ST ANDREW HOLBORN ADVENT BOOK 2015
“Born in the night”
ADVENT REFLECTIONS 2014
Introduction In our Advent Book this year we have taken as our theme the carol, “Born in the night, Mary’s child”, by Geoffrey Ainger. He wrote the carol in 1959, while minister at Loughton Methodist Church in Essex. Interviewed as part of BBC Radio Essex’s carol service from Loughton Methodist Church in 1995, Geoffrey explained that the carol had been written incidentally to a church play for teenagers, which sought to set the nativity in a modern context. Accordingly, Joe and Mary, an unmarried couple who have arrived from London late at night one Christmas Eve at Loughton Station, being unable to find accommodation in Loughton, use a room in Brown’s Garage, where she gives birth. The shepherds are bus conductresses and the Three Wise Men, off-duty east-end social workers. Here are the words of the carol: Born in the night, Mary's child, a long way from your home: coming in need, Mary's child, born in a borrowed room. Clear shining light, Mary's child, your face lights up our way: light of the world, Mary's child, dawn on our darkened day. Truth of our life, Mary's child, you tell us God is good: prove it is true, Mary's child. Go to your cross of wood. Hope of the world, Mary's child, you're coming soon to reign: king of the earth, Mary's child, walk in our streets again. We reflect upon the circumstances of Our Lord’s birth, the state of our world and how many are marginalised or rejected, the daily lives of women and men, and in all of this the hope that is waiting to enfold us. The purpose of this book is to help us pause and think about the implications of Our Lord’s Birth so that our lives are enriched and all our relationships deepened.
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches as a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. The term is an anglicized version of the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming". Latin adventus is the translation of the Greek word parousia, commonly used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. For Christians, the season of Advent anticipates the coming of Christ from two different perspectives. The season offers the opportunity to share in the ancient longing for the coming of the Messiah, and to be alert for his Second Coming.
Advent is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on the fourth Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday nearest to St. Andrew's Day (30 November), in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, and in the Anglican calendar. In the Ambrosian Rite (used in the Archdiocese of Milan) Advent begins on the Sixth Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday after St Martin’s Day (11 November). Acknowledgements: Our thanks go to Jane Franklin, John McWhinney, Erik Cannell, Sue Johns and Fr Mark Young for their contributions to this series of reflections.
Advent Sunday 29 November “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life, and that day does not catch you unexpectedly, like a trap.” Luke 21. 34. Jesus, teaching in the Temple, speaks these words of warning to his disciples. They are words to encourage, not to cause fear. Jesus puts his finger on three things that can all too easily distract us and cause us to forget who we really are. Dissipation may seem an old-fashioned word but it means overindulgence in sensual pleasures or the squandering of money, energy, or resources. In the runup to Christmas with its round of entertaining and hospitality overindulgence is all too present a temptation. Christmas, with all the opportunities that it affords, classically tempts far too many of us to squander what we have to little or no effect. Drunkenness needs hardly any explanation, but ‘the more the merrier’ is a motto whose truth is clearly disproved as we negotiate the perils of too much refreshment either by ourselves or others. Moreover feral stupidity arising from too much drink manifests itself all year round. Then again perhaps for some the over-arching feeling at Christmas is one of anxiety, whether all the arrangements or events will be perfect, and the stress caused breaks out in arguments and real emotional distress. Jesus reminds us that we can live differently, maintaining our focus on what is essential about the season, and trusting that held by God we will find true joy and real peace.
Monday 30 November Born in the night, Mary’s child, a long way from your home: coming in need, Mary’s child, born in a borrowed room. Those of you who have experience of St Andrew’s Advent Reflections will know we often choose carols that are a veritable feast of fantastic words and rich imagery. The carol we have chosen this year is, by contrast, simple. Deceptively simple though. There are two characters in this carol, Mary and her child; in fact Christ is not named but only referred to as Mary’s child, a fact which can draw the reader into really thinking about the words of the carol. We know that Mary was barely more than a child herself and yet she finds herself propelled into a situation that is beyond our comprehension but not beyond belief. We celebrate Christmas because we believe that God became flesh and we believe that because of Mary and her experience at the Annunciation. Of course it wasn’t just her experience but the experiences of her betrothed, Joseph, and her relatives, Elizabeth and Zechariah, that helped corroborate her tale. Nevertheless, it is because of this young woman’s obedience and faith, servant heart and determination that our lives were changed forever. What God asked of her was immense; yet she didn’t shrink from it. As you go through the coming day, reflect on what God might be asking you to do for Him. It may feel costly to you – indeed it may be sacrificial but as we enter into this season or preparation let us open our hearts and minds, eyes and ears to His bidding and draw on Mary’s inspirational strength to assist us in our response.
