Tweeting Christmas

My midnight mass congregation on Christmas night looked delighted when I invited them to get their smartphones out and tweet the sermon #christmasstartswithchrist. Especially the group in their early twenties who had come straight from the pub and weren't used to going to church. Their pleasure was expressed vocally, and why not? Joining in with the Sermon tweeting project for Christmas challenged me to think hard about what the message was this year. Taking Hebrews 1:1-4 and John 1:1-14 as preaching texts, this was the word that was tweeted by various good people in Piddington church this year. Credit to Joanna Hollins who gave time to doing some Bible study and active thinking with me which developed this message.


Today I am making an unusual invitation. if you have a smartphone with you, turn it on! Because today I am inviting you to log into twitter and to tweet the sermon. If you have twitter at home but not here, feel free to tweet something about this sermon later on, or in the morning. Tonight the  Archbishop  of Canterbury is preaching his  last sermon in Canterbury Cathedral, and that sermon is being tweeted, as is the sermon of the next Archbishop of Canterbury, and sermons of many other bishops and priests around the country. In this diocese Bishops Donald and John are both joining in, and they are keen for lots of Peterborough churches to make their appearance in the twitter feed. Everyone who takes up this invitation is asked to use the hash tag #christmasstartswithchrist. So we are joining in too.

I am intrigued by the power of social media. Youtube, Instagram, twitter, all spreading messages to large numbers of people in almost no time. All these words can be a force for good or for mischief. The words of many and the words of very few can have equal influence, it seems. During the last couple, of years we have seen revolutions sparked and organised using twitter. The Arab Spring. The riots of summer 2011. After the riots the volunteers in numbers cleaning up the cities were also called together using Facebook and twitter. A single voice, like the abusive one that taunted diver Tom Daley during the Olympics can be heard by millions, and new crimes have been devised to try and control this kind of abuse.

My mum used to quote 'sticks and stones will break my bones, but words can never hurt me'. You would need, as Rowan Williams implied, the hide of a rhinoceros to be able to take in words without being hurt. Sometimes I think words can be far more damaging than sticks and stones. A broken arm will mend in time. I'm not sure a broken heart ever really does. Words burrow deep inside, and hang around. A little girl told by her parents that she is thick will feel that hurt and believe the words even if she gets university degrees and does well professionally. The word, burrowed deep within, still has the power to affect her. The nasty tone of voice, the powerful criticism, the certainty of rightness that characterises so many comment feeds on news blogs or twitter conversations may represent a minority, but it has a power that is immense. But equally powerful is the word spoken for good. The word of encouragement, the word of praise, the word of celebration. The little girl who was told she is thick can get over that damaged self belief with the help of others speaking words of encouragement and telling her that she is of value. A friend of mine received an abusive Christmas card this year. The words on the card hurt him badly, and he quoted them on Facebook. Because he did that, he received many many messages from friends and others who appreciate him, and even a few people who didn't know him. All offering words of love and support. The power of all those words could overcome the nasty words.

The reading from the letter to the Hebrews talks about God sustaining all things by his powerful word. John goes further. He reminds us that in the beginning was the word. This doesn't just mean that at the beginning of the earth a mysterious character going by the name of word was hanging around. When God created the earth he spoke it into being. 'Let there be light', he said, and there was light. The light came into being in response to the word of God. So the word spoken by God represents the action of God's spirit in bringing life. A word that can bring stars into being is a powerful word indeed. And that word was with God and that word was God. And, John tells us, that life breathing word became flesh and came to live among us. The power of the word in Jesus became clear in his life. If Jesus says the word, the centurion's servant is healed. If Jesus says the word, the paralysed man is forgiven. The word that gives life, that brings healing and forgiveness to anyone who will listen, was spoken by a man who lived just as we do. So often he said, listen! Let him who has ears hear!

When the word first came into the world, that power was hidden from plain hearing. A ordinary baby, the only sounds he could make were the same cries and mewls that any baby makes. And don't believe the Christmas carol. Jesus would have cried. He was an ordinary baby with the same needs as any other baby. Mary and Joseph probably suffered that same exhausting nights of trying to quiet the child while not having any idea what the problem was that so many parents have lived through. The powerful word of God, that spoke life into the world and brought eternal life to all people, became a human being, and for a while at least, a very vulnerable one.

The word Christmas reminds us of that powerful word. We celebrate in this mass or communion service the presence of Christ in amongst us. The word became flesh. Christmas starts with Christ not only in the technical wordy spelling sense, but in the truth that Christ first came to live among us and because of that great gift we have something stunning to celebrate. The powerful word among us gives us hope and calls us to follow him. And as the people who recognise Jesus Christ as the life bringing presence of God in the world, we have a responsibility.

As Christians we represent Christ to the rest of the world. We tell His story, especially at this time of year with our carol services and crib services and performances in schools. But it isn't only when we are storytelling or standing up in church that our words make a difference. Every word we speak to others represents God to them. If we speak a kind, loving or encouraging word, we show them the heart of God. If we speak a sharp, short tempered or judgemental word, we risk giving others the impression that our God is unpleasant, judgemental or vengeful. When we speak, with our voices or when we speak using a keyboard or a pen, as Christians our words always represent God to others. We can become the powerful word of God bringing healing and forgiveness. Jesus Christ can act through our words, if we let Him.

The powerful word of God brings light and life. This is the heart of the Christmas message. Yes, it is about a baby. But the point is that that baby was also, completely and wholly, the creator of the universe. That baby grew up and learned to speak and the word of God became the spoken word of a man. Sometimes you hear people saying 'if Jesus were around now, what would he say?' I once took part in a service with my youth congregation led by a colleague on the theme 'what would Jesus tweet?' But here's the thing that Christmas reminds us. The word of God is with us. Present tense. Admittedly not in the same way that He was present to the shepherds or the disciples, but present nevertheless. That presence, real and strong, through the Holy Spirit, is the reason why every one of us becomes the mouthpiece of God when we speak out. So watch your words! And listen to the words of others, because the word speaks in them too. Remember the great power of all that you say, write, tweet. Don't let fear of that responsibility silence you, but use your words well. Some times it will be your words that bring light, life encouragement or joy to someone. Whenever you do that you will be bringing the powerful word into the world again. You will be the Christmas messenger.

May God bless you all as the powerful word brings you life and hope this Christmas, and as you speak the powerful word of Christ to others. Happy Christmas.