We
light the candle of Love
Love comes, as love always comes,
where a heart opens to another
where I see you and a connection sparks in the space between us.
Love is our daily bread and our festive cake
Love is who you are, Father of Jesus
Be born in us, more space for love.
We light the candle of Joy
Ah, joy! Come with lightness, come with laughter!
Stop us from our being too self important.
Surprise us,
lift us out of worry and gloom.
Generous God, give us joy this Christmas,
joy for the giving away;
be born in us, we pray. Amen
We light the candle of Peace
When fear prowls the night and anxieties crowd the day
peace is a half-remembered gentleness, of kinder times.
We light this candle for peace,
peace in our minds, peace in our homes, peace in our world.
God of grace, make us safe in ourselves
that we might be safe space for others.
Be born in us, we pray. Amen.
Today's Gospel reading is about the shepherds in the field near Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.The great announcement is made and the shepherds respond,
entering the stable which has now become a holy place with the Christ-child
born to bring God’s message to all people and to win for us eternal life. It is
the most massive change, that God should come into this world in physical form,
from timeless eternity into this constantly changing world. From a place of
harmony and peace to a planet of uncertainty and suffering.
On Christmas Eve we heard the announcement that a deal
has been agreed between the European Union and the United Kingdom. After a
tortuous process of negotiation, accord was finally reached. Even now our
politicians will be examining the 2000-page document to check the terms on
which our trading relationship will be based. It feels like a very big change,
but compared to happenings 2000 years ago it is small. Yes, God’s will is that
we live in peace and harmony, which I hope this will facilitate, but the divine
perspective must be that for the moral and personal lives of people it is relatively
modest.
The ongoing challenge of the virus has also changed our
way of living, at least for the time being. Hopefully the vaccinations will soon
bring about a way of life where we can interact more normally again. With the
ongoing infection, hospitalisation and death rates being reported daily we can
see that this is very significant for individuals, families and our nation. I
don’t say this lightly, it is wretched. And yet while it feels like such a long
time it is less than one year so far, and we are at a stage in history where we
have been able to develop remedies very rapidly – just as that very science,
facilitating air travel and global trade, has assisted the rapid spread of the
virus.
God’s love is for all people, always; that is unchanging.
It has been revealed to us by Emmanuel, God With Us. We speak of Jesus’ birth
as the Incarnation, where God takes on this frail mortal flesh to fulfil the
mission to bring us back to himself, and to save us from the consequences of
our sin. When Jesus speaks, he speaks from the Father, and in sacrificing
himself when rejected by cruel and prejudiced people he brought the hope of
eternal life to people for all ages. Ultimately, this is the big deal, the
game-changer. O come let us adore him….with those shepherds of old.
The newspapers have been full of headlines using
Christmas songs, amended to suit the current situation. George Michael’s “Lost
Christmas” and Bing Crosby’s “It’s beginning to look a lot like lockdown”. I
fancy Chris Rea singing “Not driving home for Christmas”. Elvis, of course, who
began the rock and roll revolution had already recorded “Blue Christmas” long
ago.
Christians, of course, have often lamented that the true
meaning of the festival can be lost amidst the ever-increasing number of events
and purchases attached to it. It brings no pleasure to suggest that this year
the process has been reversed definitively. Even for the faithful, celebration
is cut back to a minimum along with travel and family get-togethers.
There is a strong tradition in our carols of peace, and
of silence. “Silent night” is perhaps the most obvious, and it is silent
because it is a holy night, an exceptional time of remembering and valuing
God’s great, ultimate gift of his Son Jesus. Can we recognise the Holy in this
world of confusion and uncertainty? Our true joy at this time is that “with the
poor and mean and lowly, lived on earth our Saviour holy”.
The birth of Jesus was a quiet event, hardly noticed by
the people in the town. The visitors in the Bible are important, representing
ordinary people and people across the world, but the event was very low-key. God’s
way is accomplished in ordinary, or reduced circumstances, integral with normal
human life. The carol Once in royal David’s city underlines this, perhaps using
a deliberate contrast between the leaders of this world and the mass of people
to whom Jesus came, and brings a hush with “How silently, how silently, the
wondrous gift is given; So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his
heaven.”
