Messy Church - 27 January 2019

We are all familiar with the Nativity story, and the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. We may recall that king Herod gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger, so that the child born to be king of the Jews would not usurp his position as king!

We also remember that an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him.” So, that night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, where they stayed until Herod died. 

This is an important part of the story – for many reasons, not the least of which is the way it places the whole business of having to flee from an oppressive regime, or risk being wiped out, firmly into Jesus life experiences. He lives through even this, one of the hardest things that many Christians (and others) in our world today are experiencing.

He knows the fears felt by the little children we see in those boats crossing the seas or walking for miles across various parts of the globe, with no safe place to sleep and no promise of food for the next day.  As we think on this, we are reminded that Jesus did not have a safe, cosy start in life; we are made to think of the effects his birth had on the families around the holy family (all those babies slaughtered, a whole age band with no little boys, and whole families robbed so cruelly of a beloved infant). We think too of the journey the family had to make, not being able to settle, nor even to come back to the home they had started from. And we see how God guided them all along the way, keeping them safe and making provision for them, so that his purposes might be fulfilled.

What does this mean? - The objective was to get people thinking how hard it is when you are removed to a place where people don’t speak your language. How do you tell people what they need to know about you? How do you understand signs written with funny looking letters? We tried writing our names in Russian letters, and our phone number (or date of birth) in Arabic characters!

We talked about how difficult it must be for all the people who are refugees, when they can’t read or write the language of the countries they get to, far less speak it. The language in Israel isn’t the same as the language in Egypt – it must have been just as hard for the Holy Family.  How does God speak to us? How can we help other people to hear him?

Design a dream home - Using imagination we designed our dream home, or room. What kind of home would the holy family might have dreamed of.

What things are important? We divided them into the things we really need, and the things we'd really like?  We were surprised by how little we really need! God says he will provide for all our needs – maybe that’s why we are sometimes disappointed when we don’t seem to get the answers we are looking for when we pray!

EDIBLE SHELTER -  This is one that can be eaten, so a favourite with many! We fashioned biscuits as a shelter, with icing as glue/cement. Would it be simple, for a one night stay, or complicated  for a long stay?

 We talked about how difficult it must be to make a shelter when you don’t have the right materials (things which are the right shape/tools etc) to make it stand up safely, to make it weatherproof, to make it large enough. What happens when you have to be on the move day after day – can you take your shelter with you (can you carry it?) or do you have to make something new every night? What kind of shelter might the Holy Family have had? Remember: God’s not like our shelter, a fragile and temporary thing made of biscuits. He is there with us always, protecting us all the time.

Journey/map collage -  We used a large strip of paper to make a collage of the journey Jesus’ family made, remembering to put in some of the challenges they may have faced.  Difficult ground to cover, people they were afraid of, places to hide, wild animals, as well as showing the places they came from and went to. 

What does it feel like to go somewhere when you don’t really know where you are going – exciting? scary? who’s in charge? How do you find the way? The Holy family had no map - Joseph had to trust in God to tell him what to do next – are we good at trusting in God? Or do we like to be able to see the map?

All together:  Build a shelter - We imagined we were a group travelling to get to a place of safety. We need a shelter. Using cardboard boxes and tape we built shelters to stay in on our journey.  We didn't have long to build it – it has to be finished before it gets dark!

What would it be like if this was not a game, but the only place we might have to shelter in for a long time?  Do you think we would feel safe – even though you know God is looking after you?

We wrote  a thank you to God for looking after us and providing us with a safe home, and food to eat.