Tuesday 1 December Born in the night… The night is a place of darkness; a place where fears expand and doubts crowd in. A place that turns sensible, sane people into a shadow of their confident daylight selves. The night is a place where temptation stalks us and greed prowls in the deep recesses of our being. The night is a place where society is shamed; where the homeless and lost, the vulnerable and sick are often left to fend for themselves. Where we abandon the most susceptible people to those who would seek to gain from their plight. Where we allow the defenceless to fend for themselves against the ravages of consumerism and a society that measures people by their material success. Do we truly respond to their need? The night is a place that haunts those who fear loneliness, where the depressed sink ever further into their own isolation and despair. The long nights of winter can make those who have a roof over their head prisoners in their own home. Afraid to venture out; they become trapped and separated. Do we notice their imprisonment? Or do we fail to see it because it is easier if we don’t… What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1: 4-5) Born in the night, Mary’s child… Ponder how you can reflect His light, and overcome the darkness in your life, and overcome the darkness in the lives of those you touch.
Wednesday 2 December A long way from your home… It is impossible to write these next three reflections without framing them in the context of the tide of humanity that is sweeping into Europe – and our response to those people. A long way from your home… What compels these people to abandon their homeland? No one chooses to walk away from all they know; from kith and kin; from hearth and home unless they are desperate. Even more so, what could possibly drive a parent to uproot their entire family, risking life and limb? We know nothing of that level of desperation – or at least, I certainly don’t. Of course, Joseph and Mary weren’t travelling through choice but because of instruction. We all know that story so well, Quirinius was governor of Syria (and that reference in itself is redolent with meaning in these days) and he ordered a census but instead of feeling in forms – or the first century equivalent – everyone had to go to the family town and Joseph was of the line of David so they had to make the long journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. Poor Mary, how she must have suffered on that journey and how alone and frightened was she. A young girl going through her first pregnancy and then childbirth with no mother to comfort her or familiar midwife to tend her. And the Christ child, Mary’s child, was also a long way from His home. Home is an evocative word. To each of us it will mean something very different and not always something pleasant either. Home should be a place of safety; a haven of love; somewhere that draws us back again and again. This Christmas remember all those who are ‘a long way from their home’.
Thursday 3 December Coming in need, Mary’s child… The vulnerability of a baby is beyond description, a new-born baby is utterly dependent on its parents. Mary’s child was totally reliant on others – in particular Mary and Joseph. How does the Creator cope with that? How does the being, the Word, who was at the beginning of time accept the vulnerability of being a new-born child – actually being Mary’s child? Coming in need really doesn’t do it justice. God incarnate came to earth as the most defenceless and helpless being, a newborn baby… God relied on his earthly parents for everything. Can you begin to imagine exactly what the means? How precisely does God cope with giving up absolutely all He has? From being the Maker of the cosmos, in complete control and command, He willingly accepts all that is asked of Him. In the Christmas story there is a real sense of trust and relationship. The Trinity, knowing and confident in their own eternal relationship, are willing to accept all that becoming God Incarnate means to them and their contiguous connection. To go from the ultimate position of power and strength to the absolute opposite end of the scale takes considerable comprehension. In fact, it’s almost beyond our comprehension. Think about a new-born baby who you’ve known, either with direct or close responsibility. Then imagine the Creator offering Himself in that place… Was the Need the child’s? Or was the need ours? Or both…
Friday 4 December Born in a borrowed room… The word that springs to my mind is – Empathy. Mary’s child knows what poverty and reliance on others feels like. He was born into a borrowed stable, without even the dignity of a proper room. His parents fled to Egypt from Herod’s jealous rage and infanticide. I can only imagine that they relied on the benevolence of others there too. His early years were undoubtedly reliant on the charity of others for shelter, if not more. As we prepare to celebrate the feast of His birth in the warmth and comfort of our own homes, let us not lose sight of the countless millions around the world who have no such luxury. You will have your own thoughts about this but these are a few that I carry on my own heart. Firstly the growing number of homeless people living on the streets of our towns and cities. These aren’t itinerants but people who have no option or alternative. Secondly the thousands who will spend Christmas huddled in makeshift shelters around Calais… some worshipping at that makeshift church no doubt. Still grateful to God even in their despair. Thirdly the excluded peoples of our world; those whose class or race or faith make them outcasts. They are often hidden from our eyes but they suffer nonetheless. Mary’s child, God Incarnate could have chosen to be born into a very different place. His entire life was one of humility. His identification with and service to the poor and the excluded started from the moment He was born. He challenged His people – the people of Israel; the line of David. He challenged them to recognise the Messiah amongst them; present but unnoticed by so many. The hope of the nation moved amongst them but they didn’t expect what they were given. They wanted triumph and power, instead they were shown service and justice. Mary’s child continues to challenge each and every one of us today. Especially to identify with and serve those most in need within our society.
