Sanctuary Foundation Advent Devotional Day 16
This year in homes around the UK, cultures will collide as Ukrainians and British people living together will find a new way to do Christmas. Will Santa wear blue or red? Will gifts be given on the 19th or the 25th? Will Christmas dinner be eaten on the 25th December or on the 6th January? And how many courses will there be – perhaps the full 12 as in Ukraine.
Cultural exchange can be very enriching. At the first Christmas, worlds collided in wonder when a host of heavenly angels appeared to shocked shepherds in a field outside Bethlehem. And again when those same rough herdsmen knelt down in the stable to worship a newborn baby. These unlikely yet life-changing encounters have gone down in history. But it wasn’t the end of the story for those shepherds.
“When they had seen him they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”
The shepherds left Mary and Joseph and began running from house to house knocking on doors of friends and family and strangers, telling anyone who would listen the good news they had been the first to discover. I expect they would have had some doors slammed in their faces. But wherever people listened, there was amazement.
The Christmas message is one of amazing colliding worlds. Misery and despair and conflict can meet joy and hope and peace and life will never be the same again.
Thank you
Krish Kandiah
Director, Sanctuary Foundation
Thank you for joining us on this Season of Sanctuary Advent Journey looking at the themes of welcome and hospitality that lie at the heart of the Christmas story. As you prepare your hearts and homes for Christmas, please consider opening doors of hope for those around you. For more inspiration and information please visit www.sanctuaryfoundation.org.uk