The perfect gift
Christmas is a time of gift giving and gift receiving. I wonder what your perfect gift would be? For years I have been dropping heavy hints about the ‘Lego Death Star’, a replica of the planet-destroying space weapon which features in Star Wars movies. The Lego version has around 4000 pieces. I am sure it must look fabulous. What boy would not want a Lego Death Star?
It does cost around £600.
To my horror, I see from the official Lego website that it is now a retired product. Nooooo! Those who give me gifts have waited too long!!! However, I notice, with mounting excitement, that the clever people at Lego have a new set called ‘The Razor Crest’, being the space ship used by the Mandalorian – a new Star Wars character. The kit has 6187 pieces. Wow! Can you imagine the fun building it? It does cost £519.99. But what price love? It is, after all, cheaper than the Lego Imperial Star Destroyer which is retailing at £614.99, or the All-Terrain Armoured Transport (AT-AT) at £734.99. I am thoughtfully not selecting the most expensive sets. Are you reading this, Lorna?
Let’s return to reality. Christmas. All our gift giving, however extravagant, is but a pale echo of the most wonderful gift ever given, the gift of Jesus Christ, whose entry into the world as a human being we mark at this time of year. The sad truth is that recognising Jesus as the perfect gift, to meet our deepest needs, is something we instinctively resist, whether we admit it or not. Sometimes we resist him as a gift by reducing him to an example. Martin Luther saw the problem 500 years ago. He wrote a little booklet entitled ‘What to expect from the gospels’ in which he wrote:
‘Before you take Christ as an example…..accept and recognise him as a gift’
We have a twisted tendency to view Jesus as no more than an example, in our controlling efforts to live a life that will somehow merit God’s love. This is an attitude born of a determination not to admit our need (far less our sin). We prefer gifts which are like Lego. They please us and perhaps entertain us, but we don’t really need them, and we can ‘put them down’ when it suits us. Reducing Jesus to no more than an example is an attempt to tame him. Yet if we truly try to follow Jesus as an example, then our enterprise will end in abject failure. We won’t succeed. We can’t succeed. That is the bleak route of human religiosity.
It is not that Jesus is not an example to us, but he is far more than an example. He is a gift. He has accomplished what we could never accomplish and gifts to us the fruit of what he achieved. Freely.
When we read through the Gospel accounts we read of how, as Jesus began his ministry, he embarked on a career whereby he champions our cause. Immediately he goes into the wilderness and confronts evil by struggling against the temptations of satan. Continue reading and we discover that he exercises authority over sickness, and over the wild forces of nature, and even over death itself. He heals the sick; he calms storms; he raises the dead. Of course, it is at the Cross that these enemies of sin and death and evil are comprehensively conquered, as our Lord turns aside the wrath of God against sin onto himself. This is why the Gospel records focus so heavily on the Easter events (to the extent that Mark’s Gospel has been described as a ‘passion narrative with a long introduction’). The victory is secured at Easter, at the Cross and the empty tomb.
Jesus is on our side. He takes our place. He shoulders our burden. He lives our life and dies our death and brings us victory. He offers that victory as a gift, with himself.
The Christian gospel is not providing us with good advice (do this, do that, accomplish this, accomplish that, try hard, try harder, try even harder!!!.) On the contrary, it is delivering to us GOOD NEWS. The good news is that Jesus has already secured the victory. He gives it with himself as a gift. He is the perfect gift because he perfectly meets my deepest needs. Such a gift does not lie forgotten on Boxing Day, but, precisely because it meets our deepest needs, alters our life thereafter. When I receive this gift by faith, then I will want to follow Jesus, and out of love for him, and gratitude to him, and by his grace alone, make him my example.
With warmest best wishes for Christmas
Martin Thomson
Christmas services
Saturday 10th December 10.30am: Inter-church Carol Service in Trinity Church
Sunday 18th December 3pm festival of Lessons & Carols
Christmas Eve 6.30pm: Traditional carols by candlelight
Watchnight service St Margarets 11.30pm
Christmas Day 10.30am joint service with St Margarets in St Margarets