Saturday 5 December
Clear shining light, Mary's child, your face lights up our way: light of the world, Mary's child, dawn on our darkened day.
Light is part of the very nature of God. The Psalmist simply proclaims, “The Lord is my light,” and in John’s Gospel we read that God’s embodied Word “was the light of all mankind.” When God utters his first words in the Creation story, light is the singularity that banishes the formless void. Light is not only God’s nature and what he fundamentally is, his very words are light. It seems he cannot exist without life-giving words. When God says, “Let there be light,” he uses his voice to fashion the very foundation of things. God created light before he created the sun and moon, so that first light, a result of his words, were emanating from his own being. Out of God’s very nature, light comes forth when God speaks and through every word he says. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It shines for us, so it can shine through us as forerunners like John who bear witness to the coming light. The Holy Scriptures are written by human hands, so someone has to tell the story or to see it unfolding and write it down. Besides the light of God’s Word, we have the embodied Word, Jesus. Scripture was written by humans, the embodied Word is a human being. Light can pass from the realm of God and into human hearts when human beings shine forth their knowledge and experience of his human Word.
The Second Sunday of Advent 6 December For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the LORD in righteousness. Mal. 2b -3. It may be difficult to hold on to the ideal of watching and waiting during Advent, and to find any time for reflection and amendment of life. Such an exercise anyway sounds rather dreary and counter to the spirit of the season. Yet underneath this lies the fact that we have managed to get things the wrong way round. All the celebrations happen in the run up to Christmas and usually by Boxing Day are all over. In fact they should all start on Christmas day and, if we are true to the Church’s calendar, run until 2 February, the Feast of Candlemas. December, despite the festive overdrive around us, is the time to think about what things really mean. Of course this is hard, it may be a difficult test, and that is what Malachi reminds us of. But the test is not simply an exercise in pain and gloom, but a means of helping us to change for the better. As we think and reflect and make changes so we become better conduits of joy and hope for others – less concerned about our own pleasures or our own projects and able to reach out and bring real goodness into the world.
Monday 7 December God’s light gives reassurance and direction when we feel hopeless and lost. He guided Israel through the wilderness with a glowing cloud that blazed like fire when the sun went down. Even when he sent them wandering for 40 years in the desert, the burning sign of God’s glory was with them all the time. It formed a beacon, telling them where to go even while they were being punished. John the Baptist is the early light-bearer of Jesus’ ministry, and yet we find his parents helping reveal his birth. Zacharias sings a hymn for his son, saying, “The dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.” Perhaps he is thinking of a caravan travelling at night when they lose their way. They give up, sit down and prepare to die in the dark. For them, the dawn or dayspring would be both reviving and guiding. It gives relief from the panic of not knowing what lurks in the dark but is also a basic compass. God asks Job, “Have you ever given orders to the morning or shown the dawn its place?” With a basic knowledge of the seasons and stars, you can find your exact direction at the moment the sun meets the horizon. The stars can guide you at night, but only in the day can you see where you’re going. Jesus, the dayspring is the dawning of light. We can look to him for relief, new life, direction and guidance.
