Where joy and sorrow meet

                                                                                                                                   

                                                        


|Advent Blog; Christmas day

I was driving around at work today (christmas eve at the time of writing) and flicking between radio stations. The usual DJ's, the good ones, were mostly on holiday and I found myself listening to classic fm. For those unfamiliar it is a commercial channel that plays exclusively classical music. They were playing carols all day. I have fairly broad musical taste but I have only ever found a few pieces of classical music that I love and so it has rarely been my station of choice. I didn't put a lot of stock in the version of Hark the herald angels sing that was playing when I first tuned in. I thought I'd bear with it and I am so glad I did.  The very next Carol was the most amazing piece of music I think I have ever heard. It was a choral version of "In the bleak midwinter", one of my mothers very favourites. My mother, who died 7 yrs ago in her mid fifties, was extremely fond of choral music. Her two favourite carols, to my memory, were "O Come. O come Immanuel" and "In the bleak midwinter". Both Carols have a fragile uplifting beauty that bursts through the skin of a melancholic melody. When those crystal clear voices harmonise and form chords, at certain points it is like an irresistible force that draws water from out of my tear ducts, an almost chemical reaction to such soulful beauty. This carol on the radio undid me. I arrived for my next job literally wiping the tears away.

It was not just the beauty of the music and words though. It was the association with my mother. I spoke at the start of my advent blog of my "first" Christmas. It was on this first Christmas, on my first return to my family home, after leaving it, that I found myself discussing carols with her. The first of many such discussions, I am sure. She got the same water filmed eyes that I get when listening to them. She went to another place. Music connects the soul with something other sometimes. She lost her father at a young age (4) and her life was not exactly trouble free. Her mother died when she was in her 30s (a similar age to mine, when I lost her) and I am sure now that, when that beauty and sadness connected, she went to the same place that I go when I hear it. So profoundly moved that she was unable to return instantly. "Just give me a minute" she would say. She was a much more private person than I am.

Christmas is always poignant since she has gone. It was my mother that created christmas in our home. I am sure that Dad was involved, I am certain that he facilitated it but it was mum who made it Christmas. She would make a ceremony every year of putting up the cards, tree and decorations. She would sing as she did so. She baked and fed her cake and made mulled wine, the kitchen full of the scent of orange and cinnamon and cloves. She always played the same Ronson Christmas album as she did so. It was this sense of joyful preparation for Christmas that heightened my anticipation, that bought delight and warmth into the experience. She loved music and didn't mind chaotic gatherings. Not all the time but, certainly at Christmas, she wanted the house full of life. I cant tell you how much I miss her.

I love Christmas because, in the words of the Muppet's Christmas carol, It is the season of the soul. It is a time for meetings. It is the time for the meeting of melancholy and beauty. It is the time for the meeting of sweet memories and sad mournings. It is the time for  the meeting of cold and warm. It is the time for the meeting of people you have not seen. It is time for the meetings of families. It is a  time for the meetings of regrets and hopes. It is the time for the meeting of the secular and the sacred.

It is the time for the meeting of the human and the divine; both in the body of our wonderful Lord Jesus Christ and in our very own encounters with him. It is the time for the meeting of the word, the eternal word and flesh, for the incarnation of God almighty. God bleeds, he cries, he laughs, he suffers; not at a distance but with us! And to borrow and adapt a line from a Cormac mcCarthy book, completely out of context.

If he is not the very word of God to us then God never spoke

But, of course, he spoke.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it...
...The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
   The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.. (John 1)

So let me close my advent blogs by saying that I pray and hope you can see the light that is the life of mankind in the Christmas story this year and always. But whatever your position, whatever your state of faith, the Christmas story is told with open arms. God loves us and he is for us. He does not demand that we meet some unattainable high standard but he comes to us and embraces us. Let me wish you a very, very merry Christmas and a happy new era.

Love,
Matthew Joseph
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Carols by candlelight

Advent Blog; Day 24

                                                       

I attended a candle-lit Christmas Carol service at my home church tonight. I don't want to tell you how beautiful the decorations were (they were astoundingly so and done with, in my opinion, great taste). I don't want to tell you about the music and songs, (which were beautifully performed, passionately sung and well chosen) or the depth of the meaning and the theology of the words (the carols are among the most profound hymns written). I don't wish to tell you about the message  (it was simple, direct and incisive...full of hope). No, I want to rest my attention elsewhere!

This year what I personally took from the service was something other. As I cast my eye around the low lit room (both during and after the service) what struck me as the candle light flickered causing faces to jump in and out of darkness,  was the number of people there that I feel a deep connection with and have a great sense of warmth for.

I look around my home church (and it feels like home) and I see faces of people I have journeyed with these last years and some for nearly all my life (and my father, who I have journeyed with all my life). I know people here. Some better than others. Some better than they think I know them. Some not as much as I'd like to. Some know me, some better, some better than they would like to, I am sure. Some of these I have prayed with, shed tears with. Some have inspired me. Some have served me. Some have prayed faithful for me. Some have given generously to me. Some have taught me. Some have encouraged me. Some have consoled me. Some have grieved with me. Some have challenged me. Some have been challenging. Some have prophesied over me. Some have let me down. Some have made me laugh. Some have shared hospitality.

These people are my family. I love them. It is true; sometimes we frustrate each other. Sometimes we fall into judgementality, sometimes we are insensitive or misunderstanding of each other. We are human. We are like natural brothers and sisters. But I want to say this. 2000 years ago, at Christmas, God put his son Jesus in a family so that we can can be in his family. And it's a beautiful, raggle-taggle, mixed up, messed up, fantastic, incredible holy mess. It's the people of God. I know that this is where I belong. This is the church.

Since my own family unit fell apart I have had to redefine my concept of family. My boys and I are a family. My boys and their mother are a family, in a sense we are all family, even though she and I are no longer in a relationship with each other.

Since my mother died the borders of my birth family have shifted. My father has re-married and I now have a new type of mother in my life and I have a hitherto non-existent connection to her wider family.

Families, be they nuclear, extended or blended are places of belonging. I once read an article that said that the way people look at things these days, marriage plays less of a part, blood ties play less of a part. Your family is made up of those who will stand with you, those who will stand by you. I have found these people in my church family. God does not want you to be alone. That is what Christmas is about. He loves you, he wants relationship with you and he wants you to experience relationship with him through his people. Scripture, I am reliably informed, says somewhere that he put the lonely in families and he does, he puts them in his own. This Christmas get involved in the messy business of relationships. Find God in your encounters with others. Express the love that is expressed towards you. He didn't leave you orphans but he adopted you into his family, gave you a spirit of acceptance. God wants to include you in the community of his amazing love.

