It’s all a bit of a mess
16th December 2021
This is the reflection from the Communion service that didn’t happen today, as i wasn’t feeling well. Quite appropriate really, as you’ll see…
I wonder how Joseph felt as this all happened? He must have spent a long time thinking about his wedding to Mary – imagining the day, planning the things that would need to be done. It was going to be such a happy occasion. And now, suddenly these plans were blown away. Everything had changed.
Joseph had to decide what to do – and it wasn’t easy. He wanted to do the right thing by Mary, but he knew things couldn’t be the same – and he must have been terribly hurt. Such a sad loss of everything he had hoped for – such a time of uncertainty, anxiety and pain.
We’re in a time of uncertainty and anxiety now – and there will be pain for some people. It’s not as personal and immediate as it was for Joseph, but we may well be struggling with what to do for the best as we think about our Christmas plans in the face of Omicron – wondering who we can meet, and facing that return to constant change and uncertainty again, just when we thought it was getting better.
Even after Joseph had received this direct and amazing message, things weren’t straightforward. We can imagine the gossip and disapproval in their small community. And who knows how things were between Joseph and Mary.
There was a wonderful BBC programme called The Nativity a few years ago which portrayed Joseph as still hurt and angry right up until the birth. I’ve just come across a set of clips with a song from Kate Bush – I’ll put a link in the reflection when I post it.
It reminds me of something I read last week which said ‘it’s all a bit of a mess’. That’s perhaps how it feels now for us – and also how it felt for Mary and Joseph, with all their changed plans and messed up hopes, and now the dreamed-of moment of the birth of a first child taking place in a difficult and dangerous place, without family, or familiar surroundings, relying on the kindness of strangers and perhaps feeling very alone and frightened.
I don’t know if the messages that both Mary and Joseph received from God were enough to reassure them. In our moments of greatest uncertainty and anxiety we might long for some sort of message ourselves. Perhaps sometimes, when turning things over in our minds like Joseph, we have experienced some clarity or reassurance – some sense of a gentle guiding hand. I have had a couple of moments like that, and they have been very significant.
But we also have a promise in this story, that even in the middle of the mess which we often experience, we are not alone. Joseph is told that this child will be acclaimed as Immanuel – God with us. The promise is that God is with us even when everything seems just to be a mess. God is with us in our times of greatest uncertainty, anxiety and pain. We may or may not receive a message, but if we open ourselves to that presence with us, then we may sense that we are somehow held. And that may be enough.
Here’s a poem by Malcolm Guite, called ‘O Immanuel’:
O come, O come, and be our God-with-us
O long-sought With-ness for a world without,
O secret seed, O hidden spring of light.
Come to us Wisdom, come unspoken Name
Come Root, and Key, and King, and holy Flame,
O quickened little wick so tightly curled,
Be folded with us into time and place,
Unfold for us the mystery of grace
And make a womb of all this wounded world.
O heart of heaven beating in the earth,
O tiny hope within our hopelessness
Come to be born, to bear us to our birth,
To touch a dying world with new-made hands
And make these rags of time our swaddling bands.
We become aware of all that is uneasy in us – our uncertainties and anxieties – about the Covid situation, about Christmas – about other things…
Lord, as you came into the mess of Mary and Joseph’s lives – come to be with us – bring us the reassurance of your presence, and the gentle guidance of your Spirit.
Immanuel – come to be with us
We think of women giving birth in difficult and dangerous conditions in many parts of the world – maybe on the move as refugees, maybe caught up in conflict, maybe experiencing physical or emotional poverty.
Lord, we pray that they may somehow know that they are held by love. Bless those who reach out with care and kindness, and touch the hearts of all who can make a difference, including ourselves.
Immanuel – come to be with us
We think of those we know who are facing times of great uncertainty and anxiety – those facing a difficult diagnosis, students unable to go home, loved ones for whom Christmas is not easy…
Lord, we pray that they may be held in your loving presence in the days and weeks ahead. Show us any ways in which we can be bearers of your love.
Immanuel – come to be with us