Tuesday 8 December God knows everything, shining light into the darkest corner of creation and the human heart. The Psalmist says, “If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me... Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.” In the Creation story, God separated the light from darkness, but it is literally nothing to him. He can exist in the dark, but to him, the darkness does not exist. He literally sees through it. In Psalm 139 he talks about how God can see in secret, how he can look even into the womb where an infant’s body is being fashioned. He says it is impossible for the human mind to understand such searching knowledge and love. The poet seems unafraid, even comforted, by being so well known, and asks the God of all knowledge to point out the flaws that he cannot yet see.
Jesus says, “What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight,” and “proclaimed from roofs.” Flat housetops were places for cooking, washing, and people would gossip with their neighbours over the wall. Jesus seems to say that God’s searching wisdom leaves no stone unturned, so you might as well come clean. Light can be terrifying, revealing, embarrassing, exposing, yet we do not have to be afraid of it. God gives us no right to privacy. His loving surveillance will catch all of us out, but he is a kind judge to anyone who throws themselves on his mercy.
Wednesday 9 December A principal theme we encounter in Advent is the coming of light, and imminent light plays a dramatic role in some of the Bible’s most compelling stories. The light of morning can signal the end of a trial, the beginning of a new test, the close of revelation, or the start of a new course of action. Jacob wrestled with an angel all night. The angel was God, who supposedly couldn’t overpower the man whose name became Israel. The angel said, “Let me go, because dawn is breaking.” The boy Samuel heard God’s voice in the temple at night telling him news that would “make everyone’s ears tingle.” He later awoke to Eli a terrible prophecy that God would fulfil. When Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den the king waited up all night and didn’t eat. At dawn he rushed to the prison cell to find God’s prophet alive. And when St Paul and his companions were facing death at sea, he urged them at dawn to eat what some must have thought was their last meal – they threw the remaining grain into the sea. Their ship broke apart on the shores of Malta, but everyone reached safety. What will dawn bring tomorrow? Revelation? Hope? The end of a terrible trial? Some overwhelming new challenge? Ask God if he will tell you what’s coming with the new day, and use the time to reflect on what he has done. “His mercies...are new every morning.”
Thursday 10 December Light is a blessing. “Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us” (Psalm 4). “The Lord make his face to shine upon you.” (Numbers 6:25). There are countless references to God beaming with love and blessing on the people he has created and set aside for his work. Moses spent so much time speaking personally with God on Mt Sinai that his face started to glow. When the talks were over, and the glory eventually faded, Moses still kept his face veiled, so proud he had been to be so close to God. We are channels of God’s light, so if God is shining his face on someone or bringing light and clarity into a difficult situation, it can happen through us. We can receive that gift of a lightened face from other people, and we can give it too. Probably the reason that the Bible doesn’t refer to it as God smiling is because it goes deeper than that. He knows us intimately. Benediction literally means to speak well of, so the light of God’s face is saying I love you. And this applies to all people. “The Lord looked down from heaven and beheld all the children of men. He fashioneth all the hearts of them and understandeth all their works.” Nothing you do is mysterious to God. It might hurt other people and lead to your own destruction. It might make him angry or sad, but he is never puzzled by it. Be confident in the light of his knowledge and blessing.
Friday 11 December Truth of our life, Mary's child, you tell us God is good: prove it is true, Mary's child. Go to your cross of wood. What is the truth of our lives? Where do we find meaning? Is there more to life than the simple material pursuit of work, rest and play? If we fail to seek meaning does that mean our lives are imbalanced? How well do we know ourselves? The Gospel story is about the one true God interacting with his creation. The birth of the Christ child was a pivotal point in history to which the western world, however secular it is, still refers to in its calendar. The God of love expressed himself in the birth of a baby, the baby who through living a human life would show how a human life could truly be lived. A life of love and devotion to family and friends but also one of self-sacrifice for the whole of the world. This does not mean that Jesus did not struggle to find the truth of his own life, nor that he sailed through life on the crest of a wave. He, like us, had to work through what was being asked of him as a human being to find that core of himself where he met God and allowed the Spirit to work in his life. How did he do that? By being prepared to spend time with God in silence, in contemplation and prayer. Allowing the Spirit to challenge his thoughts and feelings and desires so that all that is left is the desire to do the will of God and to be in his presence. Is that something you feel challenged about? To find the truth of your life in a quiet space within you where you can meet God?
