‘Small Wonder’

As the last month of the year unfolds, fairy lights appear in windows, carols spill softly through shop doors, and the familiar hum of Christmas returns. Small wonder, that amid the glitter and grandeur, there’s a quieter story to rediscover — one that reminds us that the truest magic of Christmas is not in what dazzles the eyes, but in what stirs the heart.

The first Christmas was, after all, a small wonder. A child, born not in a palace but in a stable; wrapped not in luxury, but in love. There were no parades, no grand announcements — only a star, a few shepherds, and the gentle awe of a mother holding her newborn Son. It was a moment of divine simplicity, an eternal reminder that Kingship can be seen in servanthood.

Small wonder that in our fast-paced world, it’s easy to equate the season with abundance — of gifts, of gatherings, of glittering expectations. But when we slow down, when we really look, we find the true meaning of Christmas thrives in the smallest of places: a handwritten note tucked into a card, a shared laugh over a mug of coffee, a quiet act of kindness unnoticed by most.

“Small wonder” is more than our Christmas theme at St Michael’s this year — it’s a way of seeing. It’s pausing long enough to notice the frost on a windowpane, the joy in a child’s eyes, or the calm that comes when we take a deep breath. It’s realising that the true meaning of Christmas can’t be wrapped or bought — it’s felt, experienced, and given freely.

This season, may we choose to see through the lens of small wonder. May we marvel again at the ordinary miracles around us — the warmth of friendship, the comfort of family, the enduring hope that Jesus’ light can, and does, drive away darkness.

Because Christmas has never been about big things. It’s about one small, shining wonder — Jesus, and the way He continues to illuminate the world, one heart at a time.

Have a ‘wonderful’ Christmas and a peaceful new year,

Revd Canon Simon Jones, Vicar St Michael’s Stoke Gifford

Posted in Uncategorised