This Christmas almost all of us are in a position where
our celebration is limited. For some people this will cause pain and anguish
which no amount of reassurance will entirely mitigate, so I don’t say this
lightly. There is a peace in the Christmas story which says that God loves us
so much that he sent his Son (John 3.16) and if we can find the way of
refocussing we can locate within ourselves a fresh trust and hope in the God
who comes to us in all our complexities and suffering. It doesn’t need to be a
Lost Christmas, for the wonderful truth is that in all our need God has come
and found us.
God has come to us in
the midst of our distress.
In the middle of our loneliness and despair,
God has sent us a sign of his love.
Into a world filled with hopelessness and anxiety,
God comes to us in the hopeful form of new life and new
birth.
Christ came to be the
light in a dark world.
Christ came to show
us love in the midst of fear
Christ came to bring
life in the midst of death.
The cross and the nativity remind us that Christ did not come to be a cute baby
but, in the midst of suffering and poverty, he brings healing and wholeness.
Christ came to
preach, teach, heal, suffer and die.
Jesus on the cross hangs over our altars,
The cross hovers over the nativity of the Christ child.
Christ did not come to reward us for being good,
But to save us from ourselves and to give us eternal life.
When we realise this, we are ready to celebrate with true joy and celebration
‘For unto us a child is born, who is Christ the Lord’. Hallelujah.
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Dear God, we pray for all people who feel lost in the dark in this life.
Be near to those who feel sad, feel alone,
Give light to those who cry out to you, Lord Jesus, we pray.
You have given your people great joy;
they rejoice in what you have done.
Dear God, we pray for families everywhere this Christmas time, that there will be real joy in every home. May every child feel that they are loved this Christmas, and every older person feel that they are loved.
For a child is born to us! A son is given. He will be called, “Wonderful Counsellor,” “Mighty God,” “Eternal
Father,” “Prince of Peace.”
Dear God, we pray for peace for our world, healing and safety in this time of virus.
May people everywhere find true peace and wholeness.
His authority shall grow continually and there shall be endless peace
This we pray, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Stella Granville
'You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you
are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of
the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and
he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never
end.’ Luke 1:31-33
When does an ordinary life
Become extraordinary
An mundane day
Become revolutionary
A moment in time
Change history?
When God enters in
Forgives sin
Allows us to
Begin again
When we repeat
Those words of Mary
‘May it be to me
As you say’
'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. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old
age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is
impossible with God.'
"I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered.
"May it be to me as you have said." Luke 1:35-38
Lord God, you choose the very least
And raise us up to greatness
For nothing is impossible with God
You take the weak, the poor and blind
And raise us out of darkness
For nothing is impossible with God
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the God of gods.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
His love endures forever.
Teach us obedience, Lord
In every part of our lives
Ears to hear your word
Hands to do your work
Feet to walk your path
A heart for all your people
A mouth to shout your praise
A childlike faith
Humility
Confidence
That says
To the possible
And the impossible
I am the Lord's servant
May it be to me as you have said.
Amen John
Birch
Jupiter and Saturn will be aligned tonight at 5.00pm in a
rare occurrence, the previous time being 400 years ago. Together they will look
considerably brighter than planets normally appear in the night sky. This
conjunction has been referred to by some as the Star of Bethlehem, which is a
bright idea but hardly likely to be literally true. It might seem great to
confirm spiritual truths with scientific verification but we should be very
wary of that idea. After all, if this idea was somehow shown to be correct, it wouldn’t
necessarily affirm the Christmas story.
The alignment of planets, the phases of the moon,
eclipses and comets have always intrigued people and it is a valuable
scientific endeavour to understand the universe. I am looking forward to finding
our more from two of my grandchildren who are beginning to show a keen interest
in the planets and the stars. However, attaching meaning to what we see in the
sky is another matter entirely, and just how planets moving round the sun can
influence my day-to-day experiences, as astrology suggests, is impossible to
comprehend.
The Star of Bethlehem is suggested in The First Nowell as
coming to “stop and stay, right o’er the place where Jesus lay”. It’s a
delightful picture and in a poetic way it invokes the travellers being guided
to the infant Christ. However, our sun is a star, a furnace over 93 million
miles away, and we really wouldn’t want a star any closer than that, despite
our current low temperatures in Hertford.