Gold, Frankinsense and errr.....the other one

They saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.~ Matthew 2:11


                                                    

There are all sorts of biblical and pseudo-christian cliches about why we give gifts at Christmas. This is undoubtedly the first example of gift giving at Christmas. Of course there is the old nativity play myth with the 3 kings in the stable with the shepherds, gathered around the manger of the Baby Jesus who is, at this point, just a few hours old. It is far more likely that they came at different times. The number of the Magi is unspecified. This would not be important were it not that we had the impression that it was three. The most obvious place that that assumption comes from is the fact that there are three gifts. This only becomes significant when we understand that the three gifts were presented not by individuals but  rather all three gifts are given by the group of the Magi, meaning that they were a statement. These were gifts for a future king. These were a tribute, an acknowledgement of how special they deemed this child to be. I'd like to speak of 5 categories of gift in this blog and see what they meant then and what they mean now to us.

Gold

The gift of gold is symbolic of Kingship. In giving gold to Jesus the Magi were doing something quite subversive. The claim Messiah would have on Israel would be far superior to the claim Herod had. He knew it and much evil would come of his fear of losing power. If only he'd known what Kind of King Jesus was to be, he could have spared those children, he could have been saved himself.

So Jesus from his earliest days was recognised (in that an act of recognition had taken place) as a King, in the line of David. Quite a contrast to his actual circumstances. I wonder if, when Mary and Joseph related these things to him as he grew that this wasn't the cause of the forming of his true vision of the Kingdom of God.

What is our equivalent of "Gold giving" this Christmas?

• First it is a tribute, an acknowledgement of Jesus Kingship in our lives. He is first. As the ancient hymn says "Thou and Thou only, the first in my heart, High King of Heaven MY treasure, Thou art".
• Second is our wealth at his disposal. Our wealth (money and resources) to help those in need, to help with his work, to honor him in all our financial dealings.

Frankincense

The Gift of frankincense is symbolic of Worship. Matthew states that the purpose of the Magi's visit was worship. I find this a strange concept, of Worshipping a human being (although, of course I worship the same human as they do). I wonder how they arrived at this idea. Perhaps worship of kings was cultural. Many Kings have declared themselves divine. But this Boy born in a barn did not ask for worship and his circumstances certainly didn't invite it. But then they had travelled miles to see this child with this purpose in mind. I wonder if they found it a little disappointing, a little ordinary. I cannot imagine the baby did anything particularly entertaining and these men were not visitors in the maternity ward, come for a cuddle. They had come with higher purposes in mind. But still they worshipped. Their arts had told them that there was something different about this child and they bought their tribute....and they worshipped. I ponder, can we find cause for worship in the most ordinary of circumstances, things that though they may seem ordinary to others quite take our breath away. Christmas contains many such moments for me. In what can ways can we bring our Frankincense this Christmas?

• We can worship Jesus in the ordinariness of our lives, in thankfulness for all the small blessings we have, things that other, less fortunate people, would value more highly. Gratitude is the attitude.
• We worship in the way we conduct ourselves. In all things and people we should see opportunities for serving Christ. In giving kindness to people we Do it unto Him".
• Lose yourselves in the abandon of heartfelt worship of the King. Carols are an excellent vehicle for this.

Myrrh

Without doubt the strangest gift for them to give a baby. Myrrh was a spice used primarily for embalming the dead. I don't know a great deal about is but the symbolism is clear. There is a shadow of the cross cast over the manger. There is a deep bass note sounded softly in the background of this scene. Suffering will play a huge part of what this child has come to achieve. I think there is a little irony in the inclusion of myrrh, a side smile on the face of God. Of course it speaks of death But Jesus is one individual who will not be needing myrrh.

What does the gift of myrrh mean to us. In a strange way death to a christian is actually life. Paul says that "to live is Christ and to die is gain". We should carry around in our bodies, in a symbolic way, the death of Christ. In a way its a kind of spiritual death, a dying to self. The old king of self is dead clearing the throne for the new King of Christ. The King is dead, Long live the king. So how do we reflect the giving of myrrh in our tribute to Jesus this Christmas?

• We "die" to our selfishness, in our dealings with others and in our service of Christ.
• We sacrifice in our giving, in our words, preferring others.
• We wait patiently for the resurrection power, as though in the cool tomb, still before our wonderful King.

The Gift of Jesus

The other gift given in this scene is Jesus himself. He is Gods gift to us. It was unprompted, Freely offered and conceived in the heart of the eternal Father. Jesus was Gods perfect sacrifice given in our place. He was given as a payment for our own sins so that we do not have to face the disastrous eternal consequences. He is a gift to me in the way a lifeline cast from a ship is a gift to a drowning man. He is a gift to me in the same way a long cool drink of water is a gift to someone dying of thirst in a desert. Its a no-brainer to me. What do we need to do with such a gift? We receive it.

He is a gift in the sense that he will enrich your life in every way, that he will be a source of  joy to you not just in this life but for all ages. he is a useful gift, a well of resources that you can draw upon whenever you chose.

Jesus is Gods gift of himself, to the world, as its saviour and as its king.


The Gift of You

I love the story of the Magi but I prefer the shepherds in a way. They do not come with offerings and riches, they come because they were called, they come to experience it and they bring only themselves.  The carol "In the bleak mid-winter" the question and response are given "What can I give him? I will give my heart" That is what he wants after all, he made you, he loves you, he wants.....you.

Advent Apocalypse

Advent Blog; Day 22


                                                            

This is going to be a short post as I ran in to some technical difficulties last night when I lost a couple of hours worth of blogging in one fell swoop. Instead of the material I was intending to post I am going to write a short reaction piece on a connection between two events that i saw yesterday. I have to thank my friend Neil for a few things he shared on facebook which guided thoughts that were forming in a certain direction.

So when I say two events I actually mean one event and one no-event. The non-event I speak of is, of course, the end of the world predicted by Mayans that was supposed to occur at 11:11 am yesterday. As a million facebook jokes were circulating yesterday, understandably, and people I met were particularly British about it; stoic, disparaging, sarcastic, it struck me that we often talk about what we would do if we found out the world was going to end in 24 hours. Based on my observations so far we are going to need some pretty serious convincing, if we are to do anything at all. I think of the nature of Nuclear attack, a threat that seems to be returning in the mind of the western public as both Iran and North Korea pursue their atomic dreams., and it seems to me that in the event of that kind of attack (and Armageddon doesn't seem to be an over-statement in relation to that) it will come swiftly. It will be a normal day and we will be doing normal things and then, at best we will receive hours warning or, in an unannounced attack, minutes.

Our response to the Mayan prophecy was completely understandable, the nature of the ending was unspecified and seemed unfounded. We have lived through a number of such predictions in my life time, most recently the supposed date of the rapture earlier this year. Its no wonder we are cynical.

When 11:11am came yesterday I was with a colleague. At the moment the minute changed there was a beam of sunlight came through the window, and my colleague joked "Oooo could be a fireball from the sun". I wasn't worried. He turned to deal with a customer and in the distance I heard a large noise, a soft rumble, like a thunder and just for a split second, I wondered.

It made me think what will we be like in the real event, if it should come in our lifetime, if it should come in that way.

