Many of you will recognize the reference to Charles Dickens' story, A Christmas Carol (if you do not know it, it is well worth reading). It concerns the change of heart of the miser, Scrooge, as the three ghosts show him scenes from Christmas past, present, and future. I thought we might consider our 'Christmas Ghosts'.
Christmas Past. We are just finishing the Centenary Year of our building and can thank God that, despite all the ups and downs, including two world wars, we are still going strong. Furthermore, we can look back with thanksgiving on more than 150 years of Anglican worship in Bern. However, our backward look should be less nostalgia for the past, and more, as in A Christmas Carol, a seeking to recreate what was good, now and in the future.
Christmas Present. This year Christmas Eve falls on a Sunday. This means that two 'church days' will be celebrated on one calendar day: 'Christmas Eve' at 10:00 am; and 'Christmas Day' at 11:00 pm. Of course, it will be 'Christmas Day' at 10:00 am on Monday as well, albeit with a different set of readings. This is not quite as strange as it may at first appear, because in the days before clocks and watches were invented there was no way of knowing when it was midnight, so the new day had to begin either at sunset or sunrise. In the ancient world everyone was agreed that each day ended at sunset; an idea still present in that favourite evening hymn: "The day thou gavest, Lord is ended, the darkness falls at thy behest", even if we don't always notice that the hymn contains that idea. Therefore, once it gets dark on Christmas Eve, it isn't Christmas Eve anymore, but Christmas Day, and so the 'Midnight Service' is the first service of Christmas Day. Last year we did try moving the 'Midnight Service' an hour earlier, as the only evening service. This year, because there are two services on the same day, we have moved it back to the traditional 11:00 pm. However, as always, there is the problem that public transport stops too early for a service that starts so late, so it would be good if those who come by car could offer lifts home to those using public transport to come to the service. If you are driving to the 'Midnight', and would be willing to offer a lift, please put your details on the sheet which will be put up in the Upper Hall, or phone your offer in to the office before Sunday 17 December.
Christmas Future. In case you have not heard already, I have to tell you that St Ursula's is running short of money. Now, churches are always short of money, especially nowadays when even the 'Big Three' Swiss churches are having to economise because the amount coming in through Church Tax is reducing. However, our problem is more serious than that. We get no 'outside' support, whether from England or Switzerland, and are totally dependent on our pledge income, plus the relatively small amount from the Bazaar, book sales, and other users of our building. We have already done our hardest to economise, and have postponed various plans for improvements and new projects, but no amount of economising will close the gap between our income and our expenditure, other than making a big cut in our salary bill!
Sometimes the Bible is misquoted about money and evil. What it actually says is, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." (1 Timothy 6.10, NIV). Similarly, Dickens' Christmas Carol is not about the evil of money, but about the evil of not using it properly, so I make no apology for using Dickens' ideas with a Christian purpose. Scrooge had it in his power to change 'Christmas Future' for the better: he just needed to see that he was the one who had to change if he wanted to escape the bleak picture the Ghost of Christmas Future showed him. Unless enough of us do our bit to change 'Christmas Future' for St Ursula's, then things will look much bleaker next year.
Until he had his change of heart, Scrooge thought that Christmas was 'humbug'. We too can act as if Christmas is 'humbug', if we forget that it is a birthday party for a real person. Of course Christmas means a nativity play (with all the historical mistakes built in), and lots of carols (complete with frost, snow, ice, and other inaccuracies), and candlelight, Christmas trees, bells, and all the other pagan symbols that have been added over the years. But, wouldn't it be good if Christmas automatically meant inviting Jesus, the light of the world, to shine into every aspect of our lives; and if we couldn't let it pass without bringing our gift to the King of Heaven, to celebrate his birthday?
Wishing you all every blessing for Christmas and the New Year.
Richard Pamplin