A Christmas Message For Our World: The Rubik Cube

by Rev Sheila Hamil

As the preacher stood before his congregation, preaching about the birth of the Christ child, at his church’s annual Christingle service, he noticed a young boy, a twelve year old not paying the least bit of attention to his words at all.

The young lad had, lined up in front of him on the pew shelf, no less than nine different Rubik cubes to play with, to keep him ‘quiet’ during the service. The boy’s concentration at the best of times wasn’t perfect, not even in his class at school, and of course his mother had wanted to make sure that everyone else in church could listen to the preacher, without disruption, for she knew her son had an attention deficiency. She was in fact being thoughtful and considerate, she knew others would want to hear the preacher’s words.

The preacher stopped his address in full flow, as he watched the boy perform. He discerned that this particular child had a very special gift, uniquely so, and he called out to the boy and asked him to join him, and to bring his cubes with him.

With the boy’s permission, he invited nine random members of the congregation to take a Rubik cube each, and twist it in such a way as to make it extremely difficult to solve. They were happy to do so, and each cube was handed back to the boy and placed in front of him on a table.

He then challenged the boy, to see how many Rubik cubes he could solve by the time he had finished talking.

The mother breathed a sigh of relief. She knew her son was a little genius in so many different ways, and she was so relieved he was not going to be reprimanded for not paying attention.

The preacher continued to speak as the challenge began, and the boy’s nimble fingers went to work as soon as he heard the word, “Go!”.

The preacher said,

“We as ordinary people must surely realise by now, that we cannot solve the world’s problems by our own efforts.” he said. They’re far too vast, too complicated, far too impossible for even the most intelligent of minds to solve, so we have no hope, no answers, no solutions. By our own efforts, as nine people have shown us, we only make things worse and complicate matters even more.

We have become aimless, hopeless, despairing people, fumbling around in the darkness, refusing to admit that we are truly lost.

We know we need a light, but we refuse to go searching for it. Even if it is put before us on a table, we tell ourselves we don’t need it, and then we can’t understand how we still remain in the dark.

What we need some creative genius to solve our puzzle, someone to save us from ourselves, and light the way we need to go when we’ve gone off kilter; to mould us into a more perfect way to live our lives. . . for we have, if we’re honest, all gone our own selfish ways, and it has brought our world nothing but chaos. We have forgotten how to love, and show real consideration and compassion for others.

We have exchanged our peace for disputes and war.

God sent His only Son, Jesus, into the world, to be our light, to restore order and bring hope to our troubled world.

He is the Light of the world, the best way out from our tunnel of deep darkness, and he is here to lead us out, into his glorious light, into a world that was meant to be ours from the beginning.

It still could be, if we allow ourselves be handled and shaped and perfected by God!”
The preacher and the boy finished the challenge at exactly the same time, miraculously so, and they looked at each other and smiled.

Poem: The Rubik Cube, by my daughter, Sarah

Take a moment this Christmas to think what’s God’s done.

by giving this world his only Son,

who gives peace in our trouble, and joy when it’s tough,
and a love for all those who haven’t enough.

It’s not just a story to keep on the shelf,

You could pray, find God, think less about self.

He wants to be with you in all you do.
To help on life’s journey, to see the way through.

Find a moment of peace from the jumble and strife,

and let it sink in, this message of life.

Then like the Rubrik, it will soon become clear,
That if you believe, there’s no need to fear.

He’s closer than close, come offer a prayer,
And God will be with you each day of the year.

A Christmas Poem by John Bell (1745-1831)
Light looked down and saw the darkness.

I will go there’, said light.

Peace looked down and saw war.

‘I will go there’, said peace.
Love looked down and saw hatred.

‘I will go there’, said love.

So he,

the Lord of Light,

the Prince of Peace

the King of Love
came down and crept in beside us.

Song: IN THE BEGINNING sung by Wallsend Central Middle School (my former pupils)