Saturday 12 December You tell us God is good. What is your image of God? We often choose not to believe in God because we don't like him. Christopher Jamieson said "the God you don't believe in doesn't exist". God is a God of love and the birth, life and death of Jesus is the supreme example of his love (which we will look at tomorrow). Some people view God as a tyrant or a monster who demands the death of his own flesh and blood in order to forgive the sins of man. The God of the Old Testament can be viewed in such a way.
The God that demands Abraham sacrifice his longed for son, Isaac. The God that allows "his" people to become slaves in Egypt and then when finally he helps them escape leaves them to perish in the wilderness so that it is the next generation that enters the Promised Land. The God that demands his people commit genocide in the country to which he leads them. This God does indeed seem like one that needs to be appeased, however that is not the God of the Gospel story. Even when Paul states in Hebrews 10 verse 31 that "it is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God" it is a glorious God of love that he refers to. You tell us God is good, do you believe that? What is your image of God?
The Third Sunday of Advent 13 December Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Phil. 4. 6. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. Luke 3. 16. Both Paul and John the Baptist underscore the themes we have looked at on the first two Sundays of Advent. Paul urges the Philippians not to worry. By this stage of the season worries may loom large for us – will we get all the presents in time, or lay in all the supplies we need, or how will we survive the visit of or visit to certain relatives or friends. However Paul urges us to pray, not as some escape, but as a way of centring ourselves back on the foundation which can support us through all this. As we remember God so we can also remember what truly is important and see that some of the things we are worried about are not the ‘end of the universe’, and that we can find a way forward with a degree of calm and balance. John the Baptist reminds us that Jesus calls us to rid ourselves of what is unnecessary and weighs us down, but also that He can breathe his peace upon us. Strange though it may seem, we can remind ourselves of the Disciples after the Crucifixion, anxious and afraid, hiding behind a locked door, wondering what was going to happen. Then Jesus appears to them and says “Peace be with you”. For any of us, tempted to retreat behind a locked door, simply to get away from the pressures of the moment, this is real, good news. God will give us the strength and peace we need to deal with all the demands of the day, and give us the love and power to keep on caring for those we meet.
Monday 14 December Prove it is true. Jesus’ response to proving God is good is to live as one of us and then to suffer and die on the tree. The life of Jesus is God's way of showing how life should be lived in love for each other, not seeking to lord it over others, nor to be greedy or seek power but to share life and possessions and rather than kill others be prepared to die for not just friends but enemies too. Jesus shows the extent to which this God of love will go to forgive sins, it is not that he demands justice but shows another way of being, one where he is merciful and forgiving even when experiencing the worst that mankind can do not only to themselves but to God himself. So how does Jesus prove it is true that God is good? By agreeing to be born in an ordinary family; to be brought up in difficult circumstances, to share love, joy and bereavement; to live in a politically turbulent time; to give up a good business and become an itinerant preacher and healer and to challenge the people in power about their abuse of that power. And in the end to suffer death at the hands of those in positions of power in order to show that love and forgiveness is more powerful and fruitful in the end. What does it mean for us that God is good and that Jesus proves it? Are you challenged to live and love in the light of God's love and forgiveness?
Tuesday 15 December Go to your cross of wood. The birth of a baby is meant to bring joy and happiness to the parents, to the family and to the neighbourhood. Anything less and we feel cheated. Babies that have not developed properly in the womb or have genetically inherited problems are given love and support but there is sadness there too. Jesus' birth was not in ideal circumstances. There was the question of who was his father, the moral reputation of his mother, the need to travel far from home because of bureaucracy, giving birth amongst strangers in the family room near the animals. Then fleeing in the night and leaving behind traumatised and bereaved families as a generation of sons are wiped out. Mary was warned that her son would be both a blessing and a cause for deep piercing sorrow. The coming crucifixion is not far from the minds of the Gospel writers. Christmas does not mean anything without Good Friday and Easter. So the shadow of the cross is always there in Jesus' life, and as a carpenter he has an affinity with wood that makes the rough punishment of the cross bar particularly ironic. We live the other side of that cross of wood but do we take its meaning seriously in our lives, do we spend time meditating on the Gospel story and allow the Spirit of God to influence every aspect of our lives? As you prepare for Christmas do you think about the deeper meaning of the coming of the Christ child?
