This week before Christmas has felt strange – some of our plans have fallen through, there’s been lots of sickness in town, and I feel more aware than usual that many people in our community are struggling this Christmas. I feel the pressure like anyone else to make Christmas beautiful, festive, and special. But when things go wrong – partly because so many of us in town just don’t have much capacity! – I realized it makes me feel more connected to the reality of Christmas. Jesus came because we need him. We still need him. At the end of a long day, I sat down with my journal, and this is what came out. I add all this preamble just to say, this poem isn’t just about me and how I’m feeling; I’m OK I promise! This is about the groaning I feel in our community for Jesus to come.
Christmas 2025
Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
Come down into our mess,
Our sloth and disappointment,
Our tragedy and tests.
Jesus, holy Jesus,
We’re lonely and depressed
And tired, oh so earthly tired
Of effort and of stress.
Jesus, precious Jesus,
We should love you the best,
But we adore so many things
We turn to when we’re pressed.
Jesus, baby Jesus,
We’re desperate for some rest.
We are too weak to come to you,
So come down to our mess.
I hope that your mess is blessed this Christmas, that whatever celebration you have is enough and more than enough. We’re having a wonderfully chill Christmas, with real growth in many areas. It’s definitely not easy, but it’s good. Because God is good.
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