Some of you may have heard the ad for Barry’s tea on the radio when a young boy tells his grandad early Christmas morning “you’ll never guess what Santa brought”. Christmas is a time for gift giving. Every child has made their list and even we as adults love the gifts we get at Christmas. One of the highlights of Christmas is the Christmas crib and this year we’ve given our crib a new look.  I’ve always loved how the Christ child in the nativity scene is usually depicted with his arms outstretched, as if reaching out to the world. Whether one sees the crib in a beautiful Gothic Cathedral or a country parish church, a busy shopping street or in a hospital corridor, it gives us the same simple – but powerful – message: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life. (John 3,16). Whatever we receive this Christmas, we will be very grateful for, but the gift that will last the longest is the knowledge and realization that we are loved, cherished, and held by God. To understand Christmas, we must understand the language of God, the greatest gift-giver. We find the language of God as we look into the crib. For those who look for signs and wonders, the coming of God as a child is a dusty outpost of the Roman Empire sounds like a disappointment indeed. But it challenges us to change our notions about power and prestige. In the incarnation, God contrasts what we think of power and transforms the dynamic to show us that true power rests not in ostentatiousness but in humility. That’s why poor people were – and are – always the quickest to understand the message and invitation that God sets before us in the coming of Christ.  The innkeeper closed one door, but left the stable door ajar, enough for Mary and Joseph to squeeze through, exhausted by the census journey. The empty manger has been filled. Gods gift comes not in tinsel and glitter but ‘wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger”. God speaks to us from that manger, in the simplest of languages.  Christmas brings out the best in all of us. It’s a busy time, it’s a hectic time, but we wouldn’t want it any different. Christmas is a celebration centered on generosity. God generously sharing with us his son. The gift of time, spending time with those close to us is a precious gift, enjoying one another’s company. The gift of kindness, words used to heal rather than hurt. Christmas brings mixed emotions. It is a time of great busyness, often of stress, and yet it is often tinged with loneliness at the memory of loved ones who have died, or sadness as we think of those who have chosen to separate themselves from our lives and those who have been forced to separate themselves from our lives because of external circumstances. Christmas is a time to rest, to reflect and to recollect. It is a time to be thankful, and it is a time to share with others. It is a time of sadness for loved ones, who are no longer present, and a time of longing for what might have been.  It is a time to know that God is present amid all thoughts, all feelings, all cares, all joys, all hopes, all sorrows, and all despairs.  It is a time to know anew that God is with us.  The Christmas message is that God’s greatest gift to us is His Son Jesus, and that’s a gift that keeps on giving all year round.