I have touched on this in previous blogs but Christmas, the first one, was a big event for the Jews. A long predicted much anticipated event, the event I mentioned earlier. It came quietly, at least on a national level it did (I am sure it was not quiet for Mary or Joseph, nor for the Shepherds or wise men). But when Jesus was at his prime they largely missed it, dismissed it, were disparaging and stoic and sarcastic "He saved others but he cannot save himself". How easy it is for me to be judgemental but, the truth be known, I in all likely-hood would have missed it too. Even his own disciples needed a little, shall we say, clarity cast on it.

My Friend Neil, put this as his post and I would paraphrase but I don't think I can say it any better than he does.

In the storey Cry Wolf, the villages ignored the boys screaming that a wolf was actually coming because of all his previous lies, it ended badly,
  

The Mayan Prophecy was yet another Cry Wolf that we've heard down the centuries,and ignored or laughed at
but as the World had a definite beginning, it will have a definite end, no one knows when, but a good sign will be when people are so cynical and un...believing about God, but specifically Jesus, that crazy as it sounds, the belittled and ignored creator calls it a day on our absurd rebellion.
the Bible says it'll be a day like any other, people will be feasting and drinking, maybe Christmas would be the perfect time?
The Bible is not a village boy crying wolf to be ignored or laughed at, The Bible is Gods words of love and truth, what loving parent wouldn't warn their children of danger?
If you mock something for long enough, it becomes meaningless, a myth, but look around you, you are living in a world that looks exactly like the Bible describes it will look like near the end, but a wolf is not coming, a lion is, the biblical symbol of a King, the same King who was born in Bethlehem, then a servant King, now a Judging King, and I don't want brown pants on that day.~ Neil Toomey

 

The bible says there will be another advent, that there will be a judgement when the living and the dead are summoned. It's not scare tactics its just letting us know there will be consequences to face. This coming will be glorious, the baby, the son, the lamb, will come, "as a lion" as a King, as the King Of Kings.

Joy to the World

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people~Luke 2:8-10

Advent Blog; Day 21

I love this about the Gospel, that the wise men, traditionally portrayed as kings, presumably prominent men with status, sought out the baby Jesus to bring him their tribute while the common shepherds received an angelic invitation. The contrast speaks volumes to me.

Jesus is a great leveller. I want to focus on the part of the angels message that says "I bring good news that will bring great joy for all the people".

One of the first things that springs to mind in the public perception, when Christians are thought of is rarely "great Joy". We are portrayed in film and media, usually as creepy, over bearing, fanatic, bigoted, pious, reserved, controlling, judgemental and many more things besides but rarely Joyful.

I have been part of church culture most of my life and these portrayals, though they serve dramatic purposes fairly well, are not my experience, on the whole. The people within the church circles who seem to be the most Godly also seem to be the most joyful. Lets let it sink in GOOD NEWS of GREAT JOY. If Jesus paying the price for your sin, the knowledge of a place and purpose in the world and the assurance of a better life to come are not reasons to be ecstatically joyful then I don't know what are. Christmas is a time of merry making. It is life affirming and celebratory.

Next I want to focus on the most amazing part of what the angels said......great joy....for ALL the people.

Jesus did not come just for the Jews. If the whole messiah thing had worked out in the way it was conventionally expected to then the non-Jewish peoples wouldn't have got a look in. He came for people from every tribe and tongue, from every social background, from every political persuasion, from every class system. He came for all, not to express Gods love to the Jewish people only but to all.

This Christmas lets include as many as we can in the celebrations. Christmas, as a festival, has its arms open wide to all people. Christ the saviour is born,

An Empty Manger

But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.~ Luke 2:51-52



Advent Blog; Day 20

When I was contemplating what my next blog should be the image of an empty cradle/manger came to mind. I thought about it for a few minutes. I think this is a return to the negative spaces technique I spoke of early in these blogs.

Mary catches herself gazing at a cradle. It was not so long ago, after all what is 20 yrs?  It seems like an age and yet almost like the blink of an eye. If she closes her eyes she can still hear the sounds of the rustling of straw underfoot, as Joseph repeatedly paces across the stable. She can smell the animals, they're warm rich scents. She can almost feel those first contractions and then, later the ones that took her breath away. She can hear the sound that she'd most longed to hear. In that moment when he'd arrived and she lay there bleeding. The silence that lasted seconds seemed like the time between creation itself and his arrival. It was eerie that silence. Just waiting for the noise, and then boy did it come. It erupted into the night, an explosion of life-affirming almost-indignation and it had been such a relief.

But the mangers empty now. The baby became a boy, the boy became a man. The seed took root, flourished and became a tree. It had been her time, exclusively hers. The shared looks as he grew. No-one could read him like she could. She remembers he used to have this little smile that he did only for her. All through his childhood, when he'd run in from the workshop, he'd always hugged her. She remembers how those hugs had changed, became less dependant and more giving. He'd held her so often for comfort but later he had held her to reassure her. Oh yes the manger was empty alright.Was it wrong to miss it so much?

And what is to become of him, the boy she raised as a gift from God. The boy to who she taught the old stories, the boy she steeped in scripture from his first moments. Where will all this lead. Sure, he had to grow up, of course, and she has loved every minute. She is so proud of the man he is becoming. There was that time in the temple, when they thought they had lost him. She knew then, beyond doubt, when they found him speaking with the Rabi's and asking such perceptive questions, knew that he was more than special. "Didn't you know I'd be in my Fathers house?". She'd known he was special, alright.

What will become of him. If he is really to be the Messiah, and, for her, there is no doubt? When will his time come and what will be the shape of that? Will he kick out the Romans and become king? She has a feeling it will be different to that, she has a feeling of foreboding and she cant put her finger on why. He was exclusively hers and yet, she always felt, in a way never quite hers entirely. Oh she felt like his mother alright, there was no lack of bond between them and the strength of affection was a connection like she had never known elsewhere. It's more than that. Because of the way he came to her she has always known he does not belong to her, in a way. He belongs to God first and, in a strange way he seems to belong to everyone.

The manger is empty and that time can never return. He is a fine man, a decent kind man now, with a sense of justice like she has never seen, with a wisdom that befits a man 3 times his age. He came not to brighten her life, not to be a comfort to her but to do a job. And she knows it. She must hold him lightly. But she remembers his growing and treasures it in her heart. This is her claim on him. He may become a saviour to others but only she will have ever been his mother. What will become of her boy?

I hope this little imagining has been helpful. I think that Christmas itself is like this. It is great to celebrate but it has a job to do, too. The baby became someone as he grew in favour with God and with mankind. And we have some growing to do. I will leave you with a little poem inspired by these musings.

The emptiness

An empty place in heaven,
The Son has left for a while,
The absence of his laughter,
is everywhere,

An empty space in a manger,
The child has grown into a man,
The place of his arrival,
Is but a stepping stone,

An empty place on the cross,
The saviour has come to nothing,
The jeering winds of mocking tongues,
Still whistle past its wood,

An empty ache in disciples hearts,
Their world has fallen apart,
They've been woken with a start
From the sleeping where they dreamt of thrones,

An empty place within a tomb,
He is risen from the dead,
An empty claim death had on him,
He's back just like he said,

An empty sky where they stand,
And stare...