Looking out of the window, I suspect that Jupiter and
Saturn will be obscured by clouds tonight, alas. It could be a picture of our
understanding. I do believe that the birth and life of Jesus is written into
the fabric of the universe, for we believe the incarnation to be the central
pivot of God’s revelation to us, and since he is light in the darkness then
being led by light to the holy birth seems a wonderful picture.
Sometimes our own vision is so limited, we forget the
wider picture, we let the clouds block us out. The clouds can be our own
misunderstandings or personal issues which prevent us from worshipping and
loving Jesus, the true Light of the World. In these troubled, uncertain times,
we need to let the light of Christ shine in our lives, for our own souls’ sake
and that we can bring light to others who also find clouds preventing them from
knowing the love of God among us, full of grace and truth.
2020 really has been
a time that has driven up for many a sense of fear and anxiety.
‘Fear Not’ is used
365 times in the Bible and we become particularly aware of its important
reassurance as it is a phrase often used during the Christmas Story. ‘Fear Not’
Mary is told by the angel, when she is invited to give birth to Jesus. Joseph
is told in a dream that convinces him to stay faithful to Mary, ‘Fear Not’. The
Shepherds in the fields are told by the angels, not to be afraid when they are
greeted with the good news of the Messiah’s birth.
There were many
reasons to be afraid in the Christmas story. Who wouldn’t be afraid when life
seemed out of control and way beyond normal expectations: Mary, being away from
home with nowhere to stay and about to give birth? Who wouldn’t be afraid
living in an occupied country with a tyrant like Herod in charge and life being
so precarious? And this is just the
fearful, anxiety-ridden, life and death situation into which Jesus is born. Not
a place of peace and stability but into a desperate, needy world.
He was born and there
was no room for him, he was born into poverty, loneliness, disease, and extreme
danger, with death always at hand.
Christ comes to be
with us in all our fears and anxieties, born into a dangerous world, and he grew
to be a man who had to face suffering and death himself.
This is God, coming to
live alongside us, within us, to bring us hope and love in a world of fear.
That is the true joy of Christmas.
In order to stay safe
this Christmas, many of us will be alone, from a human perspective. Yet our
faith brings us comfort and – yes - joy, for the truth of Christmas is that Jesus
has come to this troubled world to win and offer eternal life, the darkness has
not overcome the light. It is into just this situation of alienation and loss
that the Saviour comes with love, joy and peace - and the greatest hope.
‘Fear Not’ for God is
truly with us. Emmanuel.
Lord Jesus,
Master of both the light and the
darkness,
send your Holy Spirit upon our
preparations for Christmas.
We who have so much to do
seek quiet spaces to hear your voice
each day,
We who are anxious over many things
look forward to your coming among us.
We who are blessed in so many ways
long for the complete joy of your
kingdom.
We whose hearts are heavy
seek the joy of your presence.
We are your people, walking in
darkness,
yet seeking the light.
To you we say, "Come Lord
Jesus!'
Amen.
Henri J.M. Nouwen
Bill Bailey suspects that he was chosen for Strictly Come
Dancing as a bit of a joke. He has actually done really well, and will be in
the final next weekend.
If Bill doesn’t seem an obvious candidate for SCD (and I
wouldn’t be either) then his choice of music for the tango wasn’t particularly
obvious either. He chose a track called “Enter Sandman” by Metallica, probably
the hardest-hitting heavy metal band in the world. I have heard this a few
times, it is loud and tough. Perhaps the heavy attitude is why he crashed into
a cameraman – but he still won.
The song lyrics deal with fear: “sleep with one eye
open”, then “Exit Lights”, and you can guess what that refers to. It may be
that Bill was expecting to Exit the competition, or just that he needed the adrenaline
which the music provides. It struck a chord in the Vicarage, anyway.
What are our deepest fears and concerns? Suffering and
mortality are very challenging aspects of our existence. Is this a dance of
life or death? Do we have a saviour? In these uncertain times, are we confident
in God’s coming among us to bring hope and eternal life?
Lord, we live for a time on earth among the
dance of the planets. There are many dangers and challenges to face as we pirouette
through our lives. Help us to face our fears and turn to you, to trust you,
that when the exit lights show we can find the way to peace, through Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
So what music for that final performance? “Won’t you come
home, Bill Bailey”? Ace of Spades? Save the Last Dance for Me? We’ll see.
