I don’t think it’s an accident that at the centre of Christmas lays a child.

A few years ago a good friend of mine began work as a Chaplain for a large industrial company. It’s not a job for the faint-hearted; you know, a “God-botherer” or “Sky-pilot” or “Preacher-man” trying to get to win over the trust and confidence of a few hundred hardened blue collar workers.

Right from the word go there was this one senior worker who was forever undermining my friend with cynical or humiliating kinds of remarks in front of other workers. About a month or so into the job, one lunch time in the canteen, this guy pulls his trump card on my friend and in a loud mocking voice asks: “So Mister God-man, what is God like?” All noise and chatter suddenly evaporated as if into thin air. All eyes staring at the Chaplain.

My friend said: “You know when I get home from here and open the front door, our six year old daughter will be standing there waiting for me. She has Down Syndrome. So she’s living life with some pretty big struggles for a six year old. But you know she will have been waiting for me all day to come home. As soon as I open the door, she will jump up into my arms, wrap her arms around my neck, kiss me all over my face, smile at me with her big wide eyes and then with a deep breath say: ‘Daddy … I love you!’ I reckon that’s what God is like.”

The truth of Christmas is that God reveals himself to us in all the vulnerability of a child. God entered into human affairs as a baby who was named Jesus. God became one of us to reveal to us the depth of divine love. God is waiting for each of us to come home, to embrace us and to save us from sin and death. All we have to do is open the door of our lives and accept the Christmas gift of God’s unconditional love. Why not open a door this Christmas, go to any of our great Churches in Gawler and experience this gift.

Kim Thoday

December 2006