Dumbed Down Dickens?

                                                       


Advent Blog; day 19

(Warning, this blog comes with a sacharine alert)

Hands down, no contest,  "Muppet's Christmas Carol" is my favourite Christmas movie of all time. You can keep your "Its a wonderful life" and your "Miracle on 34th street". For all the schmaltz and goodwill they don't hold a candle to the Muppet's marvellous take on Dickens classic. Whereas, to my mind at least, "It's a wonderful life" makes you drink a cup of foul medicine in order to make a spoonful of sugar, afterwards, taste amazing by contrast, A Christmas carol, essentially the same redemptive story, has its humanity and warmth affirmed throughout, at least it does in the Muppet's version.

I was forced to watch this film when I was a student at bible college 20 years ago. Well, Okay, not forced exactly. We had no TV and the only things we got to watch were either at the cinema or on college social nights. On a social night we were compelled to send a committee to blockbuster in order to chose a film that Christians from all kinds of theological/denominational backgrounds and all kinds of nations would be happy with. As this was bible college 18 certs were off the menu. A 15 may just have slipped under the radar if we had the right potential audience that night. The decisions and debates we had in the video rental shop were legendary, probably both among the students and among the staff of Blockbuster. They could last almost as long as the run-time of the movie itself, or at least it felt that way. The lowest common denominator of moral standard (or perhaps highest) usually prevailed. We usually ended up with something Disney-made.

I have always been a bit of a movie-lover and out of sheer desperation to simply "watch" something I would even attend showings of the children's films that we usually ended up selecting. There was a great sense of camaraderie in those viewings. I came to love them. So when I say forced, I suppose I was forced by my own movie hunger rather than by anyone else.

At first I was not a fan. I had remembered enjoying the Muppets as a kid but I didn't really remember the jokes, other than Miss Piggy's Karate chops and Animals manic drumming. But, if I am honest, it hadn't meant a great deal to me. And also I wasn't really a fan of Michael Caine, to start with. This was not improved  when he started singing! Thirdly Not a fan of musicals per se. I have attachments to certain ones because of my mothers love of them but generally, not my genre, thank you.
But during that first viewing the good natured humour won me over. Enough so that when I was looking for a Christmas film to show the kids club I was running at the college it seemed perfect and  on a second viewing, the repeated watch seemed to greaten the appeal.

There are two elements that make it great. Firstly the songs are full of warmth and hope (they're quite catchy too). The lyrics speak of gratitude for the simple joys of life and for the company of friends and loved ones. They talk of shared human experience and shared possessions and wealth. The words are not religious but they speak of thankfulness, a quality often lacking in our cynical materialistic world. And when I hear them I know who I am thankful to.

And the redemptive power of Dickens original story, though this is not a serious film, shines through like a radiant beam of low winter sun through the window. Its about second chances. The chance to start again. How we long for that. The lessons that Scrooge has learnt from all the spirits are most notably prominent in the lesson of the ghost of Christmas present. A wonderful pun, I think. His lessons are about living in the moment, seeing whats in front of you. Living well NOW whilst learning from the past which in turn creates a better future.

Christmas is always about second chances. Jesus came to wipe the slate clean. I see his spirit in Scrooges joyful waking on Christmas morning when he has experienced such a paradigm shift that he will never view things in the same light again.
The  present is a very forgiving tense. It is, like the Ghost of Christmas present, a forgetful spirit. It remembers not the faults of the past, it worries not for the unfulfilled future. It is content with what it sees. The ghost of Christmas present reminds me a lot of the Father, looking on us in his loving grace. The spirits open invitation to Scrooge is the same as that of the Father's to us. "Come in and know me better".

I get that it might be a bit sickly for some but its the complete innocence of the film that bowls me over. I do not think there is any equivalent for its feel good assault on the consciousness. If its not your thing, fair enough but take away just one small part of the words from this, the best song in the film, in my opinion.

  Stop and look around you
The glory that you see
Is born again each day, don't let it slip away
How precious life can be

Dumbed down dickens; maybe but it still packs an emotional punch with me. Here's a link to that song for those of you who want to put yourselves in the mood. Just go with it, it will brighten your day. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bpb9EbmvM5M. God bless us, one and all.

   
 

 



What Would Jesus Tweet?

You see, at just the right time,........ Christ died for the ungodly. Romans 5:6

 

 

 

 

Advent Blog; Day 18

"Verily, verily I tweet unto you" .....Do you mind if I interject here Jesus? You've only got 140 characters and you've already used up 31 without essentially saying anything!

 

Is an imaginary scenario between Jesus and a disciple, had he had his time on earth in this modern age. I have heard talks in the past that speak of how the apostle Paul would have used any means going to communicate the gospel. I guess this comes from Paul's own assertions that he would become all things to all men to reach them for Christ, or his "indifference" to those who preached out of false motives, just so long as Christ is preached. I think its fair to say that Paul was all about getting the message to as many as possible. I personally agree. I think Paul was a communicator and would have jumped at the opportunity to capitalise on the mass potential of the Internet and of social media. Paul has some great teachings and some profound statements but he doesn't strike me as naturally tweetable. With Paul you should follow his arguments right through.

 

 Jesus is eminently more tweetable. He has entire teachings you can reduce to soundbites and slogans.  For example, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged," I have had many non church goers quote that one to me.

Or how about "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Or maybe "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? "

 

You see Jesus lends himself to simple and profound images. He is very concise and visual. He wants his teachings to stay with you. How about Jesus version of the ten commandments

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbour as yourself.
 

That one almost tweets (I tried it) but its certainly memorable. Jesus was all about creative and innovative ways to communicate. The lords prayer and the beatitudes spring to mind as well, not to mention the parables.

But would Jesus have joined twitter in the first place? Interesting question. While he was all about communication he was far more about demonstration. Jesus greatest "sermon illustrations" were the  healings he worked, were the people he embraced and the authorities he challenged. I take you back to my blog of two days ago where James, the brother of Jesus, paints a picture of a man saying "Go in peace; keep warm and well fed" but doing nothing about the needs. Jesus, make no mistake, is a man not of words only but a man of action and of Gods power.

Jesus did not seem to reject totally the adoration of the crowds but I think it was because of the purpose it served (and because he loved people). However he was far from a celebrity. He was a wild card and a dangerous dinner guest. He slept rough and spurned the promotion offered by others. Feathering his own nest seemed to be abhorrent to him. He did not seek the praise of others. I have a feeling twitter may not have been his thing. Maybe his disciples would have tweeted directly from his teaching sessions. Who can say.

Jesus, however, came at just the right time. The Roman empire, which served as an oppressor of Gods people, was poised to serve Gods purposes very well indeed. The Greek language was a first century equivalent of English, a trade language spoken through most of the empire. The trade routes throughout the empire crossed at Israel to go to Africa, Europe and Asia. Why did Christianity fare so well? Because there was a common language with which to communicate the gospel, because there was transportation into the farthest reaches of the largest empire and because it was all part of Rome it was all accessible, without borders. Jesus came at just the right time.

