My dear Parishioners

Why is Christmas time so appealing to so many people?

I suppose the answer to that question is quite easy if you are a child – it would very likely be something to do with receiving gifts. But that doesn’t account for why adults are so easily caught up with the celebration of Christmas. Understandably, the adults might say that they are merely enjoying watching the excitement of the children, but perhaps that’s not quite enough. I think there is a part of most adults which wants to capture the ‘magic’ of Christmas for themselves. So the question remains: ‘What is the Magic of Christmas’? Why does it appeal so much?

Like many children (of all ages) I was always attracted to the stories of Saint Nicholas (or Santa Claus as many would recognise him). Yes, he was a real person, who as legend tells us derived great pleasure from secretly giving gifts to help people who were in need. I think that the association of Saint Nicholas, whose feast day is 6 December, with Christmas is inevitable. Saint Nicholas has always been remembered as the Christian Saint who gave, and Christmas itself is the festival of giving, as it celebrates God giving his Son to the world, an act of immense generosity.

The act of giving is an act which generates much pleasure for the person who receives the gift, but also the person who gives finds great pleasure in the act of giving. And I believe that this is the magic of Christmas. The generosity of Christmas points us to the very centre of the Christian message – God gives to us generously and abundantly, and we not only receive what God has given to us, but we are encouraged to give in response to that gift. And Christmas frees us to be generous people, to be open-handed, rather as the ghost of Christmas present in Charles Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’ is open-handed and benevolent.

Whenever I come across those who are truly generous, I usually find them to be very attractive people indeed. There is something so attractive about generosity, something which those who are mean can rarely if ever attain. I find the quality of generosity in many people of faith, and I think that is one of the things which has always drawn me to faith.

So why do I find Christmas so appealing? Because, more than anything else, it reminds us of what we have been given by God. It encourages us to value that gift and to share in the delight of giving with God himself.

I wish you all a peaceful and joyful Christmas and pray that you may be able to both receive and give gifts, and that in doing both you will have much pleasure.

I also hope you have an enriching and fulfilling Advent and a prosperous New Year.

Your sincere friend and Rector

Robert Howard