23/12/01 6 p.m. Carol Service

Tennessee Williams's 1931 story "Something by Tolstoi" is about Jacob Brodzky, a shy Russian Jew whose father owned a bookstore. The older Brodzky wanted his son to go to college. The boy, on the other hand, desired nothing but to marry Lila, his childhood sweetheart -- a French girl as outgoing, vital, and ambitious as he was contemplative and retiring. A couple of months after young Brodzky went to college, his father fell ill and died. The son returned home, buried his father, and married his love. Then the couple moved into the flat above the bookstore, and Brodzky took over its management. The life of books fit him perfectly, but it cramped her. She wanted more adventure - and she found it, she thought, when she met an agent who praised her beautiful singing voice and enticed her to tour Europe with a vaudeville company. Brodzky was devastated. At their parting, he reached into his pocket and handed her the key to the front door of the bookstore.

"You had better keep this," he told her, "because you will want it some day. Your love is not so much less than mine that you can escape from it. You will come back sometime, and I will be waiting." She kissed him and left. To escape the pain he felt, Brodzky withdrew deep into his bookstore and took to reading as someone else might have taken to drink. He spoke little, did little, and could usually be found at the large desk near the rear of the shop, immersed in his books while he waited for his love to return.

Nearly 15 years after they parted, at Christmastime, she did return. But when Brodzky rose from the reading desk that had been his place of escape for all that time, he did not take the love of his life for more than an ordinary customer. "Do you want a book?" he asked.

That he didn't recognise her startled Lila. But she gained control of herself and replied, "I want a book, but I've forgotten the name of it." Then she told him a story of childhood sweethearts. A story of a newly married couple who lived in a flat above a bookstore. A story of a young, ambitious wife who left to seek a career, who enjoyed great success but could never relinquish the key her husband gave her when they parted. She told him the story she thought would awaken him.

But his face showed no recognition. Gradually she realised that he had lost touch with his heart's desire, that he no longer knew the purpose of his waiting and grieving, that now all he remembered was the waiting and grieving itself. "You remember it; you must remember it - the story of Lila and Jacob?"

After a long, bewildered pause, he said, "There is something familiar about the story, I think I have read it somewhere. It comes to me that it is something by Tolstoi." Dropping the key, she fled the shop. And Brodzky returned to his desk, to his reading, unaware that the love he waited for had come and gone.

This reminds us how easy it is to miss love when it comes. We live in a world where people say that they want love yet when it comes they cannot recognise it or accept it. Perhaps, like Brodzky they become distracted, or maybe have ceased to care about what was once their hearts desire.

God loves you and me ! There is nothing you can to do make God love you more! There is nothing you can do to make God love you less ! His love is Unconditional, Impartial, Everlasting, Infinite, Perfect ! Christmas is about God showing his love to us, a love so great He became a baby.

Many of you will know that last Christmas we had just had Chloe, our second child and my favourite daughter. Like most babies she cried and required sleep, milk, changing and wheeling around in her buggy. She still requires sleep, changing, and milk, but now industriously feeds herself solid foods, speaks - as well as cries, laughs - especially at her brother, walks and crawls around. Babies grow up, and Jesus wasn't a baby for long either. He grew to become a man, the best man ever to walk the earth. He came so that we may know what God is like, and so we can be restored to a right relationship with God.

I heard it said, quite recently, that Christmas is about trying to be nice to people and live peacefully with them. But Christmas is a time of the year when domestic violence soars. Burglaries increase by a third. The events of September 11th remind us of the evil that is in people. An evil that cannot be wiped out by bombs and guns.

The truth is that Christmas had to happen because people do not love God enough and cannot love one another all of the time. These failures kill our relationship with God, just as Lila's ambition, and Jacob's introspection killed their relationship.

The human race needed someone to put them right with God, to show them the right way to live and to give the power to live that way. Jesus is that person.

In our second monologue we heard how Jesus was sacrificed to pay the price of our sin.

On the cross Jesus took the punishment that we deserve for every wrong thing that we have ever done, and every right thing that we have failed to do. If we accept his gift of himself, born at Christmas, crucified and raised from death at Easter, we can be free. Free to know God as our best friend, free to follow his ways empowered by His Spirit living in us. We have a choice to make. If we decide to follow him this will bring love from God, a love to share with others. It will bring peace, joy, forgiveness and a reason for living.

Eric was big for his seven years. Everyone wondered what role the teacher would give him in the annual Christmas Nativity play. Especially as he was also a slow learner. Perhaps he could pull the curtain. To everyone's surprise the teacher gave Eric the role of the innkeeper. The boy of course was delighted. After all, all he had to learn was one line: "There is no room in the inn." He learned that in no time.
Then came the night for the play. The parents took their places. Every seat in the auditorium was filled. The children entered singing "Oh come all ye faithful." The lights dimmed. A hush descended upon the audience. The curtain opened on Scene One. Mary and Joseph entered the stage and walked up to the inn. "Please sir, my wife is pregnant and due to give birth soon. Could we have a room for the night?"

Eric was ready for his line. He had rehearsed it all night. He began, "There is..." and he hesitated. He started over again. "There is..." and again his mind went completely blank. Everyone was embarrassed for him but poor Eric just didn't know what to do. Joseph thought he would improvise and started walking away toward the stable on stage left. Seeing him walking away Eric in desperation called out: "Look, there's plenty of room at my house, just come to my home with me."

The might seem funny but also shocking to us because the Christmas story is a familiar one to many, perhaps so well known that we ignore it. That is why I included the two monologues. They remind us that the Christmas story affected people personally some two thousand years ago. But Jesus is still affecting millions of people all over the world today.

What do we want to do with Jesus, God's gift of love, this Christmas? Not recognise or acknowledge it like Jacob Brodzky ? Look at it for a short while and then pack it away with the tree, the light and the tinsel for another year ?

The story of Jesus is about his rejection. In this Christmas story King Herod, the religious leaders and the innkeeper all rejected him. But we do not have to follow them and the millions since. We can be like Eric and invite Jesus into our lives.

If you want to do that this evening you can, simply by saying a silent prayer to God. There will be the opportunity to do that in a few moments time.

Having just had a second child I know what planning this entails and how it disrupts your life. If you are a bit unsure about taking this step, but want a chance to find our more we can help you.

We are running an 'Alpha Course' starting next month. This is an opportunity for anyone to explore the Christian faith in a relaxed, non-threatening manner over eleven, thought-provoking weekly sessions. It's low key, friendly and fun. There are more than seven thousand Alpha courses running in churches of all denominations in the UK. More than 2 million people worldwide have found it a worthwhile experience. Some of them were featured on ITV's 'Alpha: Will It Change Their Lives'. If you would like to come, or find out more about this please take one of the leaflets at the back of church. If you do decide to come, it would be helpful if you could let me know beforehand.

For those who want to invite Jesus into their lives this Christmas I will say a prayer. there will be a pause after each line during which you can repeat this prayer to God in the silence of your heart. He will hear you and will come to live in you by His Spirit. This will bring you forgiveness, love, joy peace, hope and a reason for living.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus,

Thank you for leaving the glory of heaven to be born in a stable,

Thank you for showing me how to live

I am sorry for the times I have failed to live up to your perfect standards,

Thank you that you died for my sins on the cross,

I now turn away from all I know to be wrong and ask for your forgiveness.

I invite you into my life

Please give me the love, peace, joy and hope I need to follow you.

Amen.

If you have just prayed that prayer please let me know before you leave tonight so that I can help you to grow in your relationship with Jesus.