Christmas Day sermon, preached at St Mary’s Welwyn, and at Ayot St Peter 2007: Stephen Fielding

What has Jesus to say this morning?

Well the day has arrived. The day we’ve been preparing for and looking forward to. Hoping that things will be ready in time, hoping we have cleared up that last piece of work, got those beds made. Or maybe thinking about a present you’re hoping to get. Well the day is here - Christmas Day - a time to take a deep breath, and be still and reflect.

And I wonder how you feel. If like me you’ve opened a present already, I expect you’re feeling good. Who’s opened a present already?

In the run up to Christmas I watched the finals of two programmes you may have seen too. Yes the X factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Those programmes have once again thrown up new stars - new names, and fantastic new talents. Don’t you think it is incredible how those finalists develop over the course of the series and by the end have turned into stars? The talent is there, we see it, we admire it - in fact, we watch superstars develop in front of our eyes. And it’s great to do so!

But today the star is not Leon or Rhydian or Matt or Alisha. The star today - and the reason why we are here - is Jesus; the one whose star quality is not new but age old, not recent but from the beginning of time, and not temporary but lasting forever.

If you ask me, why did God do it? Why the birth of this child? I will say, in a word, because God thinks we’re worth it - because He thinks being human matters more than anything else; and Jesus is human like you and me.

What is this Jesus - human like you and me - saying to you this morning? What does Jesus, the word of God, have to say to you and me, in this moment of stillness and reflection and worship? I guess it depends on how you are, or where you‘re coming from, or how you‘re feeling.

If you are anxious - anxious about your job, or money, or relationships, or about a friend or a family member - then perhaps what Jesus is giving you is a word of encouragement - a word such as the angel gave to the shepherds: ‘Do not be afraid’ Perhaps Jesus is saying to you: ‘Be strong. Do not fear. Trust in me. I am utterly reliable’

Perhaps you are happy with your life. If so, let God be praised, this is a great blessing, share that happiness with others, thank God for it; maybe Jesus is calling to you to be a person thankful in heart, mind and voice. At least you will not take it for granted.

Maybe you are suffering some pain or distress - and the word you need is that Jesus shares your sufferings, he knows your distress, and bears it. This will be the word of Jesus from the cross.

And maybe you have a sense of failing, or weakness, or sin. And to you the word of God in Jesus may well be a new understanding of the name of Jesus as one who saves, of Jesus as Saviour - as the one whose purpose is to save you and me from our sins, who extends mercy and forgiveness, and promises a new start.

So the Christmas story and the person at the centre of the story has the power to enter your story and mine - to shape it and to show that things need never be the same again.

Whoever you are, and however you are feeling on this Christmas morning, now is the moment to hear the word of God and to be renewed by it - the moment at which renewal can come, the time when Jesus can be found to meet your deepest need.

The X factor this Christmas is Jesus - God’s Christmas present to the world. Unwrap this gift, and see there the Son of God given for your salvation.

AMEN