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Christmas Day 2024

Reflection

Today we celebrate the birth of a baby born in a stable some 2000 years ago. We can imagine what it was like because every day before and since then, babies have been born. Not all in stables – some in state of the art hospital suites, some in bomb sites, some in birthing pools, some in favelas – but each uniquely special.

Babies with their vulnerability and miraculously complete appearance, evoke such emotions from us – whether we are the parents  or not. Emotions of love, joy, wonder – even of adoration. I am not surprised that the shepherds were filled with awe and wonder when they saw the baby Jesus lying in the manger. And how much more their awe and wonder if they were able to fully take on board that this baby was to be the one who was to save the world, to bring into the world the means for healing and restoring all that gone wrong. Or if their were able to get their minds around the fact that this baby was God incarnate – God becoming as human as you or me. But I am guessing that Jesus looked no more different – and no less amazing – than any other new born baby. It is the ongoing miracle of God that new life continues to be born each and every day.

Everyday like the shepherds, we are called to witness to the miracle of life and to praise God. 

Jesus, even though he was born in a stable – which was probably not such an uncommon occurrence – was welcomed and protected by Mary and Joseph. He was born into a family that would nurture and safeguard him, that would enfold him in love – just as they had wrapped him in swaddling clothes. In Luke’s gospel we see Jesus growing up in that family, brought up with the faith of his parents including being taken to the temple Jerusalem, and that even in adulthood Mary and Joseph continue to be concerned for his welfare. 

For many people Christmas is a celebration of family. Families – as Jesus himself comments – include both blood relatives and others who happen to take on family roles. Being in a family is an important part of what it is to be a human. They are places of unconditional belonging. They are places of love. Families are not separate entities but all interconnected and intertwined. This is what we are celebrating at Christmas. We are all one family in God. Through the birth of Jesus we know God as  father and mother of us all.

Advent 24: services

Long journeys require us to take regulars breaks, to rest, take on fuel, and freshen up before we set off once more. On motorways areas for such provision are known as services. I wonder if that should help us understand (in part) why we go to church for services. But more importantly I think we all need times to step aside and rest awhile and to enjoy life. 

We have already heard how Elijah took time out in the wilderness where he was provided with food and a place to sleep. 

Jesus knew the value of taking time out, both for himself and for his disciples, often setting aside his gospel work, to spend time in the wilder spaces well away from towns and villages. Yet at his birth, a resting place had not been so easy to come by.

For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” 
Isaiah 30:15a 

Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from the house and family of David. And Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. Luke 2:4,7

Advent 23: all change!

Change is an inevitable part of life, but sometimes that change can be completely radical – a new direction of travel – requiring  new ways of doing things, seeing things and of understanding. That was the case for Mary and Joseph, for the magi, perhaps even for the shepherds. It was certainly so for the disciples who first followed Jesus. It was certainly so for St Paul. And I am sure it is – or is to be – so for us. 

The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. Genesis 12:1 

An angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.’ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. Matthew 1:20-21,24 

And when they had brought their boats ashore, they left everything and followed Him. Luke 5:11

Fourth Sunday of Advent

22nd December 2024

Reflection with readings below

In today’s readings it is the small and the marginalised that are brought centre stage – Ephrathah the smallest of the clans, sheep (that ubiquitous farm animal), women (even today in many societies women are still marginalised) and unborn children. The texts offer peace and security, restoration and salvation, and a rebalancing of wealth and power.

Micah’s words promise peace and security. We only have to glance at the newspapers to see how important those two still are. Micah lived in a time of great turmoil when powerful empires sought to grab control of the known world – and largely disregarding small nations in the process: their purpose was to be a source of taxation – and rich men tried to grab as much profit as they could, and would willingly bow to any god or passing fad, if that helped them up the greasy pole. In other words Micah’s world was not dissimilar to our’s today. If you read more of Micah’s words you will find the vocabulary highly critical and harsh. 

Yet Micah did seem confident that the God he worshipped and for whom he spoke, did still love Israel, was still merciful and still offered hope for a better future. In an earlier part of the Book of Micah, we hear of swords being beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning hooks. Peace – and justice – will only come into being through radical change. The ‘same old, same old’ will not do. Mary’s Magnificat comes with the same message. Existing power structures need to be upended. Existing patterns of wealth distribution cannot continue. Radical change is needed. 

Jesus’s birth heralds in God’s era of radical change. The writer of Hebrews articulates that in the issues of his day. God’s desire is not going to be met through burnt offerings and sacrifices, God’s will is not going to be achieved through a set of laws that have passed their sell-by date. God’s salvation comes through the incarnation, through the indwelling of Christ in a human body – through the lived experience of Jesus as a human encompassing birth and death and resurrection. 

And God’s salvation is still be found in those bodies wherein Christ dwells today. Like Mary before us, we are called to say yes to God, to allow God’s word to be implanted in us, to allow that living word to shape our thoughts and words and actions. We may find ourselves echoing the prophet Micah or echoing Mary the mother of Jesus, in challenging the ongoing sinful practices of the rich and powerful. We may find ourselves enacting countercultural actions that will turn swords into plough shares or redistribute wealth to the poor. We may find ourselves embracing the mind of Christ that understands that everyone is to be loved. 

Micah 5:2-5a

You, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah,
who are one of the little clans of Judah, 

from you shall come forth for me
one who is to rule in Israel, 

whose origin is from of old,
from ancient days. 

Therefore he shall give them up until the time
when she who is in labour has brought forth; 

then the rest of his kindred shall return
to the people of Israel. 

And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. 

And they shall live secure, for now he shall be great
to the ends of the earth; 

and he shall be the one of peace.

Psalm 80:1-7 

1 Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; *
shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.

