Sometimes you have to laugh. It’s either that or cry!

By Pastor Tom Hoffmann I found myself having a little chuckle upon hearing, COVID restrictions being what they were, that if churches were to present a children’s Christmas play this year, that the children performing would have to socially distance. I pictured Joseph maintaining his mandated one-and-a-half metres from Mary as she gave birth. I imagined the angels spaced out more like soloists than a choir, and the three wise men visiting one by one, rather than as the traditional trio. It is kind of laughable, isn’t it? At St Johns, being committed to maintaining COVID-safety, but also seeking to involve the children in a meaningful way, we opted to cobble together a video-play. It was shot remotely in each of the children’s homes and edited together to present a more intimate picture than the in-person play might have. But you know what? Maybe there is something to considering the nativity – to contemplating the heartrending beauty of Christmas – with social distancing in mind. The prophecy of Isaiah forecasted that a virgin would become pregnant and give birth to a boy, and that he would be called Immanuel, which means “God with us”. But interestingly, when that prophecy was fulfilled – as we believe it to be in the Christian tradition with the birth of Christ – that God-with-us was initially somewhat removed, or, yes, distanced from his people. He was born not in the comforting surrounds that his parents might have wished for in Bethlehem. There was no guestroom available for them at the house of the folks they had crashed with – they had to go out with the animals! On one level, it’s a strange thing to picture the manifestation of this God-with-us being out the back with the animals while the townsfolk, friends or relatives were tucked up inside. But perhaps the social distance of Jesus’ birth speaks to the very nature of our need for that Christ-child to close the gaps that divide us. Jesus was born in those humble surrounds in Bethlehem, later he would be rejected in the town where he grew up, Nazareth, and finally, he would find the ultimate physical distancing being raised up on the cross – being distanced from his loved ones by death. He experienced the social and emotional isolation that we’ve known this year, but to a degree that’s beyond imagining, all so that we might know true connectedness. It may be the case that Christmas services this year will have a limited attendance, and there may be more sharing of hand sanitiser than bread and wine, but what those gatherings will bear witness to is that God-with-us is with us in complete solidarity through our experience of aloneness. Jesus, from his first breath to his last, knew the distance that we’ve struggled with. Yes, the solidarity of the incarnation is wonderful to know. But what is even better than that is the hope that Christmas brings. The song of the angels at the birth of Christ expressed God’s will for all people to be at peace, and to know they have God’s favour. And the favour of God is expressed in closeness. Social distancing is temporary. Intimacy with God lasts forever. May you know peace and favour and God-given intimacy in some form this festive season! •