Like the early Christians we need to utilise this age of communication. Today we can cross the globe in less than 24 hours, we can reach virtually anyone anywhere from wherever we are. Technology may, in ways, be a bane but it can be used for good. Jesus charge to his followers was to go into all the world and make disciples. Its wide open. What excuse do we have?

And yet the far deeper challenge is to be a people of substance. People of action as well as words. To be people offering Gods love with our words, our resources and our  availability. If not, then what are we discipling them to? Gods timing in history is perfect and he put you where you are "for such a time as this". What would Jesus do?

 

Its Been A Long Time Coming

Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him.~ Luke 2:25





Advent Blog; Day 17

Advent means arrival, or coming. The season of Advent s a season of waiting and anticipation. Awaiting the arrival of Christmas. In my family (just 2 boys and myself) the birthdays are over by July. July the 21st is the last one. Usually July 21st is the first mention of Christmas, about an hour after all the presents have been opened. "Daddy" I will hear, "how long is it to Christmas?". Ethan, my son with the last birthday, is well placed in the calender. He has only 5 or 7 months to wait until the next present extravaganza (I can also almost guarantee the "How long till my birthday?" question will be broached somewhere around Christmas day). If I say Christmas is in 5 months, which incidentally sounds, in my opinion, like a lot less than 150 days (approx), the next question will be "but how long is that?". I break it down into weeks (approx 20). Further groans are heard. Then come the days. I try to explain that 150 days really isn't as long as it sounds....but the problem is, I am lying. It is exactly as long as it sounds. Its all about perception.

I remember Summer holidays, even as a teenager, seemed to last forever. As a kid I could not see the end of 6 weeks. I could not actually picture it ending. It seemed as though it were an eternity. I am pretty sure my mum viewed it that way too.

 As a teen, I remember one particular year, looking forward to the holidays so much and to all the things I would do with my best friend. Somewhere in the first week or so we fell out, big time. He refused to speak to me and we spent weeks apart. We lived in a small village with not much to do.  In the end, because time was dragging so much, he got so bored that he decided to bury the hatchet. I imagine nowadays it could take more than 4 weeks to break him. Its all about perspective. I remember back when I was 34 thinking to myself, "Oh my goodness, its only 6 years till I am 40" and then came the realisation that I had said the words "ONLY 6 years". I am now 39 and am thinking "only 10 yrs till I am 50!" But time is not moving any faster, just my perception of it.

The advent of the Messiah was long waited for. My children think they have it hard waiting 5 months for Christmas. Think what it is for the Children of Israel. We deal with a God who is eternal and we can not, but by his grace, keep pace with him. Some times there is so much waiting. Sometimes he moves so rapidly it makes my head spin. Take Joseph, for example. He spends years in slavery and prison waiting for Gods promises and then BANG in a fell swoop he is prime minister of Egypt and the prophecy has come true.

The signs were there for us when Abraham took his son up the mountain, carrying the wood on his back for his own sacrifice but the world had to wait some 2000 years for the real deal. We hear a lot, in church circles, the saying that "a day is to God as a thousand years". In other words his time scale is not ours. He is patient and spontaneous simultaneously.

So much of the bible is about waiting patiently and about eager expectation. The Psalms are full of references to waiting patiently for God. "My soul waits for the Lord" David says. And "I waited patiently for the Lord, he inclined and heard my cry" (Psalm 40). The people of Israel had to wait for Pharaoh to release them, Laban had to wait 14 years for Rachel, Sarah Had to wait for the promised child, Israel had to wait to return from exile. God is a God who works in the waiting as much as in the arrival.

But the day of deliverance will definitely come. The Advent will happen. Simeon had received a promise from God, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah."  So the story goes that when Jesus was bought into the temple to be circumcised Simeon was moved to go into the temple too. He took Jesus in his arms and said these immortal words;

“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and the glory of your people Israel.”

 

Now I get the waiting bit but what is so fascinating about Simeon is that (possibly) he's not waiting for something he is going to be doing much benefiting from. It was merely the fulfilment of the promise that he wanted to see, whatever that meant for him. We tend to fill in the blanks here but it certainly meant that he could now die. Whether that was immediate or not we are not told. I get such a sense of this mans Godliness. He was not caught up in what it would make of him, or what he could get out of it, he simply wanted to be where God was and to see him at work. I think Simeon was amazing. God was faithful to his word. Simeon was waiting for the consolation of Israel, watching and praying and now, at last it had come.

 

I wonder how my boys would feel if I were to take them away for the month of December, isolate ourselves out in the wilds maybe and return after Christmas was over without having celebrated it. When I told them that they had missed it, how would they feel? I was once waiting for a party, as a teen, for weeks. I had a rather heavy session on Friday night and went to bed early on \sat morning. The party had been on the Saturday night but I did not wake until Sunday morning. Given that I was 18 can you imagine how gutted I was to have missed entirely the thing I was waiting for? It was a horrible feeling.

 

The carol says "No ear may hear his coming". If you weren't looking for it you could easily have missed it. How sad that the people of Israel, as a whole, were too blinkered, at the time, to see Messiah when he came. This time.

 

King Davids Psalm of deliverance says

 

I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

I guess I want to just say, hang in there. Deliverance doesn't always take the form we are expecting. It didn't for Israel. Sometimes healing takes longer than we think it will. Sometimes healing looks different to how we imagine it will, sometimes the journey is more or equally valuable than the destination but don't lose heart. God is faithful. It will come. Sorrow will last for the night but Joy comes in the morning. I think the waiting makes Christmas all the more special. It did for the first one. I am sure Simeon would concur.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Walk On By

 If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ~James 2:16

Advent Blog; Day 16

Things seem to work when you collaborate. I had a little chat with Jane, a new lady in our fellowship who helps out at the church bookshop where I am currently writing this. I do the till and she does the coffees. At least one of us has the skill base for the activity we're engaged in!

I was pleased with my blog on homelessness and so decided to ask again if someone else had an idea for an angle. Jane, it seems is a practical soul. She has been in the church 5 minutes and is already helping with the food bank and book shop. I cant tell you what Jane suggested I look at because it is not a subject I can condense into an easy heading, but broadly speaking, I sense it is about helping people.
                                                         

James makes a good point. I am not so callous as to walk past a beggar or a big issue seller and, when asked if I would care to partake in some kind of financial exchange say to them "no" and then say, "But God bless you though!"

No, I am a decent sort of a hypocrite. If I know I am being selfish, despite going on about helping others, I have the decency not to pretend I am acting in a caring way.

If I was genuinely praying a blessing on them, out loud, when I had the means to help but not the willingness to do so, James says this is an anathema. "How can this be?" I feel him saying. James, thank God for him, is about integrity, about synonymity between words and actions. For James to believe is to act. Anyone want to argue with that?

