Busy day today, so only a quick thought…

[Thinks about Aston Martins]

There, did you find that helpful?

Maybe it’s just me, but I find that all sorts of random thoughts pass through my mind in a day, and only a small percentage of them materialise into something vaguely meaningful. I feel sad for the thoughts that don’t make it, the ones that only put in a fleeting appearance in my conscious (or worse still, subconscious) mind and then are lost forever.

They are like the people who audition for one of these TV talent shows and don’t make it through to the televised stages. Or sportsmen and women who are good enough to have a trial, but are not picked.

Or what about the people who were a part of Jesus’ birth narrative but did not make it into the final edit of the gospels? Was there a Mrs Innkeeper (there often is now in nativity plays) who had run out of clean bed linen and had told her husband not to admit anyone else? Were there sheep owners (often shepherds were hired to look after the community’s sheep) who heard of the desertion and wanted an explanation? How did Mary’s Mum cope with the news that her daughter was pregnant and was claiming that there was no father?

I reckon most of us would not have made the final edit of the gospels. But that does not mean that we are insignificant or unimportant. Not to God. Not to Jesus. Just because you are not in the headlines does not mean you are not an important part of the narrative.

The ‘no room’ inn means that ‘God with us’ was born in the most humble of circumstances – entirely appropriate for his lifestyle. The sheep owners had to entrust their sheep to the rough and ready shepherds so that they could hear from the angels on the remote hillside and the least-regarded people of society could be the first to visit Jesus. Mary’s family must have been torn apart by the news, which is probably why she was sent to stay with her relative Elizabeth and we now have the Magnificat as a result (Luke 1:46-55) as a wonderful expression of praise to God.

You matter. No matter how insignificant you think you are.

Be blessed, be a blessing.