In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. 

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. 

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.’ 

LUKE 2:1-12

—

In two days’ time it will be Christmas Day. How are you feeling?  

I love nearly everything about Christmas – the sights, the sounds, the smells, and especially the nostalgia it brings. As a child, I now realise, the joy of Christmas wasn’t just about the gifts or the celebrations – it was about feeling known, safe, and cared for. Those moments of plenty and togetherness, wrapped in love, aren’t merely happy memories. They point me back to something deeper: a yearning for identity, belonging, and wholeness. 

This yearning is woven into the fabric of the Christmas story. Luke’s Gospel recounts the remarkable circumstances of Jesus’ birth. Born to a teenage mother and a father who wasn’t biologically his own, Jesus was placed in a feeding trough because the guest room (kataluma) was full.  

The first to greet him weren’t society’s elite but shepherds and Magi (astrologers/astronomers), people often regarded as marginal figures and outsiders. And yet, this child – born into humble, even precarious circumstances – is the one who brings ultimate security and fulfils their deepest longings. 

While nostalgia is sometimes dismissed as a distraction from the true meaning of Christmas, the psychiatrist Prof Glynn Harrison has recently encouraged me to see how it can actually help us discover it. Nostalgia, derived from the Greek words nostos (return) and algos (pain), is a feeling of wistful longing for a past time or place – a sense of belonging and peace that is yearned for but absent. 

Jesus’ humble birth speaks to the pain and brokenness of our human condition (the world is not as it should be), but it also shows us the way to wholeness. The worship of the shepherds and Magi foreshadows the homecoming offered to us all in Christ. This child is the Saviour, Messiah, and Lord who reconciles us to God and to one another. In the words of the angels, this is ‘good news of great joy for all the people’ (Luke 2:10). 

So, this Christmas, let nostalgia do its work. Let it guide us not away from but into the heart of the season – to the Saviour who brings peace, love, and the promise of true belonging. And let’s resolve to be bearers of this good news for all people, wherever God has placed us. 

On behalf of everyone at LICC, we wish you great joy this Christmas and always.

Paul Woolley 
CEO, LICC 

What do your neighbours or colleagues long for this Christmas, and how might welcoming the Christ child satisfy their nostalgia? 

If you’d like to support LICC’s Christmas appeal, you can do so here. We are so grateful to all who are partnering with us in the whole-life mission.  

Join Paul Woolley, Grace Fielding, and special guest Nick Page on the latest episode of The Whole Life Podcast as they bust some Christmas myths.