I will put on my best Jennifer Aniston voice now (use your imagination, if you can fight the urge to be violently sick) and say "Here comes the Christmas part". What do we think God was doing at Christmas. Jesus' arrival was about synonymity between words and actions. For God there is no distinction between speaking and acting. We are reminded

God is not a man, that he should lie,
nor a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Does he speak and then not act?
Does he promise and not fulfil?

Numbers 23:19

 

 

If you scale down what was occurring in that stable you effectively have God not simply saying "bless you" but rolling his metaphorical sleeves up and getting stuck in. Without Christmas he is simply walking off into the distance, leaving us to wallow in our sin, spouting out casually over his shoulder as he goes, "Bless you", or, in other words, "good luck with that, pal". Another part of the scriptures reminds us, which we often use when we are speaking to a preacher whose words seem to have fallen on deaf ears or to console those speakers who have not done very well,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
it will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:11

 

God made the world in the beginning by speech. He spoke and there was light. Gods words are as good and true as God himself. So he couldn't have promised a saviour and not come himself. As soon as he spoke it was as good as done. We see time through our own eyes. Somewhere between our promises and their fulfilment something can change. My ex-wife laughed at the idea that she should have to fulfil a promise she made at 19, when she didn't know any better. I cant say I blame her. But Gods understanding is complete and his will is unassailable., so when he says it he does it. His compassion and love mean his humility and incarnation and nothing less. God does not stand by on the sidelines, waiting to see if we will screw up. God puts on a shirt and joins the game.

 

 

We need to be a little more like God. Its a tall order, I know, but lets "keep Christmas all year round", help where we can, act when we are moved and avoid all pretense of being good. One of the things that came up in my chat with Jane was that words are mostly wasted where there is great need. You have to address the need. I am sure, for God, the words of the gospel are never separated from the compassion and action of the Gospel. Unless our words and actions are one, there is no gospel. We, like Jesus, our mentor, must roll up our sleeves. Love must sound like love. Love must look like love. Love must feel like love. And, in the words of the Muppets Christmas Carol, you know....

 

"Wherever you find love it feels like Christmas"

Choose Life, Choose Laziness

                                                    



Advent Blog Day 15

Let me paint you a picture. A big family house, filled with noise and laughter, people in every room. A large Christmas gathering is underway. There are immediate family, extended family and friends of the family all absorbed in engaging conversation. There are gifts being exchanged, much food and drink are being voraciously consumed, as voraciously as they consume one another's company.  The laughter spills out of their mouths as the people spill out of the many rooms. People bustle about clearing away plates, bringing more drinks. Kids run in and out making occasional demands on their preoccupied parents.
There is a new arrival in one room, a baby that's a few months old. Although it is Christmas this baby is the excuse the family have given for having such a big do this year. The baby was being passed around for cuddles but one woman in her late twenties is hanging on to the baby like a kid hangs onto the parcel when the music is about to stop. She's gaga over this kid. She's making cooing noises and playing peekaboo and the baby is gurgling happily and dribbling and making such faces at the woman that she is oblivious to everyone else. The truth be known, she's a bit broody and from the moment she set eyes on this little chap all her sense of obligation to the rest of the family have gone out the window. She hasn't washed up, she hasn't cooked, she hasn't cleared away, she hasn't caught up with her cousin (like she promised). She is just vegging out with the baby.

Into the room comes a slightly older woman, arms full of a pile of crockery, a teetering tower of plates and dishes. She enters the room with her bottom leading as she pushes the door open with it and backs into the room holding the plates. She looks quite comical as she peers over a dish, scouring the room for something, and then she sees it. The woman with the baby has a mug, now drained of tea, balanced on the chair next to her. The second, older woman waddles over to the chair, bends her knees and carefully hooks a little finger through the handle of the mug. She motions to the door with her eyebrows  and a series of scowls to the woman on the floor, as if to say "We need to talk, OUTSIDE" but the younger woman is oblivious. The older woman gives up, momentarily and retreats to the kitchen, nearly dropping everything at the door on the way.

The older woman has been pretty much running the show all day. It's her house and she shares it with her sister. It was she who fetched the tree, it was she who sent out the invitations, via email, social networks and snail mail. It was she who bought the food and the presents, even her own present from her sister. She had decorated, cooked and cleaned. In short, without her, this party would not have happened. She has arbitrated in arguments, researched the tastes of her guests, organised games. Without her there would be no Christmas.

The older woman's name, if you haven't guessed (and if you have) is Martha and the woman playing with the baby, her younger sister, Mary. I have just shifted the story over to the right a little, to give us a better picture.

Who is the party for? Its for the baby.  What is it about? Its about the baby. Martha is wonderful but she has lost sight of the purpose of the celebration. She is so concerned with the wrapping she has forgotten the present. She has forgotten to be present.

In the story of Martha and Mary in the new testament, Martha asks the adult Jesus to rebuke her sister for her idleness. If we are honest most of us have our natural sympathies with Martha. Mary has spent the whole time sat at Jesus' feet, listening to him talk and asking questions. Jesus says to Martha that Mary "has chosen the better part".

I don't think for a second that Jesus was ungrateful to Martha for all the work she put in, I don't think for a moment that he didn't recognise that some activities are facilitating ones, that we need "Martha's". I am sure that (off camera) he thanked her for all her efforts. But Martha had lost sight of the wood for the trees.

It's so easy to get sidetracked into the performance of Christmas. To be overwhelmed by all that "needs" to be done. To feel the need to spend vast amounts to impress loved ones. One thing that I discovered in my "first" Noel (see the 1st advent Blog) is that it is the very simplicity of Christmas that carries its rawest power of all. The hopes and fears of all the years met in a small baby that night.

I love Christmas. The rich foods, the tacky lights, the garishness of it, the presents and  ALL the trimmings. But, I think, if we cant have our Mary moments we haven't really experienced it. We need still, lazy moments with our bibles and our thoughts, where we sit and stare in wonder at the contents of that manger and simply soak it in. Do it. Take a quiet half hour, alone in an armchair, perhaps with some carols on, perhaps a glass of wine or a cup of tea and just ponder the wonder of it. This child came for me.

In "The Last Battle" C. S. Lewis finishes his Narnian chronicles with all the loyal Narnians being kettled into a stable to be burned. The stable turns out to be a portal, a doorway out of the shadow lands and into the next world. Once inside, in a tardis like way, the children see that the stable is in fact bigger on the inside than it is on the outside, (incidentally how I see Christmas). Queen Lucy comes out with the words that cause the hairs on my neck to rise nearly every time I hear them.

"In our world too, a stable once had something inside it that was bigger than our whole world."
 

Amen. Lets sit at the feet of the Christmas child and get lost in the sheer awe of it all, lets choose the better part. Choose life, choose "laziness".

Ho, Ho, Ho, Homeless...

                                                          
                                                       

There was no guest room available for them.

