Merry Crispmas

Here's an attempt to retell the Christmas story using crisps, like you do. Any feedback would be helpful, as it's still in the baking stage! First outing will be this weekend. The crisps themselves are in a pile in my study: the trick will be laying them out in the right order, or it could easily turn into Tommy Coopers hat story. 

Crisps – Christmas talk 2015

How does Good King Wenceslas like his Pizza?

Deep pan, crisp and even

Something amazing has happened. The world has changed, it has a whole new flavour.

The one who made everybody, now has a body

The one who made the sun bites into food

The one true God, the real McCoy, was born as a child, to show us the way to live, and the way to God.

Let me tell you how it happened.

One day, in a quiet village in Israel, to a young woman called Mary

An angel appeared from nowhere

Mary quavered

‘Don’t be afraid’ said the angel, you’ve been chosen, you’ll be the mother of God’s own son,

he’ll be a Sensation, he will save people, some people will think he’s nuts but he’ll be God’s promised king, the one everyone has been waiting for.

Fast forward 9 months, and there’s a new tax, set by the government, which hits the poor hardest. Sounds familiar.  Everyone has to Walker long way, to their place of birth, to register and pay.

From Nazareth, where Mary and Joseph lived, to Bethlehem, was a journey of 80 miles. On foot. Pregnant. They were pretty frazzled when they got to Josephs town of Bethlehem.

They knocked at the first Door it o pened onto a full house: no room here. And again, and again.

The Bible says that Jesus was born and put in a manger, a feeding trough for animals. Often people kept their animals in a section of their house overnight. Maybe the innkeeper, with all the guest room full, invited Mary and Joseph into his house, to stay as personal guests. You know how a crisp packet can feel full, but in fact there’s lots of space? It’s like that with us, our lives are full of stuff, but like the innkeeper there’s always room for Jesus.

Lets add a bit more flavour to the story:  shepherds on a hill outside Bethlehem. Salt of the earth. Watching over their lambs. Chilli in the night air. Maybe bacon something over a fire.  Night security men, not much of a steak in the world of the powerful.

But they soon turned chicken. A light appeared in the sky. Wotsit doing? it’s getting closer, it’s getting brighter, it’s… angels! ‘don’t be afraid’, said the angels, as they quavered too. Good news, your saviour is born down there in Bethlehem, Jesus, the King.

So they skipped off to see the child and worship, and spread the news.

Meanwhile far to the east, men who studied the stars saw a strange sign in the sky: Saturn – the planet of Israel, close to Jupiter – planet of kings, So close they looked like a single star. A new king in Israel? There were great stories, great prophecies. So they packed up gifts – not nick nacks , but great treasures, and set out across the deep ridged desert.

Many weeks later, Dry and roasted by the sun, they reached the royal palace in Jerusalem. This is where you’d find a king. But not the right king. This was the palace of Herod, who had his own family killed when they looked like being more popular than he was. Herod was a monster, munch-en (mention) a new king and he’d not be happy.

Herod hoped the wise men wouldn’t Twig: ‘let me know where he is so that I can worship him too.’ But they weren’t called wise men for nothing, and they kept Jesus a secret.

Just a few miles further, and the star showed them where Jesus was. They gave him gifts: incense, myrrh, and Gold, in Wonder at this child. the promised king. The Son of God.

What are crisps made from? (potatoes)

Put 1 small potato in the ground, it grows and makes loads more. And so from that small beginning, now the .Christmas story is told all over the world, and millions of people know Jesus, follow him, love him. All sorts of shapes and sizes and flavours. Jesus, God’s gift to the world.

We’ve discovered that Jesus is worth all we can give, the love of Mary, the faithfulness of Joseph, the excitement of the shepherds, the song of the angels, the precious gifts of the wise men.

The truth is crisp

Christ

Really

Is

Someone

Precious

This Christmas, taste, and see for yourself.