Advent Reflection: 10th December - Mathew Bartlett

Every day this Advent we will be sharing reflections from Christian authors. Today's is by Mathew Bartlett.

Togetherness

All wrapped up in scarves, gloves and winter coats we ventured out into the early evening cold just a few days before Christmas. School had finished and most people were home from work. The evening was chilly with a frost forming, so few were out and the streets were quiet. Into the silence a lantern-carrying, torch-bearing crowd began to sing. Heartily and joyfully, we sang Christmas carols up and down the pavements of Woodseats in Sheffield. As we looked towards the homes, we saw curtains move, then doors open, and people began to spill out. We wandered up paths, shaking hands and wishing everyone a "Merry Christmas"

Most came out with money, asking what charity we were supporting. ‘We’re not here for your money,’ we said, as we handed out sweets and mince pies, ‘we’re from the local church, wanting to wish you a happy Christmas!’ Many found it hard to believe that we really weren’t after their money, but they soon got the idea. With smiles and thanks we worked our way through the community, with some even joining our merry rabble as we continued spreading Christmas joy and togetherness.

This theme of togetherness was central to God’s message that first Christmas. Into a disjointed and fractured world Christ was born, to bring people together into a new community. Into a society fragmented by wealth, the good news of Jesus brought together both well-off kings and impoverished shepherds. Into a culture divided by gender, God revealed to the man Simeon and the woman Anna together on the same day the true identity of this miraculous baby. Into a family which by normal social convention would not even have got off the ground, God brought reconciliation, telling Joseph in a dream not to divorce Mary so that together they could provide a loving home for Jesus. Into a world where the gap between heaven and earth seemed vast, the Spirit broke in and angels came, showing that God longs to live in harmony and togetherness with his people. Into a nation where God felt distant, God came as Emmanuel - God with us - to bring the human and divine into a togetherness in Christ never before experienced in the history of the world.

In today’s divided world, this Christmas message of togetherness continues to be timely and telling. It’s still a message of forgiveness and freedom. Of liberty and love. It’s what our splintered world desperately needs.
That year, a few days after our carol singing, I received a short note from a woman thanking us for singing carols in her street. She was grateful for the kindness, love and Christmas cheer that we’d brought. It was, she said, ‘the best part of my Christmas.’ I was shocked! Not a nice part. Or even a lovely part. But the best part!!

It reminded me that so many hunger for connectedness and community. Perhaps the Christmas message of togetherness is more prophetic than most of us realise.

Matthew Porter, once Vicar of St Chad’s, Woodseats in Sheffield is now the Vicar of St Michael le Belfrey in York. He blogs regularly in the fields of discipleship (matthewporter.blog) and leadership (churchleadership.blog), and has written a simple guide to following Jesus in the book A-Z of Discipleship, published by Authentic Media.