Just a thought - the rain an early Christmas Present

(written mid Dec 2010) It’s pretty sweet looking out the window at the moment, just over a week out from Christmas day and I’m watching an early Christmas present fall from the sky. I bet there are plenty of farmers rejoicing. We had just on two inches by 8 this morning and by the middle of the day nearly three - brilliant. (Typically I’m now thinking that is enough rain for the moment – we farming types are hard to please). The rain is money falling from the sky. I’m not sure of the value of the rain in dollar terms, but it would be a lot of money. For sure some of our blueberries have split; I guess that’s part of the mystery of “blessing”.

Anyway, I was thinking about the rain as an early Christmas present, and how as a gift, it is really helping our district so much. And perhaps some people don’t realise the value of that gift. The rain has been desperately needed. Just think for a second if it had not rained a week out from Christmas, and what if it had not rained until next autumn – things would become a real mess.

This has caused me to think of Jesus. The ultimate in gifts, the original gift, the one in whom all people can walk and talk with God. If it wasn’t for Jesus we’d be stuffed, we’d be in a real mess. Death would be the destroyer of us all. We wouldn’t know what God is like. We wouldn’t be able to pray without some kind of ritual. But because of Jesus coming at the first Christmas (and living and dying and rising), we can talk to God anywhere, anytime, anyhow – no problems. (And we don’t even need to go through the palaver Julia Roberts’ character did in the movie Eat Pray Love. We can talk to God right where we are without getting all spiritual or guru like). Sadly, just as some people underestimate the value of the rain to our district, too many people underestimate the value of the first Christmas gift, of Jesus Christ, of God become human. But as the words of U2’s song “City of Blinding Lights” say, “Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel... luckily.” We might not know it, but the life of Jesus Christ impacts us all, we are incredibly blessed.

And so, knowing that for some people 2010 was not a good year, and for others it was, on behalf of all priests, pastors, ministers and church leaders in our district, with the full implication of the following words even if you don’t believe them, May God Bless you richly this Christmas and in 2011.

“The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace. (Numbers 6: 24 – 26)