Dear Friends,
Christmas is coming, but it isn't here yet, which means we have time to prepare - and I don't just mean doing the Christmas shopping! Advent is the name given to this time of preparation and it is good to take it seriously. If you are not reading an Advent book let me suggest that you read through a gospel. Mark is the shortest and you will need to read less than a page a day to complete it before Christmas. Interestingly, Mark says nothing at all about Jesus' birth, which helps us to guard against one of the dangers of Christmas, which is that of separating the birth of Jesus from his life and ministry, death and resurrection.
One of the traditional themes of Advent is sometimes called the second coming of Christ. This phrase sounds as if the Christ who has come once and will come again is absent from us in the meantime. The truth is that he is always coming to us by his Spirit,
although we do not always recognise him. A question often asked about the second coming is 'when will it happen?' The best answer I have come across is that of Tony Campolo, an American Baptist, who says 'whenever I'm asked about the date of the Second Coming, 1 always answer, "I'm on the welcoming committee, not the program committee!"'
At Christmas we celebrate the first coming of Christ; born one night in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. Not the most auspicious of starts in life when Bethlehem was an ordinary place and Mary and Joseph were ordinary people. The shepherds, who were the first to hear of his birth, were also ordinary folk, a bit on the edge of society. So the stories of Jesus' birth suggest that God gets involves with ordinary people and in the ordinary things of life, but these same stories also tell of God acting extraordinary ways; Jesus' conception by the Holy Spirit, the shepherds having their night disturbed by angels, and foreigners making a journey to worship him, having seen 'his star in the east' (Matthew 2.2). So, whilst we can encounter God in the ordinariness of our daily lives, we must always be prepared for him to act in extraordinary ways, for he is the God of surprises!
It is important to remember both these emphases as we move into a new year as a church with its challenges and opportunities, including the areas identified at the Church Conference, the long-awaited alterations to the church building, and the addition of
toilets and a roof to the outdoor area, which has already benefited adults as well as children. Much of church life is ordinary, and none of the worse for that, but amidst the ordinariness in which we encounter God let us always be open to the God of surprises who sometimes does extraordinary things. Who knows what this God will offer to us or ask of us in the year ahead?
With all good wishes for a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year.
John Matthews.
| Sunday | 7th December |
10:30 am |
Toy & Gift Service... for
Spurgeon's Child Care and the residents of Gainsford House |
| Saturday |
20th December |
10:30 am |
'Pull a Cracker' A celebration
of Christmas for young families |
| Sunday |
21st December | 6:30 pm |
Carol Service... Readings,
carols and choir items, followed by coffee and mince pies |
| Tuesday |
23rd December |
7:00 pm |
Carol Singing in the
neighbourhood |
| Wednesday |
24th December |
11:30 pm |
Christmas Eve Communion ... an
opportunity for stillness and quiet reflection |
| Thursday |
25th December |
10:00 am |
Christmas Day Celebration ... a
joyful service for all ages as we celebrate the birth of Jesus |
