Author: Judith Russenberger

Environmentalist and theologian, with husband and three grown up children plus one cat, living in London SW14. I enjoy running and drinking coffee - ideally with a friend or a book.

God In-Carnate

24th December 2022

God in

the beginning 

creating fullness

out of nothingness. 

God in 

the breath 

animating life forms 

made out of mud.

God in 

the garden, 

conversing and delegating – 

sharing the  venture.

God in 

the pillar of fire – and the pillar of cloud – 

leading the people 

from the past to the future.

God in 

the mouths of prophets, 

calling for renewal 

in place of impoverishment.

God in 

the flesh, 

conceived in a womb, 

born as child.

God now in 

bone of our bone, 

flesh of our flesh, 

our intimate companion.

God in 

our  mess, 

sharing our food, sharing our pain, 

living in reality 

our God-given life.

God in 

God’s world, 

the way of renewal, 

and the means to rebuild.

God in

the word, 

the beginning, the middle, 

the end.

Counting on … day 416

23rd December 2022

‘It’s a lifeline’ reported Euronews as it wrote about the colourful letters and postcards that help climate protesters cope with imprisonment here in the UK.  
Being part of a supportive community helps people be stronger and happier. It helps us be both givers and receivers. It makes for a better world.

https://www.euronews.com/green/2022/12/21/its-a-lifeline-the-colourful-letters-and-postcards-uplifting-climate-protesters-in-prison?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=green_newsletter&_ope=eyJndWlkIjoiMTJjMTk2MDNmOWI2YTEwZmZmMTQ0ODYyMWQ3NDJhNDcifQ%3D%3D

Counting on … day 417

24th December 2022

Christmas is often a time when we have more to recycle and possibly a reduced collection service. Both recycling bins and recycling lorries have a limited capacity in terms of volume. Now is a good time to see your recycling box as a Tetris puzzle. By careful stacking, interlacing and flattening, how much can you fit it? 

Advent 24

December 2022

The census at Bethlehem by Peter Bruegel the younger 1605-1610

This is the day before Christmas. For some who are skating, spinning tops, fighting with snowballs or supping beer in the impromptu tavern set up in the hollow of a tree trunk, the holiday has already started. Others are still working. Two men improbably are building a house. For others the ‘shopping’ still has to be completed: sacks of corn and barrels are being loaded and despatched. A couple are carrying there stuff home in two large baskets. Food is being prepared. Two pigs are being butchered – one is blocking the inn door. The inn itself has been taken over by officials who are collecting taxes.

Does this feel like your Christmas Eve? 

Nevertheless the Christmas mystery is slipping into the scene. Mary and Joseph are arriving, Mary grasping a wicker basket and sat on a donkey. Whether we are ready or not, God always finds a way into our Christmas.

In the tender compassion of our God 

the dawn from on high shall break upon us,

To shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, 

and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Luke 1:9,10

‘Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel’,

which means, ‘God is with us.’

Matthew 1:23

Advent 23

December 2022

What an amazing door! I wonder what your front door says about you? Does it suggest a 

warm welcome, a place of Christian hospitality?

In many European countries there is a tradition of blessing one’s house on the 6th January when the arrival of the magi is celebrated. The doors or lintels are marked in chalk with the sign of the cross, the year and the letters C M B – Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar or Christus mansionem benedicat, “May Christ bless the house.”

+ 20 + C + M + B + 23 +

Whatever house you enter, first say, “Peace to this house!” Luke 10:5

Advent 22

December 2022

This painting by Camille Pissarro shows a small space outside the door, where a woman is sewing and at her feet a child playing. A couple of cats mouch about. Just inside the door is a second woman also working with her hands. The vine over the door is not yet in leaf, so perhaps this is early spring and the participants are taking the opportunity to enjoy a little sunshine. There is a blurring of the boundary between inside and outside.

Advent is a cold dark time of the year and we may be reluctant to go outside. But why not wrap up warm and make the most of the daylight hours? It can be a wonderful tonic.

The people who walked in darkness

   have seen a great light;

those who lived in a land of deep darkness—

on them light has shined. Isaiah 9:2

Counting on … day 415

22nd December 2022

Ginger biscuits have the smell of Christmas. Rather than using just ginger, add other spices too such as cinnamon, allspice  and cardamon. 

The following is a simple recipe 

75g margerine, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 tablespoon of syrup. Melt these gently in the microwave. 

Add 225g plan in flour plus 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda and 1 tsp of more of your choice of spices. Mix and add oat milk/ the juice of an orange to bind as necessary to for a firming dough. 

Chill.

Roll out and cut into shapes. 

Bake at 180C until cooked. They will still be slightly soft but leave on the baking tray. This completes the cooking and gives rise to the term biscuit meaning twice cooked.

Advent 21

December 2022

An illustration from A Christmas Carol. Scrooge, about to unlock his front door, is confronted with the image of his deceased partner. This visionary experience continues during the night when he is visited by the spirits of Christmas past, present and yet-to-come, that challenge Scrooge to reconsider how he will celebrate Christmas and how he will relate to his fellow neighbours. Think back over your past celebrations of Christmas. Are there things that stand out is being particularly enjoyable, things that made Christmas special for you or for someone else, things that reflected the love and generosity of God? Are there things you could replicate so that your Christmas celebration reflects that love and generosity of God?

But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Luke 15:22-24

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Counting on … day 414

21st December 2022 

Keeping the front door closed is an obvious way of keeping one’s home warm during the winter. It saves on energy bills too. However not all retailers follow the same logic and instead leave their shop doors wide open. 

‘Close the Door’ has some tips as to how you can tactfully suggest that it would be better for the environment if their doors were not left open. (It also deters petty theft). They also have a list of companies who have signed up to a policy of not leaving doors open.

http://www.closethedoor.org.uk/

Advent 20

December 2022

A change of heart. This illustration by Tasha Tudor is from Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden. It shows the first time that Mary steps inside the secret garden. It is winter and the garden seems devoid of life. The soil is bare and there are no leaves or flowers on the skeletal plants that occupy the space. The coldness of the garden reflects the coldness of Mary’s heart. But over the following months the garden and Mary’s heart are brought back to life and overflow with joy and colour.

What is there within you that is waiting for a little nurturing in order to blossom?

I will give them a heart to know that I am the Lord; and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart. Jeremiah 24:7

So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 2 Corinthians 5:17