personally, as I experienced a slightly slower pace of ministry last year it helped me to reflect more on the amazing miracle of the first Christmas and by stopping to listen and be still before God and Jesus my Saviour this gave me a greater sense of peace and joy.”

“Christmas 2021 – will I appreciate it more? The quick answer is ‘no, probably not’!

“Despite lockdown I still never quite got all the Christmas cards written I would have liked to (sorry if you were missed out) and no doubt that will be the same this year!

But I did spend quality time with my Mum, we spoke to my family in Australia and friends in Scotland and around the world on Zoom. I did see some of my best friends – albeit in the garden and not around the usual lovely Christmas table, and I was able to go to church in the sitting room, in my pyjamas!

“For many years I worked on Christmas Day, both in Scotland and in India and Malawi. Each of these years brought their own special celebration…and fun… in India I think of having looked forward all morning at work in the hospital to the special chicken dinner (after this carnivore eating vegetarian food for nine months) to find it had been so scrawny that there really was only a morsel each!

“Or the Christmas dinner in Malawi when the pudding had Brazil nuts in it and when asked where they were bought the person who made it said ‘they had found a box in the shops but it had taken ages to suck all the chocolate off’. People’s faces were a picture until they realised it was a joke!

“For me, Christmas tradition 2020 may have been slightly different with dinner around a table for two, but it was still there. An opportunity to share the joy of Christ’s birth with family and friends the world over in these same words ‘Merry Christmas’.”

“Christmas 2020 saw me shielding as a consequence of a stem-cell transplant undergone earlier in the year. Everyone was having to endure restrictions but folk like me were to be extra careful.

So no big family gathering on Christmas Day. Only our youngest was with us in the garage for Christmas dinner. Suitably decorated and candle-lit. But freezing and therefore brief.

“At this point in time we can look forward to a different Christmas with ‘live’ worship and the family once again together. There is always a joy in regaining something you had lost. The thing to remember though is that no matter how dismal last Christmas might have been for many of us we never lost God. Think of the circumstances nationally and personally in which Jesus was born. His parents were under compulsion to leave their homes to register in a census. His birth was in conditions undesirable by any standards.

His early years were spent as a refugee in a foreign land. The birth stories of Jesus have their dark side. And yet through all of this God was working for the good of us all.

“Isaiah’s vision of ‘Immanuel’, God is with us, was realised in Jesus. In the ‘downs’ as well as the ‘ups’, in darkness as well as light, in sickness as well as health, He is with us. That Jesus is the ultimate assurance of this is the message that makes all Christmases meaningful. And maybe it’s in the most challenging times we appreciate it most.”

“I definitely will. My husband and I became parents for the first time at the end of 2020 and although our daughter has brought us so much joy during the last year, it has also been quite a challenging time.

“We’ve been really lucky that we have all stayed healthy, which I am so thankful for, but adjusting to new parenthood during a pandemic has been no easy feat and we’ve really felt the lack of support that we had been relying on to get us through the first year! None of our parents live in Scotland so it’s been really tough not having family around us, and it also makes me quite sad to think about how much they have missed out on because of the restrictions on travel.

“Last Christmas was a very small celebration just the three of us, which was wonderful in many ways, but I am so excited to be able to have a proper family Christmas this year.

“Since becoming a mother myself, I’ve often found myself thinking more and more about Mary and how it must have been for her to trust in God and bring her miraculous baby into the world. It’s completely changed the way I think about the Christmas story and has added new meanings to the celebrations for me.”