Dear friends,

As we approach Christmas once more, many of us will be planning to travel to visit friends and family – or alternatively preparing our homes to welcome visitors from other parts of the country.

Some things never change – it occurs to us that, even though it’s set in a world totally lacking in planes or trains, buses, cars, or even bikes, the Christmas story is remarkably full of journeys.

We find the angel Gabriel being sent to both Mary and Joseph in turn, to explain their part in God’s plan to save the world.

Upon receiving the news of her unexpected pregnancy, Mary hurried off to visit her country cousin Elizabeth, no doubt for a bit of moral support, but also to recognise the part that Elizabeth’s son would play in God’s plans.

Mary and Joseph then journeyed up from their home in Nazareth to Joseph’s ancestral home in Bethlehem, where their child would be born.

Shepherds walked down from the hillside to greet the new-born Saviour. Wise men travelled hundreds of miles from the East to worship the King of kings. Herod’s murderous threats to baby boys forced the young family to take refuge in Egypt for a while.

But the most important journey was made by Jesus himself, who left the incalculable riches of heaven to become the Light of the world – to illuminate our own journeys through life, to help us make sense of things and to put us right with God. His life became one long journey through the towns and villages of Judaea as he healed and taught, until a journey up onto a hillside just outside Jerusalem took him to a place of unimaginable cruelty.

Yet incredibly that was not the end of his journey. Three days later, as his friends struggled to comprehend rumours that he had defeated death, he joined two of them walking from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. As they walked and talked, he helped them to make sense of his life and of theirs.

This Christmas, and in the year ahead, may you too know the presence of Jesus, Light of the world, drawing alongside you to illuminate your path through life.

With our love and prayers for a peaceful and happy Christmas
Matthew and Pauline