I understand that the United Kingdom is celebrating 60
years of Coronation Street. It’s quite an achievement, to keep so many people
entertained for so long. It’s great, too, that it has reflected life in a
Northern town, through a time of what many call a North-South divide, although
maybe a little stereotyping is present too. For example, the brass band theme
music is very effective but brass bands aren’t just for Up North.
I must come clean, I haven’t actually watched it for decades.
I gather that Mike Baldwin is no longer strutting the street and even Dierdre
and her spectacles are no longer there, nor Bet at the bar in the Rover’s
Return. My husband says it hasn’t been the same since Ena Sharples died.
A long-running series like that makes me realise just how
much our lives and communities change over the years. I noticed that there was
even a bomb at the bistro (what bistro??) a few years ago, and over the years a
train crash and a tram derailment. And the people have gradually changed with
children growing up, others moving away, new people arriving.
Lord, thinking back makes us realise how life
keeps changing. The smoky chimneys of the 1960’s terraced houses are rare these
days and the pace of life has increased with our improved ways of
communication. People and families develop and move on. The constant mix of
good and ill remains. When I look back, help me to rejoice in the good times
and as I carry with me the faith which you have instilled within me, grant that
I may look forward to my future episodes of serving and loving you. Amen
We thought it was all over – now we are going the extra
mile.
The negotiations between our government and the European
Union have now gone beyond their expected end date. Following a phone call on
Sunday morning, our Prime Minister and the European Commission President have
agreed to continue the process of seeking a deal. It was described as “going
the extra mile”, and perhaps if they were in church on a Sunday morning more
often they would remember the context of Jesus’ saying.
The ‘extra mile’ phrase comes shortly after the
Beatitudes, part of the Sermon on the Mount, which Christians hold as a central
text for faithful discipleship. Matthew 5.38-48. It is a very challenging text
about love, forgiveness and understanding. In verse 39, we are told to turn the
other cheek which is very Christ-like but tough for ordinary humans; and verse
41 states that “if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile”.
We might say that it is precisely what has happened here, but surely it
suggests negating the force through co-operation – or over-cooperation!
It is easy to take sayings out of context, we all do it,
but Jesus’ words are not there to be watered down or give the impression that
we are somehow acting in accordance with some form of divine approval. Jesus
makes it clear in verse 41 that we should “love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in Heaven”. The
world is full of a heady mix of the love which God has given to the human heart
and the selfishness and deceit which means that impaired relationships are broken
rather than healed. It is still not too late to truly go the extra mile and
find a way forward which clearly leads to harmony rather than division.
Heavenly Father, in Advent we hear the personal challenge
of John the Baptist to God’s people to repent and turn afresh to recognising
and following Jesus. Help us to be generous and sacrificial in our dealings
with others.
And be with the leaders of the nations, especially at
this uncertain time in our relationship with the European Union, that negotiators
on each side, having created the time for further dialogue, may indeed be ready
to walk the extra mile together in a manner which promotes a positive
relationship for the future for the good of all. In Jesus’s name, Amen
Helen writes:
How are you today? You reply
“I’m fine” if you are of the older generation, or “I’m good” if you are under
thirty. How are you, how am I in the
spiritual sense during this time of Advent? Busyness or tiredness still manages
to crowd out times when I meant to be quiet, and all around the news seems so
depressing.
If you can find a time to be
quiet, it is possible to experience a great feeling of peace especially if you
can manage to find a relevant Bible verse, or a lovely advent reading. Real joy is a special gift from God, and I
sometimes experience this when seeing natural beauty, or when listening to
music. My whole being almost burst with
joy when I watched the Aurora Borealis up in Norway. I thank God for this
beautiful world and for composers and musicians who give such joy.
Ann Gerondelis is an artist
who has developed a practice of drawing while praying. She says, “Like drawing water from a well, I
work to draw out certain qualities of the world to engage with them more
fully.” She has written and painted a
book of Daily Prayers for Advent and this is one of her prayers.
O God of power, come.
Come in a material way – in matter and body.
Come, as our Hebrew brothers and sisters would say,
as Ruach, a tempest.
Sweep over our waters,
our land,
our hands.
our hearts.
Both body and soul.
Twist us, turn is with your gale-force presence.
Transform our humanity.
Transform creation.
In the name of peace,
in the name of love,
in the name of justice,
may your kingdom come.
Even here.
Even now. Amen
© Ann Gerondelis/ Wildgoose publications 2016
