Imagining the Distance Away

Another thought - and the final one for the year - drawn from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey. Nouwen emphasises the importance of reconciliation. We are so good at creating space, at seeing the distance. "So much of our energy, time, and money goes into maintaining distance from one another."

We need to get past that. As Nouwen says: "Just imagine all the people on the planet holding hands and forming one large circle of love."

Forgiveness and Acceptance

Forgiveness is all about grace.  Leith Fisher comments: “I believe it is very difficult to overestimate the importance of forgiveness and its twin, acceptance.  It is forgiveness which overcomes estrangements, brings reconciliation, breaks the iron bands of revenge and recrimination, delivers from bitterness and resentment, frees from guilt and fear.  It is something that we do practise in the daily round of our lives; it’s a balm for the bumps and bruises we keep inflicting on one another; it’s an oil which keeps the engine of community running within family life, community life, church life.  It is something we should always be praying for the grace to practise better.”  

Fisher goes on to refer to the philosopher Jacques Derrida who speaks about ‘the insanity of grace’ and then again about ‘the madness of the impossible’.  The point is that the challenge to forgiveness defies human logic.  It is far more natural that we should seek revenge.  But, of course, that is where we go right to the centre of our faith – because there we find forgiveness, there at the cross.  

Fisher comments: “It is there we are enrolled in the school of grace, freely to give as we have freely received.  How do we witness to the Easter faith?  In things big and small, keep remembering, “Seventy times seven.”

I was an Angel once

It was back in 2002, at the Junior Church Nativity, in The Cotteridge Church in Birmingham, that my younger daughter, Rachel (then 5), and I, both played the same part.  I am sure she didn’t realise it, and probably most of the congregation also missed the coincidence.  But we were both angels.  She was, of course, the more conventional kind of angel, attractive, dressed in white, with wings.  I was Arfur the angel, the tramp angel, trying to make sense of the memo in my pocket, crumpled, and sounding to me more like the story of Noah, with its cobwebs, animals and smelly stable.

But that made an important point.  Christmas isn’t what we expect.  There was a star, and angels, according to what we read in Luke and Matthew – but God didn’t arrive on earth amidst military might, a conquering hero, heralded by a marvellous fanfare.  Rather he slipped into the world in a smelly stable, at first only noticed by a few shepherds.

John sums it up in that tremendous phrase in John 1:14 – and the Word became flesh.  This is the theme of the Gospel.  This is the climax of this tremendous opening statement.

And angels come in all shapes and size – ready to be welcomed by us.

A Safe Place for Others

One of our key tasks as Christians is to be as Christ for others. I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, and all that stuff. Or, putting it in the words of the song: 'When I needed a neighbour, were you there?'

I have been reading Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey which offers a brief reflection for each day of the year, and was especially struck by today's focus on 'being safe places for others.'

As Nouwen puts it: "When we are free from the need to judge or condemn, we can become safe places for people to meet in vulnerability and take down the walls that separate them. Being deeply rooted in the love of God, we cannot help but invite people to love one another."

I suspect that, too easily and too frequently, we judge and condemn. How easily and how often are we the kind of people that could be described as 'safe places'?

Breaking Grace

I was really struck by a sentence in today’s comments in Fresh from the Word 2016. This week’s commentary is by Katie Miller and today’s passage was the most famous part of the nativity story outside of Luke, Matthew’s account of the ‘wise men’ finding and worshipping Jesus.

The story speaks to us of listening to God’s voice – the key characters responded to God’s call to go and find the child; giving gifts; and being prepared to be surprised – the visitors naturally went to the palace, but discovered that this ‘king’ was located in a very different place.

Katie draws a link with some charitable delivering of food hampers and the lovely response of huge gratitude from one particular recipient. She wonders whether they deserve the thanks – but then comments: “When we see heaven meet earth, God’s grace breaking through, it is fitting that we are overwhelmed with joy, pay homage to him, and offer our gifts.”

Are we ready to be overwhelmed with joy at the wonder of what God can do?

Magnify the Lord

My older daughter decided to get me a Christmas present 'suitable for a minister' - and I was genuinely delighted to receive the framed verse of a psalm in this photograph.

I was pleased to get this both because of the thought behind it AND the fact that it emphasises the importance of worship.

If we are going to serve God as we should, then that service needs to be founded on prayer and worship. Is that how it is?

And, just for another thought, might there be any way in which God can/would/should/might speak through the presents that we have either given or received?

Nativity 4

The other nativity scene we have at home is another colourful set of characters that take us through Advent. We are supposed to add one each day, completing the scene on Christmas Day. However, this year we just put the whole thing up, except there were three missing. We could not find one of the wise men (that is, if we assume the traditional three), nor Mary, nor Joseph - until, happily, I found them in a box a few days ago, when I was looking for something else. So we were able to complete the scene before Christmas Day.

But that got me thinking about those times when things go wrong, or there is a bit missing and so, though they are not Christmas stories, reflecting on those three 'losts' that get mentioned in Luke 15, the sheep, the coin and the son. It is all a reminder that Christmas is essentially about the fact that God comes looking for those who are lost.

It also got me wondering what difference it would make if one of the characters got 'dropped' from the nativity story. Who would you leave out, and what difference would it make? God helps us deal with the missing 'bits'. That's what we mean when we sing 'Love came down at Christmas'.