17 December 2008
Vicar's Letter December and January
This article can also be found in the Parish Magazine
Dear All
At this time of the year we are faced with a choice – and being aware of this is vital for our celebration of Christmas and Epiphany. We could simply treat this time of Advent, which begins on 30th November, as a time to focus entirely on Christmas in terms of the presents we need to buy and deliver, the cards and letters we need to write, the food we need to order, buy and prepare, what will be our colour theme for decorating our homes and indeed our church. Or, as the family at St Cross, we could instead embark on a journey of watching, waiting and wonder. At my Induction service we heard read the words ‘You are the salt of the earth’ and ‘you are the light of the world’; what does this mean for us today and at this time of our Church’s Year? Surely it means that we of all people must resist some of the emphases that are put on Christmas in the world around us:
• We shall only have a good Christmas if we have bought the ‘right’ food in sufficient quantities and have the skills of a celebrity chef in the kitchen
• We have to spend money we do not have in order to please our families and friends with gifts
• We have to run around being busy in order to convince ourselves that all will be ready
• Christmas is really for the children
There are some other thoughts about Christmas which go deeper and can potentially affect any one of us – maybe someone dear to us has died and so ‘we cannot be happy this Christmas’ or maybe we are poorly, or sad because of some other distressing event; maybe we are feeling nostalgic for former Christmases when we had lots of children around us.......
But if we look at what Christmas means, the Good News of the Coming of Christ, perhaps we may have a different perspective. Jesus was born at a time of political oppression and hardship. The journey of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem was hardly the best preparation for a birth. The narratives about the birth of Jesus in a stable, there being no other shelter, remind us that Jesus is born into all the messiness of our lives. Surely the Christ Child speaks to us in our suffering and grief as well as in our times of happiness.
The message of the angels is one of peace and good will; indeed the message of the Prophets, about whom we shall be reading during Advent, is one of hope for a joy to come. Joy and Peace can be ours even in the midst of suffering or sadness. The Good News then, as now, is for a world and a humanity that are desperately in need of wholeness as individuals and as community.
Let us make use of the imagery of the journey. We could either be picked up and carried along on a fast train hurtling along in a frenzy towards a midwinter holiday that will be over in a few days, or we could make a deliberate choice to set off, perhaps as if we were with the Kings or the Wise Men en route from the East, at a more leisurely pace, watching, waiting for what may be revealed to us on the way. Then when we arrive we shall be better prepared for the wonder of what we shall see – and maybe we shall see in a new way as we join Mary and Joseph, the shepherds and the angels at the cradle of Jesus.
How might we do this? One of the reasons why we sometimes get caught up in the activity around us is because we do not give time to stop and reflect. This requires great discipline but, as so many of you will have already found, reaps its own reward! Sometimes it can help to have a time of reflection in the company of others and so with this in mind there will be three occasions during Advent when you are invited to come to church for a Meditation for Advent – this will last about half an hour beginning at 8 p.m. on Thursdays in the Parish room. There will be some words spoken, some quiet, maybe some music and finally an Order of Night Prayer. Some of you may find a morning easier and of course you are all welcome to come along to Morning Prayer which is said on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7.30 am each week. There are special books written for Advent which can help us in our reflection; if you would like help with this please let me know.
Our journey begins on 30th November with a service to mark the beginning of Advent and continues through the Christmas and Epiphany season; details of all the services are given in this magazine. Do remember to invite your friends and neighbours to any of the opportunities for worship and reflection that will be happening.
One of the joys for us as Christians is that Christmas does not end on ‘Boxing Day’! Our journey continues as we celebrate Epiphany, the revealing of Jesus as the Christ who came for all, Gentile as well as Jew, and does not end until Candlemas in early February, when we recall how the two elderly folk, Simeon and Anna, met Jesus in the Temple – but more of that next time!
Meanwhile I wish you God’s Blessing as you journey and look forward to welcoming you to church during the coming weeks or to meeting you at home if you would like Home Communion. Whatever your situation, however you will celebrate Christmas this year, I pray that you may know the Peace and Joy of the Christ-child in your hearts.
Posted by Julie Withers