I write this with recollections from a few days ago of a local Primary school's 'Christmas Celebration', in which through dramatic word and song, not to mention a few carols as well, the traditional Christmas story was presented in our local church (for the school has the good fortune to be a church school).

The production was called 'Holy Joe', to focus very much on Joseph's part in all these events, though none of the other characters was omitted in the process. I thought of the habit in the time of J S Bach for the local choir and musicians, under his direction, to present the words of the New Testament accounts of significant events in song and music. 'Holy Joe' was not baroque of course, but contemporary, but there was a time when baroque was 'contemporary', so I think the great composer would have approved.

What came through strongly from the dramatic presentation of the events was the human response to it all. It was made stronger in impact (to my mind at least) because the actors were eleven years old or younger. Likewise the choir. So none of them had the inhibitions most adults have. This is a powerful factor in gripping the audience with material where there is nothing novel or unexpected.

So here we had the representation of a young man, a carpenter, with skills and a position of value in his local community, whose family have agreed with another local family for him to be engaged to their teenage daughter. And now he hears that she is already pregnant. In those times, and in that community, betrothal was as binding as marriage, and so to have become pregnant before the culmination of the process into formal marriage vows was deemed as disgraceful adultery. But Joseph was a 'just man, and unwilling to put her to shame', and so resolved to bring the engagement to an end 'quietly', as the best way to extricate himself from a terrible predicament.

And then he has a dream.

What do you do with dreams? Rationalise them? Assume that you have just eaten too much cheese with your evening meal? There must have been something very compelling about this dream, but it still takes a huge amount of courage to obey the instruction given in the dream to go ahead and marry the lass, for something well outside of normal human experience has taken place to cause this conception. It takes courage to obey an instruction that has all the potential for local disgrace to two families. God needs people with courage to accomplish good things.

Or consider the bride-to-be. There you are, alone with some household task indoors, and suddenly you find a shining being addressing you. This shining figure tells you that you are a 'highly favoured' one, and that 'God is with you.' You are 'greatly troubled at these words and wonder what kind of greeting this might be.' It gets worse. The messenger has more than a few simple words of encouragement: 'You will be with child and will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.'

The protest is natural: 'How will this be, since I am a virgin?'

Would you, dear reader, believe the answer we know she got? 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.' Would you have the courage to believe this? You are not daft; you know what all the villagers will say, and how could your fiancé be expected to believe a tale as extraordinary as this. All the difficulties are flooding through your mind, all the imagined repercussions, all the inevitable problems and difficulties. But if you do have the courage then it is possible to say: 'I am the Lord's servant. May it be to me as you have said.'

God needs people with courage ...

So this Christmas I thank God for all those who in the long ago past, and down through time, have had the courage to believe what God has told them, and so to become part of His plan. He may have plans for me too, nothing on this scale of course, but perhaps some little things I may be entrusted with. May I too have courage.