Advent Blog; Day 14

I wanted to find some new angles to come at this Christmas blog from. Tonight was our house groups Christmas party and so I thought I would take the opportunity to ask for input. The first person I asked said, without skipping a beat "homelessness". I knew why before he said, because he is a caring individual with a social conscience and, as an ex alcoholic he had paid his dues to that lifestyle. He thinks of Christmas and he automatically thinks of the have nots. Christmas, in keeping with the poetry of the incarnation, is full of contrasts. The present very often serves to remind us of the absent, the dead and the departed. The excessive materialism (that most of us can seldom afford) throws into contrast the poor and neglected. The warmth in many of our homes, in the west, contrasts with the biting cold outside and our thoughts often stray to those less fortunate. And these things have been on my mind so, Neil, this one is for you.

I spent a decent chunk of last night in a freezing caravan, chatting to my vulnerably housed friend. with little money and the sub-zero temperatures outside, he spends his evenings bored out of his brains, standing up, with one gas ring on his cooker, switched on for warmth. Of course the warm air circulates only in the top two inches of the caravan, the difference it makes to the rest of the place is indiscernible. It was so cold that the other day he joked about a chili he had cooked and said, "I didn't know whether to eat it or get in it!"

His plight is one that is special to me as for 18 months I took him into my home. He was made homeless a few years back when the arrangements in a house share began to go pear shaped and he was left holding the can. After quite a while living rough he came to live, at first in a tent, then later a caravan, at the community where I first found myself when my house share arrangements went pear shaped (see my Josephs dilemma blog of 2 days ago). When I left that place for my own house, I took him with me. Things, for various reasons, did not work out and In May he moved back into the caravan, as a temporary solution, for the summer.

My friend, I know, would be the first to admit that he has issues. But none of these issues individually would have got him to the position he finds himself today. It is usually a cocktail of circumstances that brings some-one into this position. I have to say, there but for the grace of God, go I.

As I spoke to Neil about this subject, initially, this evening  I asked him what he thought was the one main reason that he had found himself in this way of life, taking it as a given that alcoholism is a symptom more than the disease. The conclusion we came to was love, or a lack of it. There had been a spirit of rejection behind many of his choices. I think this is true of my vulnerably housed friend too.

When I think of Mary and Joseph, looking for shelter and being turned away it reminds me of this nomadic lifestyle that Jesus was to have for much of his life. He was born on the run, he moved to Egypt, he returned to Nazareth, Galilee, and as an adult he wandered as he taught from town to town. I can't say I  will ever know the answer to this question but I wonder if having a sense of restlessness wasn't part of the whole deal. Later, as an adult He says

But Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head."~Luke 9:58
 

Jesus seems to make integral to his teaching kindness to strangers, welcoming the alien, feeding the hungry, sheltering the needy. I think the theme of homelessness, not to trivialise or do a disservice to the issue, is one of the great themes of the Bible. For the majority of the old testament the people of God were exiles wandering. The theme of pilgrimage runs throughout too. The spiritual life is not a settling life, it is a journey to find our true home, in God. King David too gets a sense of this longing for a home as he writes in Psalm 84 Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, he uses this to highlight his own longing for belonging and, though he has a palace, a true home.

How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God

(from psalm 84)

 

As Neil and I discussed, love is the thing that stops many of us becoming physically homeless. Love is our true home; to be loved and to love in return. In this world our circumstances will fluctuate but love will never abandon us, will cause us to value ourselves as we are valued. This Love is ultimately our hearts final resting place, the journey of the soul complete. In the words of the old spiritual, that I first learnt through a Larry Norman song "This world is not my home, I'm just passing through!"

So lets remember at Christmas what Jesus taught and practised in kindnesses to strangers, as, in a sense he came to give us a home. Out of our plenty can we think about how much we really have, step up to the plate and buy a homeless person a cup of tea, give money to "shelter" or The Salvation Army, sign up to help in a food bank or soup kitchen, befriend those we come across and treat them with dignity and respect, encourage others to do the same. The son of God and his whole family were once in this position too.

Josephs Dilemma, part 2

                                                     



Advent Blog; day 13

So we've established that Joseph is not a vindictive man, that he is capable of rising above the need to lash out or transfer blame. That he is righteous and compassionate. These were parts of the nobler side of Joseph....but these are before he understands Gods hand in it. Once he does we see him even more clearly.

The sub-heading that accompanies this passage (Matt 1:18-25) in my bible is "Joseph accepts Jesus as his son". I am sure that Joseph was relieved to find that the baby growing in the belly of his betrothed did not belong to another man. The angel who appeared to him in his dream 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." (Verse 20),
 

That must have been at least a little reassuring. He was a good and God fearing man and the scripture records not a hint of hesitation on his part once it is made clear to him but he must have still been a little unsure of how this was all to play out. Jesus would be counted as his 1st born, the one who would inherit. May he have been a little troubled that this was not a child of his own flesh?

I remember thinking about how I would feel if my ex-wife were to have a child with another man, (still a very real possibility). At first the idea did notexactly fill me with warmth but then I prayed about my feelings and I thought of a little girl (I have no idea why a girl) who would be my boys sister, I saw the disappointed face of a toddler as I took her siblings out to do fun stuff without her and I quickly came to the conclusion that whatever the circumstances I would do my best to include any child, parents willing, with my own. I imagine Joseph could see ahead and not imagine resenting anything entirely if it was part of Mary.

The scriptures record that it was Joseph, when the time came, that gave the child the name Jesus, a very personal thing to do. In naming the child, a role asigned to him by an angel, Joseph was effectively adopting him.

There is a wonderful process at work in the second birth. Being born again, scripturally is seen as something God initiates, that there is a natural, spiritual version of conception that takes place. We are literally children of God, born of his Holy Spirit, in an inferior sense as Jesus was himself. There is also this concept that runs parallel with the new birth that as we take the name of Christ for ourselves there is a legal change of status, spiritually speaking. God adopts us, he accepts us, he includes us in his family. God is our Father in every sense. He originated our race, he conceived us in the spirit and he took us as his own, legally, satisfying every righteous requirement of the law with his own blood.

Joseph, when he lays his own plans aside, reflects this generous and loving nature of the heavenly father when he effectively "adopts God". Who knows what he was letting himself in for. One of Jesus' names is Immanuel meaning; God with us. Joseph, I suspect, had no idea, at this stage, how true this was for him particularly. Only he and Mary will ever know the mystery of God as a toddler, God as a teenager but I bet it made them laugh and cry, I bet it infuriated them.....and humbled them. What a journey. What a privilege.

I am sure, for us, if we embrace Gods calling on our lives we have some surprises in store too. A life where we let God take the reigns, as Joseph was about to find out, could never, ever, be dull.

Josephs Dilemma

Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.~ Matthew 1:19





Advent Blog; Day 12

As a kid I always thought that Josephs initial plan to divorce Mary quietly was a bit harsh. Even up until recently. I don't think I really understood what damaged pride and sexual jealously can do to an adult. Through the years I have had my fare share of betrayals by girlfriends (with "friends" too) but I was never asked to live with them afterwards. I am the forgiving type, generally but I always wondered how I would react in the light of a full on sexual betrayal.