Wednesday 16 December Truth of our life, Mary's child, you tell us God is good: prove it is true, Mary's child. Go to your cross of wood. The reference throughout this song is to Mary's child. In the Gospels Jesus is most usually referred to as Son of Man and Son of David. All three titles emphasis the humanity of Jesus, and in the Christmas story it is shown that Jesus is most definitely a Son of Woman! It is the very humanity of Jesus that challenges the Priests and Sadducees as they refuse to also see his divinity. When Jesus is brought before Pilate he states, "for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me." Pilate responded by asking "What is truth?"
So too the hymn’s author asks us to think about the truth behind not just the Christmas story but the whole of Jesus' life and death. In Advent we have the opportunity to go beyond the glitzy trimmings of Christmas to seek the truth within the Christmas story, beyond bizarre nativity plays, Santa sleighs and Christmas dinner, beyond the must have presents, the family pressures and the must watch TV until we find the truth that can inform all of our lives. The truth that God is indeed good and wants only the best for us because he loves us and has proved it to be true in Jesus, Mary's child.
Thursday 17 December Hope of the world, Mary's child, you're coming soon to reign: king of the earth, Mary's child, walk in our streets again. In the context of Christianity, the word “hope” gets thrown around quite a lot, not just in the prayers and liturgies, but going all the way to the heart of the scriptures as well. Much of the biblical narrative takes the form of God answering his people’s hopes – freedom from slavery, the coming of a saviour, the need for the resurrection – the list goes on. This doesn’t always apply very easily to us now – what are we supposed to hope for? How could God possibly respond? Do we even know what we really hope for? This is one, subtle, aspect of Advent – not simply preparing for Christmas, but preparing ourselves to meet God in our own ways, and trying, as far as we can, to make sure it really means something when we do.
This need not be a difficult process; we can start simply by thinking over all the things which concern us in our own personal circumstances. What are the causes? Do we ourselves share blame for it? Whatever faith you have, or none, it can do nothing but help to try seeing everything afresh, and then we can really be open to the possibilities of hope for change and renewal.
Friday 18 December Lines which tell that the “King is coming soon to reign” are another recurring theme found quite frequently in the Bible and in the church’s prayers. The imagery of pomp and majesty is very evocative and makes for excellent prose. BUT – how does this fit into the here and now? How, indeed, does it fit into everthe one thing gods tend not to do is appear. This seems, on the surface, impossible to reconcile without backtracking into calling it a metaphor. This is where the Gospels give us a twist. Instead of focusing on the way God might come to us, as the question suggests, we can find the answer by looking at what we know about God. Instead of coming as a physical form at a given point in time, God transcends the temporal and comes to us, as it were, through the medium of people. That is, when humanity works actively to build the “kingdom”, then God becomes our new reality.
Saturday 19 December Let’s unpick this idea of the King coming to reign. As we’ve already explored, this might well be interpreted as building the kingdom as a present tense reality, the process of that being the so called “coming”. It has to be said, it’s been a long time coming indeed! How do we play a part in helping it along? Can it ever be achieved overall, or will it ever have to be a collection of small, individual acts? There probably is no good answer to that, but as long we have the freedom to perform small acts, however insignificant they may seem, there is always the hope of achieving something greater, collectively. As the hymn verse puts it: Dwell in our hearts, O saviour blest, so shall Thine advent’s dawn, Twixt us and Thee, our bosom-guest, be but the veil withdrawn.
The Fourth Sunday of Advent 20 December From you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Micah 5. 2. God is always there for us, always has been, and always will be. It can be hard to remember this or hold on to this when we are challenged by circumstances or feeling very far from any sense of belonging. The Lord who was born in Bethlehem is the eternal Son, who always welcomes us, and invites us to live with him. There is no beginning and no end to his love for us. That runs in contrast to our tendency to believe that we earn God’s love, that we are loved as part of a bargain whereby we do good things and God will then care for us. If we think of Jesus welcoming children we can bear in mind that they made no bargains with him, in fact they had nothing to give him, but he loved them and took them in his arms. When he says we too must be like children perhaps that means we need to let go of all of our supposed bargaining-counters and accept that God loves us to bits; always has and always will. His rule is one of love and acceptance and in a season where relationships are under scrutiny to know that for ourselves and to know that for one another is beyond price.