2 In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, *
stir up your strength and come to help us.

3 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

4 O Lord God of hosts, *
how long will you be angered
despite the prayers of your people?

5 You have fed them with the bread of tears; *
you have given them bowls of tears to drink.

6 You have made us the derision of our neighbours, *
and our enemies laugh us to scorn.

7 Restore us, O God of hosts; *
show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.

Hebrews 10:5-10

When Christ came into the world, he said,

“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body you have prepared for me; 

in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure. 

Then I said, ‘See, God, I have come to do your will, O God’
(in the scroll of the book it is written of me).” 

When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), then he added, “See, I have come to do your will.” He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Luke 1:39-55

In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.

When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”

And Mary said,

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, 

for he has looked with favour on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name. 

His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation. 

He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. 

He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly; 

he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty. 

He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy, 

according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”

Advent 22: unofficial signs

Not all street signs are official  – in the sense of being installed by the local or highway authority. Often  these unofficial signs advertised local events. Sometimes they concern lost cats and dogs, or keys that have been found (and not usually the other way round). This one here is providing a counter message to the prevailing media message that the ULEZ expansion was an intolerable  inconvenience for the average motorist. Instead this sign is celebrating the positive, life enhancing benefits of the traffic scheme. 

Prophets often have to shout out about the benefits of God’s ways to counter the ‘me, me, me’ message of society. That too must be our calling.

Wail, you who live in the market district; all your merchants will be wiped out, all who trade with silver will be destroyed. 
Zephaniah 1:11

If you oppress poor people, you insult the God who made them; but kindness shown to the poor is an act of worship. 
Proverbs 14:31

At the Solstice 

21st December 2024 

And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.’ And it was so. Genesis 1:14-15

You Lord, are the source of all good things: 

We praise you.

You call us to tend and care for your creation: 

May we strive to do your will.

You have made us as brothers and sisters with all that lives: 

May we live together in peace.

A reading from Isaiah 45: 7-8

I form light and create darkness,
    I make weal and create woe;
    I the Lord do all these things.

Shower, O heavens, from above,
    and let the skies rain down righteousness;
let the earth open, that salvation may spring up,
    and let it cause righteousness to sprout up also;
    I the Lord have created it.

A response:

A turning point in the year is reached, 

and as the longest night reaches its peak

and the shortest day 

recedes to its briefest span –

so the sun’s year turns again.

The dark draws back 

its day time occupation, 

and gradually reframes itself once more 

as night.

But before we rush on, 

let’s take time to embrace the dark 

that gives us rest – and time to pause – 

with long evenings when books and loved ones 

can calm our souls.

And before we rush on, 

let’s take time to ponder how 

the Advent days of expectant waiting 

have kept pace with the darker nights – 

and how even now 

the mornings’s dawn still holds off 

as if waiting for that greater light.

And those of us who have walked in darkness 

will see that light, the dawning 

of the day that ushers in new beginnings, 

new life, the sun reborn, 

the birth of the Christ child.

As the sun-shaped days take hold, 

it is the evenings that first draw back 

releasing the season’s extra light,

the assurance of the Son’s salvation.

From now on the days will lengthen, 

extending once more the working day. 

As we look up to the skies and down to the earth, 

let righteousness sprout forth. 

As seasons turn and new years begin, 

together we shall journey on into God’s kingdom.

May God bless us in the darkness.

May God bless us in the light.

May God bless us in each season.

May God bless us with salvation in the birth of the Son.

Amen.

Advent 21: banner headlines

Banners can be a call out for action. They shout out their message in letters written large. Such too has been the role of prophets and evangelists. I wonder whether you have, or have had, the opportunity to speak out for God?

 I am sending you to them, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the Lord GOD says.’ And whether they listen or refuse to listen—for they are a rebellious house—they will know that a prophet has been among them. 
Ezekiel 2:4-5

What I tell you now in the darkness, shout abroad when daybreak comes. What I whisper in your ear, shout from the housetops for all to hear! 
Matthew 10:27 

“Go, stand in the temple courts and tell the people the full message of this new life.” Acts 5:20

Advent 20: What is the message?

Not all signs are easy to interpret or understand. Sometimes they may invite us to ponder. Sometimes they may invite us to think about who the creator might have been, and what inspired – or angered –  them? 

Often graffiti is found in inaccessible places, or at places on the margins. Does our society push some messages aside, keeping their authors at a distance? Many of the prophets of the Old Testament found that their messages were unwanted. 

Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear. Jeremiah 5:21 

That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. Matthew 13:13

Advent 19: mixed media

Some messages are more noticeable when displayed using unusual mediums. This one is knitted!

The prophets of the Old Testament used this technique of unusual media to convey God’s messages. Jeremiah bought a brand new  loincloth which he deliberately buried so that it was irreparably ruined: a sign of what would happen to the people if they refused to listen to God. Hosea married a prostitute as a sign that even if God’s people followed other gods, God would still love them and forgive them. 

Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and offer raisin cakes to idols.” Hosea 3:1

Advent 18: a sign of intent

Some signs signify where we stand on an issue. This one shows my commitment to protect the environment by pledging not to fly. 

The CND sign has been widely displayed by those who wish to declare their stand against the use of nuclear weapons, and the dove by those campaigning for peace. Whilst new to the block is the Extinction Rebellion sign used by those highlighting concerns about the climate crisis.

In Genesis we read of a rainbow that was set  in the sky as a sign of God’s intention to protect the earth by promising not to let it be destroyed by floods. Later , both in Isaiah and the Gospel of Luke, we hear of God’s intention to stand by and save his people. 

I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Genesis 9:13

Today in the city of David a Saviour has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord! And this will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12