When I grew up (allegedly) and got married I speculated that if my wife were to ever be unfaithful I would be able to have nothing more to do with her. Not that I could not forgive her but that I couldn't face the knowledge of her betrayal resurfacing on a daily basis for the rest of our life together. I didn't think I would be able to ever forget that ugly fact. I didn't want every time of intimacy to be tainted with the thought of her intimacy with another. Then of course, there's the trust issue. If I could forgive how sure would I be that it wouldn't happen again? A relationship without trust seemed to me to be self defeating. The purpose of marriage is to be one flesh, one mind and one heart. Not without differences but with a complimentary unity of the joining of the two. How could this ever be without trust.

People often see folks who take back unfaithful partners as weak. This could  have some truth but for the largest part the opposite is true. The story of Hosea filled me with dread. Hosea was a prophet who God asked to take an unfaithful wife as a picture of his relationship with Israel. The thought that God would ask me to do something similar felt like about the worst thing I could think of. My self esteem is low enough, thank you very much.

As the years went by my speculations changed. Was it really that simple? If she were to be unfaithful would I really want to throw it all away? What about all the years we had put in to this. Would I ever find such a deep connection with anyone else? Could I really throw it away over one little mistake? And then the children came along. How could I change forever that which gave them such comfort and stability?

When it came it did not take the form that I would have anticipated. It was not a one time thing on a drunken night out with colleagues. She had been unhappy for a long time. She did not go behind my back. That would have been a kindness. If she had cheated on me it would have meant that she, at some level, still cared what I thought. She reconnected with an old friend online and then began the process of ending our 15 year relationship with my full consent and involvement. It took the best part of two months of late night "discussions" but her mind had been made up from day one.

I was utterly desperate that this thing should not happen and dreaded my reaction but I was just a passenger in this car-wreck. The day after her one night stand with this guy we had a conversation. She said the whole thing had been a mistake. She broke down in floods of tears. In that moment I knew I could forgive her. I pitied her, (how could she have known how she would feel?) and offered to come back.

She refused my offer. I am not ungrateful for that now. For the reasons I stated initially I am not sure if it would have ever gone away. But I understood now how a man can forgive.  Joseph must have faced all kinds of feelings when confronted with this dilemma.

Joseph was in the early stages of his relationship with Mary but I am sure that his sense of shame and betrayal were very real to him. When my girlfriends were unfaithful to me, as a teen, I could not wait to expose them and shame them for the hurt they caused me. Joseph is the bigger man. He decides to treat Mary decently (although he is probably thinking she has not done this much for him).

I think the quality of his reaction demonstrates why God picked them as a couple. Joseph is a righteous man and a kind man too, it would seem. A man who treated with honor those who did not, seemingly, deserve it. A man after Gods own heart. Perfect father material.

Shame

Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.~ Matthew 1:19

                                                       


Advent Blog; Day 11

Its about time I got round to Joseph. Joseph gets even less screen time than Mary. I don't want so much to examine his character today but more a theme that his involvement sees the arrival of. That theme is shame.

Luke's account is free of the shame angle but Matthew introduces it here in Josephs first appearance. We rarely take on the theme of the shame of Christmas. Joseph plans to cover Marys shame and avoid her as much disgrace as possible. This is a deeply caring thing, especially as at this stage he is unsure (and possibly unaware) of the truth of Marys version of events. I am quite moved by Josephs character. If she has betrayed him he owes her nothing and yet he still treats her with dignity.

In a sense, Jesus becoming human was an exercise in disgrace. He is almighty God, without equal and he lays his pride aside and lies naked in the hands of those he has created. We find that pride is the antithesis of the gospel from day one. It is our sense pride that causes us to feel shame and shame can stop us from ever kneeling. Jesus was born into these circumstances, where his parentage was questionable. I have heard many people joke (like they were the first to ever think of it) that Mary had made the whole thing up to cover up her indiscretion.

It occurred to me, as a white person in a predominantly white country, that I had felt my fair share of a sense of marginalisation. That, because of my religion,  growing up, I could actually claim to have had similar discrimination to that experienced by people of ethnicity and, like second generation children of immigrants, felt similarly conflicted . It makes me smile when I hear older Christians bemoaning the de-christianisation of our country. For me it was never that way, this country never felt Christian to us. I have no idea if my father felt the same sense of shame at his junior school as I felt when we had to speak about church or belief.

I was bullied a fair deal at school. I cant claim it was because I was a christian, it was probably because I was weak, skinny, sensitive and prone to tears. My class used to make up chants and rhymes about me and sing them together. Probably fairly harmless stuff that could have been laughed off if I'd had better self esteem. The last thing, trust me, the LAST thing I wanted was something else to draw attention to me, especially something I could be ridiculed for. Even teachers were openly hostile, at times, to our faith so what could I expect from the kids.

The problem was that it was, deep down, something that I was incredibly proud of. The problem was that I knew my own faith told me I HAD to tell other people about Jesus. The problem was that I had picked up, through bits and pieces, that to deny Jesus was just about the most unforgivable thing. So I began life in society as a duplicitous individual. One thing at home and another at school. Ashamed at school because I didn't fit in, ashamed at home, in part, because I knew I wasn't a "good christian".                                                                                                                                              
                         
                                                              

As an adult I see now that our faith has turned shame on its head. The central emblem of our entire belief system is a "failed messiah", handed over to the enemy by his own people, stripped entirely naked and splayed on a roman cross for all to see that "this Messiah" had come to nothing. But true to the laws of the upside down Kingdom, because of the failure of the powers of the age to understand the "deeper magic" Jesus turned the shame on his captors. The only shame that will be left on the day of judgement is the shame of those who did not come to this cross.

 

 For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame~ Heb 12:2

 



Jesus scorned shame. He put shame to shame. It is the christian way to glory in our weakness, for when we're weak (and reliant on Gods power rather than our own) then we are strong. I love the way the letter to the Colossians puts it.

He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Jesus made a spectacle of THEM by the cross, not the other way around. In The cross was the place where he turned the tables on shame.

Joseph is about to receive some news form God that will reassure him that any sense of shame he may feel will be replaced by honour forever.
                                                           
When I was 6 yrs old. I was told, at Dales bible week, by the teachers of the children's work that if I wanted to I could "invite Jesus into my heart". You can be as cynical as you want about brainwashing and indoctrination but all I can tell you is that I felt something happen to me when I prayed that prayer and I have never been the same since. That is why I wanted to acknowledge him at school and it is why I felt so bad that I couldn't stand up for him more. I am not ashamed of the one who hung there for me. I am at times ashamed of who I am, of letting him down but never of him. He has been the purest and sweetest thing in my life. I crucify my shame on a regular basis. He is not ashamed to call me his son and I am not ashamed to call him my Father. Christmas happened so our shame would be covered. so we could walk free and forgiven with our creator once more, no longer ashamed of our nakedness before him, utterly known and utterly loved.



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