CHRISTIAN VIEWPOINT: God, do something to remind me that you’re real
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
Father Iain Macritchie said in his sermon at St Michael’s: “We are a story-shaped people” – words which wove themselves into the network of encouragement I have felt recently.
I often find the days of winter’s darkness difficult and testing, and this year, just before Christmas, I found myself in a particularly bad place, plagued by negativism, and anxious, intrusive thoughts.
Walking our dog Ezra, I’d often be crying out to God not just ‘Help me trust you in the darkness,’ but also ‘Can’t you just do something to remind me that you are real?’
And I think my frustrated prayers were answered. Reading a book called The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God, I was encouraged by how much evidence, both in science and history points to the existence of God, and also reminded how our presuppositions can affect our judgement. There are different stories on offer, and we owe it to ourselves to ask which is the truest, which makes most sense in the light of the evidence.
And then two days before Christmas, I was typing up an interview in which someone described words from the Bible coming alive for them in a deeper way than ever before. And as the sentences flowed through the keypad from my fingers it was as if God were speaking to me: ‘You see? This is real! This is true!’
And I felt a deep, strong, lingering reassurance that the great story of divine love is fact, not fiction. All this moved in my heart as I continued typing.
In the light of this new confidence, I resolved to live with more zest in 2024, and decided to begin by attending Christmas Eve midnight mass at St Michael’s.
At the end of mass, after midnight on Christmas morning, Father Iain knelt in front of the carved Nativity scene. The manger was empty. He produced a napkin, placed it on the straw, unfolded it to reveal the baby, then tucked Jesus in.
This he did with such gentleness, such love. God kneeling before the world, making visible the living thread which holds all life together, tenderly.
And then just after Christmas, I caught Covid and felt pretty rough for a week or so. But there was still an underlying awareness that it was OK, that God was with me, that I was loved.
Evidence of God’s existence. That powerful sense that the story is true. The certainty that Father Iain’s tenderness reflected the tenderness of God. The awareness of God’s love. I see all these things as gifts from the God who kneels before each one of us birthing Christ in the manger of our hearts.
