Serving God in the heart of our community since 1881

St Andrew's Church, Taunton

Courtesy of The Diocese of Bath and Wells

When I was a child the nursery rhyme,

Christmas is coming

The goose is getting fat
Please put a penny in the old man’s hat
If you haven’t got a penny, a ha’penny will do.
If you haven’t got a ha’penny, then God bless you

was always said on the day Mum made the Christmas puddings. For many of us Christmas is about memories, and although the whole thing has become much more commercial it is good to be reminded that Christmas is coming.

Christmas is a coming. A time to get ready. Making puds and cakes, buying and sending cards and presents, organising parties. In some way we are all looking forward to something better. And Christmas is about that ‘something better.’ Christmas reminds us that so often our world is one of forgetfulness, fear, pain – but that when we want to, we can remember that the Jesus, whose birth at Bethlehem we prepare to celebrate, came to offer us a new world. A world in which people lived, loved, forgave and put away differences, because they realised an eternal truth: that God loves them, forgives them and puts away differences. Now that’s an excuse for a party!

We only had goose at Christmas once in my memory. But it was a very important goose. I remember my Mum saying how she didn’t know how she would afford Christmas that year. Then, a few days before came a cheque for £20 and a goose. We had a great Christmas.

Because God sent Jesus to be with us, we have a real cause for joy. It is party time, and Christians can celebrate God’s love. We had a family wedding this year. It was a great occasion, because we had all gathered to celebrate the love of the young people getting married. Their happiness and joy affected us all. So let our affection for God and our joy in his love, make us able to party and to praise, together that the goose is getting fat!

Charities and other bodies that seek the welfare of those not so fortunate among us seek to capture our attention at this time too. And so they should. Putting a penny in the old man’s hat, may seem a bit quaint and mean, but the nursery rhyme understood something about the true nature of Christmas, and the real cost of changing the world. If we can party because we know that God loves us, then we cannot be indifferent to people who cannot party. If we have, while others have not, then we cannot celebrate the true meaning of Christmas without sharing. Equally, if we have been forgiven, and know that God loves us, we cannot celebrate Christmas without giving forgiveness to others.

Begging is never good for anyone. A true Christmas is one in which we discover the truth that all are equal before God, there is a party to be had – and all are invited. Let this Christmas be the starting point for welcoming the Christ Child, and seeing who else we might bring to the party.

The Rt Rev Peter Price

Bishop of Bath and Wells

Christmas 2006