I’ve now found the battery chargers I thought I’d lost, and I set out this morning under the stars, with the head torch on. It developed into a pleasant morning with patches of mist, and a little frost in susceptible places.
From the Christmas Day Lectionary, Luke 2:1… “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.” Lots of people resent bureaucracy, and in this case I guess that might have been fair, as I imagine the probable reason for any registration in the Roman Empire was to levy taxes – and how handy for the narrator that this process left the Nazarene family in the David’s town of Bethlehem for Jesus’ birth! (Also, wasn’t that a slightly ridiculous journey to make just for a headcount?) However, don’t knock bureaucracy – it also means that governments can assess people’s needs and provide for them.
Anyway, it’s all about Jesus, and whatever his royal credentials – comparable to Danny Dyer’s, maybe – in him we see the love of God like nowhere else. He changed the world, and even though people have fought bitter wars and oppressed both nations and family members in his name, if we come back to him and learn from him, there is still hope for us.