Christingle Talk
This is a Christingle. A man called Johannes, who was a Church Minister in Germany, invented it 250 years ago. Johannes wanted to find the very simplest way to explain the meaning of Christmas. He came up with this. We’re still doing it today because it is brilliant. When we understand the meaning of Christmas, we can celebrate even more, because it is the best news. Every part of it, reminds us of one part of Christmas. Did you realise, today we’re doing several things at once? It’s an amazing story, the most amazing story of all, and it starts at the very beginning of time, and goes all the way up to right this very minute, and into the future too. And what’s more, we’re all in it. Every single one of us is included in this amazing story. And the Christingles help us to remember and tell the story. That story was God’s own son, Jesus. At the very first Christmas, God gave us his one and only precious son, Jesus Christ. And God didn’t just give that special gift to Mary and Joseph and the Shepherds and Wise Men, he gave it to everyone, forever. God gave his son to you, and you, and you, and me, and everybody.
Orange- this is the world God made the world and everything in it. Because he made it, he is King over it. He rules over every bit of the earth. Our wonderful world is God’s.
Sticks and the Sweets- these are the good things in the world. These four sticks are the 4 seasons. Each season is full of good things. God made the world so good. Crammed full of good things.
So, each of the sweets is just one good thing that God has given us. Now God has given us hundreds of good things, you might like to think of good things God has given you as you put on the sweets.
He has given me: In the beginning God made the world perfect. There wasn’t a single thing in it that was wrong or bad. Just right. He filled it with good things.
All of these good things are given to us to enjoy. It’s just endless, isn’t it, all the good things we have. You think what good things the sweets will remind you of.
Autumn Winter Spring Summer
Sweet 1. Beautiful leaves turning Golden Warm houses to live in. New life animals of every type Sun shining
Sweet 2 Fireworks Food that gives us the energy we need Flowers of every colour Fun and laughter
Sweet 3 Brothers and Sisters Healthy bodies to enjoy Mums and Dads who love us Friends to play with
Candle
Now the candle isn’t lit, it’s not shining a light into the world. Although the world is full of good things, it is people who spoil it. We’re not as bad as we could be. We’re not awful. But we’re not how God first made us to be. In the way we treat others, in the way we think and speak about others, in the way we treat God. We don’t let him rule over us. When the candle isn’t lit, it’s dark. We don’t like darkness. Without having God ruling us, without being friends with him isn’t good, it’s not the best way for things to be. It’s like living in darkness.
However, Jesus is the light of the world.
John 1: 4 says, “In him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness.” Jesus shows us what God is like. Jesus never got anything wrong, he never did anything bad, he was just perfect.
He brings light into the world. He shows us how we should live. At Christmas, it’s when we remember Jesus coming into the world. Jesus was actually born over 2000 years ago in Bethlehem. He is the light of the world. Jesus was the only human ever to have lived as a true friend of God, the only person who could be allowed to live with God forever. When he died, he was dying in our place.
Red Ribbon
Jesus didn’t just live a good life so that we could learn how to. This ribbon is the same colour as blood to show that Jesus Love and Sacrifice for us. We can now be friends of God Living in His wonderful world, with all the good things Living in the light by trusting Jesus. But Jesus wasn’t only a light for the people who were around when he was alive on earth. He is a light for all of us today. Jesus is the light which shines in our world, and in our lives and in our hearts, and drives away the darkness of all the bad things in our lives. And no matter how bad something might seem, there is never anything too dark for the light of Jesus to overcome.
The foil around the candle has two important functions
It’s there to catch the drips!
As Christians we are there to catch the drips. To look after the drips of the world, to look after the things of the world for which God has given his people the responsibility, His creation. There is a Swiss watch advert which tells the readers that they will never actually own this particular brand of watch, they will merely look after it for the next generation.
That’s how it is with us and the creation that God has entrusted to us; we are to look after it for the next generation. He has given us the world and all that is in it so we can look after it, especially the places and people that no one want to look after.
The foil has another function too. It’s there to reflect the candle light,
Just as we are called to reflect the light of Christ. If the foil was a perfectly flat mirror, then it would reflect the light perfectly. But it’s not, it’s a bit crumpled. As humans, we’re not perfect, were a bit crumpled, and the image of Christ we reflect may not always be perfect in the way that we’d wish. But we are created in God’s image, and we reflect the glory of His Son Jesus.
Not only created in His image, to reflect His glory, but being continually transformed, changed, by that same glory, into His likeness. As we reflect more and more of his image into the world, we become more like Him.
If others see the light of Christ in us, they may be drawn to Him. A light which we reflect in our lives now and all the year through.
