Advent Reflections – Page 4

Advent 18

December 2022

Emergency exit. Advent and Christmas can be unduly stressful times: be prepared. It can be useful to have a plan – an emergency exit – for when the situation gets too much for you to cope with. Things can go wrong, develop in unexpected directions, or become more complex than first thought. Rather than panicking or getting cross or agitated, it is better to have in mind a calm exit strategy. Having such a plan may lessen your anxiety and actually enable you to deal with the situation more effectively and without having to use the emergency exit. An emergency exit is not about defeat. Rather it is about humility, about knowing and being able to admit to your limitations.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;

whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

For he will hide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will set me high on a rock.

Psalm 27:1,5

Advent 17

December 2022

This drawing from 1673 by Adriaen van Ostade presents a cheerful scene. People are making music, bowling, walking the dog, drinking, sharing a meal, having a chat. Standing in the doorway is the proprietress. She must be an industrious person for over the door are two bee skeps, higher up a dovecote, and by her feet, hens.

A pub can be a welcome place for a traveller needing a break, a relaxed place to meet friends, to share passions – darts or skittles, watch sport, book clubs – or a place to go if you are feeling alone and in need of company. It can be a place to find a phone, a toilet or to ask the way when lost. Some pubs double up as post offices, libraries and become the centre of their community. Maybe the challenge for the church is to be as open in its reach to the community as the local pub.

And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24,25

Advent 15

December 2022

This is an old sheepfold in Great Langdale up in the Lake District. It is still in use and you can see the gate or door propped open. Most of the year the fold is left open but at certain times it is closed to keep the sheep safely inside. Jesus described himself as the shepherd who leads his sheep out through the open gate by day and keeps them safe by night. As the Good Shepherd, he is the one who will lay down his life for his sheep – physically and metaphorically he becomes the gate that safeguards the fold.

He will feed his flock like a shepherd;

he will gather the lambs in his arms,

and carry them in his bosom,

and gently lead the mother sheep. Isaiah 40: 11

Advent 14

December 2022

Traditionally at the age of 21, or latterly 18, one received the key to the (your parents’) front door as a sign of independence. But you probably felt you gained your real independence when you had the key to your own room or home. It might have been at a hall of residence, a room in a flat-share or even your own place. The space beyond the door was yours to shape to your taste, a place where you chose what to do, when to eat, when to sleep – a place where you had control over your own life. That control can be something to value. People who are homeless or in a hostel, in hospital or ill at home, those who are infirm or elderly, may feel the lack of privacy and self determination that comes with independent living.

Whatever space we have to call our own, we can make it a place of love, warmth and welcome.

By wisdom a house is built,

and by understanding it is established;

by knowledge the rooms are filled

with all precious and pleasant riches. Proverbs 24:3-4

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Romans 15:17

Advent 13

December 2022

A toilet door in Burundi. Here in the rural areas less than half the population has access to a toilet. Toilet Twinning is a scheme that aims to provide everyone with access to hygienic toilet sanitation. For a sum of £60 donors are twinned with a toilet and receive a photo of it as a ongoing reminder. These toilets not only improve public health, they also improve the self worth of the users, especially young girls and women, by providing the privacy and safety of a door.

There are a lot of things in our daily life that we take for granted. Advent is a good time to reflect on these overlooked blessings.

Give thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:20

Advent 12

December 2022

A revolving door that looks a little care worn. At times we may feel as if we are trapped in a revolving door: the same things happening time and again with no way out. Days, weeks, seasons and indeed life is by nature cyclical. If it wasn’t we wouldn’t be able to plan ahead and the unpredictability of life could be terrifying. On the other hand there is something soul destroying about getting stuck in a rut. Why do we have revolving doors? There seem to be two good reasons. It allows some people to come in and others to go out at the same time. It keeps the warm air inside and cold air outside.

If we can find a right balance in our lives we can enjoy both the predictability of routine and the invigoration of novelty.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

a time to be born, and a time to die;

a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

a time to kill, and a time to heal;

a time to break down, and a time to build up;

a time to weep, and a time to laugh;

a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;

a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

a time to seek, and a time to lose;

a time to keep, and a time to throw away;

a time to tear, and a time to sew;

a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; Ecclesiastes 3:1-7

Advent 11

December 2022

Just give me a few minutes of peace and quiet!’

I wonder how often you just want to close the door to shut out all the rush and noise of daily life and gain a few moments of calm? Maybe it is something we actually need rather than just want. This Advent can you create for yourself some quiet times or a quiet place?

What equally about giving someone else the opportunity for peace and quiet?

In the morning, while it was still very dark, Jesus got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed. Mark1:35

But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:6

Advent 10

December 2022

If some doors offer us a place of safety, others invite us to set out on an adventure. This unusual round door is the door of a hobbit home, the home of Bilbo Baggins. Stepping over the threshold, Bilbo finds his feet set on a road that disappears into the far distance, an invitation to walk and to explore new horizons.

In the church calendar Advent marks the beginning of a new year. Maybe this Advent could be a time to step out and explore new paths, to explore new horizons – or just simply to step outside and walk, enjoying God’s presence in the wintery world. Take time to listen and to be with God.

They heard the sound of God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze.

Genesis 3:8a

Advent 8

December 2022

This is the main entrance to Upnor Castle. A large, robust door designed to withstand invaders and intruders alike. A door to both intimidate and heighten one’s awareness of the importance of the occupants of the castle. In life we too may face doors – opportunities- that seem daunting, beyond our measure. But here there is a little wicket gate too small for a knight on horse back but big enough for a person to slip through. Perhaps with a little honesty and humility, we too will find that more accessible door.

Turning it round, are there doors in our society that might seem too daunting for someone to enter. Are there ways we can create wicket gates to ease their passage?

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God. Matthew 19:24

Advent 9

December 2022

“Oh, Badger,’ cried the Rat, ‘let us in, please. It’s me, Rat, and my friend Mole, and we’ve lost our way in the snow.’

‘What, Ratty, my dear little man!’ exclaimed the Badger, in quite a different voice. ‘Come along in, both of you, at once. Why, you must be perished. Well I never! Lost in the snow! And in the Wild Wood, too, and at this time of night! But come in with you.’

The two animals tumbled over each other in their eagerness to get inside, and heard the door shut behind them with great joy and relief.”

Here the door offers a place of safety for two lost creatures. Closed securely behind them, the door shuts out the cold, the dark and the fear of attack. On the other side it offers them warmth, sanctuary and friendship. We all need a safe place to go when we are tired or frightened. I wonder on whose door you would knock? Who would bundle you inside and comfort you?

Perhaps someone has already done this for you? Or maybe you have offered someone else that safe place?

At Christmas we often think of the homeless (although homelessness is a year round problem) and so it has become a time when we are invited to support those places that offer safe overnight shelter.

Learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, pleas for the widow. Isaiah 1:17