St.Helens R.F.C.'s Chaplain & Wellbeing Manager Paul Johnson, known affectionately by all at our club as 'Chappers', has given his annual festive message for all our Saints supporters around the world.
What comes to mind when you think back over Christmases of the past?
When I remember Christmas Day, as a child, there are a number of memories that come to mind. I was definitely a child of the seventies and early eighties, but my parents’ decorating style was definitely stuck in the seventies! As a child at Christmas, we had a brown carpet, orange velvet curtains, an eight feet high, pink tinsel Christmas tree with coloured lights! I remember the festive smells and the feeling of sitting at the top of the stairs on Christmas morning. Dad would go downstairs first and turn on the Christmas tree lights. Only then would we be allowed to go downstairs and open our gifts. I don’t really remember much about what gifts came in which year. I don’t really remember who each gift was from. I do remember getting my first computer – a Commodore 64, with one of those tape decks to load the games. I couldn’t tell you which year that was though! I remember one Christmas evening, having been bought some boxing gloves and a punch ball (I don’t really know why – I was never a boxer!), being visited by our wider family. My older cousin, probably mid-teens at that stage, knelt down in front of six or seven year old me. “Go on then, hit me,” she said – smiling from ear to ear. Well, I did! I spread her nose all over her face and blood was everywhere! I remember that feeling of being relaxed, happy and safe. The gifts were part of it, but they most certainly weren’t the main thing.
I see so many people stressing about the decorations, the presents, the food, the cleaning up, the bill! When I remember my Christmases, the things that come to mind are the ‘Moments’. They don’t rely on the other things, they actually rely on the relationships, and they don’t carry financial cost. They do carry a ‘cost’ though – it’s the cost of time, attention and being really present with the people that we are with, rather than simply sharing a geographical space with them.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. This was, by definition, a ‘Moment in time’. The whole of time hangs on this event. BC and AD may be slightly out of sync from actual birth date of Jesus by a few years, but the fact that Jesus was born gives us the reason that this year is 2024AD! Mary and Joseph experienced a whole list of key moments – a census, an unwanted trip to see family in Bethlehem at THE most inconvenient time, an unusual place to stay, an unusual place to give birth, an unusual set of shepherd visitors on the first night of being parents, an unusual group of visitors a few years later with unusual gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. All of these things would have stayed in their memories for the rest of their lives. Maybe, as they looked back at the end of their lives, knowing what would become of their first-born son, these memories would have brought warm feelings and smiles to their faces. Again, these things didn’t rely on the money that they spent, but on the people that they were with. As a follower of Jesus, I believe that the birth of this little boy changed everything. He grew up, He changed the world, He died in my place and made it possible for me to have a relationship with God – literally a life changing moment.
Over this Christmas time, I encourage you to enjoy and create moments. Create memories with the people that really matter. Worry less about the details. Worry less about spending lots of money. Focus instead on being genuinely present with family and friends. I promise you that, in the years to come, those memories and moments will become cherished times and things that you will hold on to.
