Dear brothers and sisters,
It is called “Bethlehem”, the painting that you have on your table. Hearing the name of this small town, we use to think of Christmas, of the story we have heard. We use to think of a stable, of animals, shepherds, of the star, and, of course, of Joseph, Mary and the child. That is what we have in head, when we think of Christmas, of Bethlehem, and that is why this painting is – let’s say – a little bit different. There is so much missing; if we didn’t know that it is called “Bethlehem”, it would be difficult to imagine that it is dealing with Christmas... This painting – does it just show a part of Christmas? Or should we say: “Bethlehem” – Christmas reduced to what is really important?
We see the mother, Mary. Her head is filling the majority of the painting, nearly two third of it. She is regarding her child, her first-born son, just as if she still cannot believe the wonder of life – as thousands of mothers all over the world do. She is very close to him, and it looks like she would like to kiss his small head, but doesn’t want to wake him up and disturb his sleep. Wonder of life, love and harmony...
It is really good that we do not have to see what is to be found in the background. The painter just shows a small part of the scene! A stable is not really a nice and comfortable place for the birth of a child, and it is even more difficult to imagine God’s son to be born in such a place. We can imagine the dirt, the smell of the animals in the heat, the poor people – shepherds, and the others that for sure for a good reason didn’t get a place in the inn - people in dirty clothes, who live in poorness, or at least not in richness...
All this is not painted. We don’t have this background, we just see Jesus and his mother. Just a scene of love, of harmony, of peace. It seems almost too perfect: Life is not always like this – isn’t this painting too unrealistic? Everyone of us knows these moments of harmony – but we also know that they are too fast over, and make way for every day’s life. So – is this painting realistic for our world, our life? But let me ask another question: Is Christmas really realistic?
It is. Christmas is realistic, just because it happened in a place that was nothing less than perfect. In an every day’s situation, God joins mankind. And he doesn’t come into a world where everything is alright, into a world which is okay. Christmas is really, as God comes into the real world, our world. Since the first Christmas, we can no more imagine him far away, just regarding what is going on on earth from a distance. God shared human life – and that means that there can be no situation, no place, nothing, which he doesn’t know, where he is not on our side. Even when life seems to us full of problems, when there seems to be no way out, even in death – we can see God in the face of this child on the painting, human as we are. Christ is born, God joins mankind – one time two thousand years ago, but for every time. We don’t need the background, stable, animals, folks standing around, because there can be any background we can imagine. Bethlehem can be everywhere – in a stable in Judea, in ports all over the world, from Mäntyluoto to Douala, from Valparaiso to Hong Kong, in this Seamen’s Mission in Emden, in the countries and towns you come from, where your families live. We can imagine every background, because God shares human life – as close as possible, in the man Jesus Christ. This is why Christmas is realistic, because God comes near to us.
And wherever we remember what happened in Bethlehem: We are not left alone with the world that surrounds us, with every day’s life, our sorrows, our small and big problems. Christ is on our side, that is the hope of Christmas: God wants us to live – and he is living with us. We can see this hope on the painting “Bethlehem”: For a small instant, it shows us how life should be. For a moment, there is peace, love and harmony, as it is God’s will for mankind. That is what he wants – not only for Christians, but for everyone, without any difference. God comes to earth, not as a Christian, but as a human being, like everyone of us is. Christmas is a message to everyone, wherever he comes from, whatever he believes in. It started about two thousand years ago, but it is still alive and has not yet ended. It is the message that the heavenly host sung to the shepherds: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I wish to everyone of us a blessed Christmas Eve. Amen