The Rev. Andrew Patterson, Chaplain at Hexham Hospital, comments on Luke 1 v 26 - 38:

This year’s Nativity at Whitley Chapel has mostly been put together on video.

Shepherds and kings (and a queen) have had great fun putting the scenes together at home with the help of their parents.

The results are beautiful and sometimes hilarious.

This is Hexhamshire: there are many sheep and cattle (and a camel).

There’s a Holy Family too. It is easy to think this is just a story for children; I think we need to look a little deeper.

The Bible teaches us that God chose a young boy, David, to be king over his people, and David was a shepherd.

What if the flocks of Judea were guarded by gangs of little boys, noisy, cheeky and brave, out in the fields armed with nothing more than stones to protect the sheep from predators.?

And what of Mary, who is the focus of Sunday’s reading? Does it matter that we think of her a little more than a child?

The Bible provides us with a contrast by way of illumination, in the story of Sarah, already approaching old age, who laughed in disbelief when God’s messengers told Abraham her husband that she would give birth to a son.

Mary too found it hard to accept the message of the angel, ‘How can this be?’ but believed, and accepted God’s purpose for her even though she knew this could put her in great danger.

The young people I know are hopeful, positive, and resilient. Their hope has not been blunted by disappointment; they are not cynical or weary.

Christmas teaches me that God chose the young to bring his good news into the world; good news for those who receive it and believe. It is a story of faith and hope; this Christmas we need faith and hope as much as ever.