Monday 21 December We come, to what perhaps is the most challenging part of the message to hope, to rejoice and to look forward. The fact is, it very often feels like there is nothing to hope for. When our faith is fragile, and we’re burdened by the weight of life’s problems, words like “rejoice” seem to come from a totally alien perspective. Even the word itself isn’t used much. Debt doesn’t rejoice much, grief doesn’t rejoice, war doesn’t rejoice, cancer doesn’t either –the list goes on endlessly. Keeping heart is hard, sometimes it feels impossible. One thing we know is that God realises this – he’s been through it all, and known worse along the way. We can rail against it with all our might, he’s still known far worse. He offers us a way out – to the people who walk in darkness, he promises great light. For us, that is now days away – all we need to do is open our eyes and see it.
Tuesday 22 December Therefore, although we know great, weighty troubles, there is cause for hope. If we dare to let ourselves be open, there is light and beauty to be found even in the coldest depths of winter. This will not change our circumstances, but if it gives us a change of heart, then nothing will overcome us.
The King of kings is drawing near, The saviour of the world is here. O happy hearts and happy homes To whom this King in triumph comes! Fling wide the portals of your heart, Make it a temple set apart From earthly use for heaven’s employ Adorned with prayer and love and joy.
Wednesday 23 December See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. Malachi 3.1. Malachi reminds us that even as we celebrate Jesus’ Birth we also bear in mind at this season His Promised Return, what we call the Last Judgement. There are often things in our lives that we know are amiss yet we constantly put off doing anything about them. We are adept at finding all sorts of excuses to defer tackling what may turn out to be a difficult or costly task. Yet, quite simply, if there is something about which we think “I wouldn’t want Jesus to find me like this” then this is the time to do something about it. Drop it, get rid of it, cut it out, do whatever is necessary. Despite the excuses we may make for the wrong in our lives it is just that – wrong, and has a corrosive effect upon our lives and well-being. How many times do we have to learn that what is shiny and attractive, seemingly warm and pleasurable, is in reality dark, dangerous and deadly. Not for nothing does the Devil masquerade as an angel of light. Let us act and make the changes: Almighty God, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which thy Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious Majesty, to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, now and ever. Amen.
Christmas Eve Thursday 24 December By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.’ Luke 1. 78-79. A sad aspect of Christmas can be the fact that the celebration may have absences, namely those we know who have died over the past year. A pall can be cast over the celebrations when we think of those who are no longer with us. The memories of past seasons of happiness and laughter can be hard to bear. Instead of looking forward to Christmas, we dread it and hope it goes away as fast as possible. Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, reminds us that we are not alone or abandoned in our grief or fear. God regards us tenderly, lovingly and with our good always in mind. God brings us light and hope in the darkness. This comes from the love and care we show to one another, in moments during the services we attend and in the ordinary course of each day. Something may strike us to lift our spirits and give us an unexpected sense of peace. All of these are ways in which God shows love towards us, and assures us that we are not alone and there is hope.
Christmas Day Friday 25 December But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God. John 1. 12. Hopefully, this is a season of welcomes – we welcome visitors to our homes and we are welcomed by others. We look forward to being greeted, we don’t expect to have the door shut in our faces, or even for it not to be opened at all. The verse from the Gospel of John tells us that God welcomes us, the doors are flung wide and we are drawn in to the party that is life with God. What we are asked to do is to simply reply to the invitation that we get, to say “Yes” to the offer God makes.
Oddly enough it is all too easy to say no – to forget what is at the heart of Christmas and to rush on with other preoccupations. If we do this we miss out on being gathered up by God, and thereby finding value, meaning and purpose. It is the invitation to know God and all that comes from it that needs to be the root of who we are and where we are. When it is everything else falls into place, and knowing that we belong in such a marvellous way opens for us an adventure of life, whose beginning we can truly celebrate this day.
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