Christmas message

Hello.

I was thinking about writing something about Christmas, but then came across this Christmas talk via Twitter, and thought you might like to read what the bishop of London had to say...

Christmas and climate change

Only by imitating God's generosity and responding to his call for community can humanity survive

a Happy Christmas and a peaceful new year everyone!

Advent 09 - reading nine

It's Christmas in just over a week and we have arrived at our last advent reading:

John 1:1-14

If Christmas day is the detail, this passage is the big picture. The birth of Jesus was the beginning of God's rescue plan for humanity, kept in his heart from the beginning, spoken about through the prophets and realised through his Son, who was God, is God from the beginning and through all time.

But how is this great event, how is Jesus, who is God, perceived? In two ways, according to the dictionary:

Jesus (Christ) noun

(the title given to) the man who his religious followers believe is the son of God and on whose teachings and life Christianity is based

AND

Jesus (Christ) exclamation

an expression of surprise, shock or anger.

So for some Jesus is the Light of the World and for others he is merely a word used to express anger.

I would like to suggest that we are not only called to celebrate his birth, but proclaim it too, so that others may experience the light and love of God.

How do we do this? There are many ways, forgiving someone, giving time and money to a good cause, speak directly about Jesus to someone are to name but a few.

Perhaps this Christmas we might take some time to ask God how and what he wants us to do this Christmas and in the year to come, to enable his love to flourish in our part of his world.

An extra: fancy thinking about the Christmas story in a different way? Try this: Nativity Icon

Advent 09 - reading eight

We have made it to the penultimate of our nine traditional redings for Christmas, and this week it is:

Matthew 2: 1–12

The Magi, wise men, travelers from the east... were probably people who watched the skies for signs and events, so when Jesus' star rose, they recognised it as something of importance, and not only followed it, but brought what they thought might be appropriate, with them: Gold for a King, Frankincense for deity and Myrrh for sacrifice and burial.

How right they were.

As you may have noticed in my previous post, this year does seem to be a time where people are stopping and looking. Looking to see how there must be more than buying stuff, more than broken communities, more than a broken environment.

Perhaps it is a sign. Or maybe we can make it one. As people begin to search for more, maybe we can be a star, leading them to Jesus.

Maybe, this advent, in the way we speak and act, we can bring appropriate gifts to Jesus:

the Gold of our lives given to the King

the Frankincense of our worship offered to our God

and the Myrrh of our lives given in service to Jesus.


And what that means for each of us may be different, but what ever God is calling us to do, now is the time to do it.
I mean, if the wise men had stayed at home, just like if the shepherds had stayed in their fields... they would have missed meeting the Saviour of the World.

Fusion3:16 Christmas, Advent and all things green

Perhaps its the Copenhagen climate conference, but this Advent, the theme definitely seems to be consumerism versus community.

And there seem to be so many people with helpful advice on how to go about living more responsibly, reconnecting with people around you, fighting off the crushing "requirement" at Christmas to buy far more than we ever need.

So many in fact, it can dazzle you into complete in action. I mean, lets face it, Christmas is busy enough.

So perhaps we should all pick a few things each, and not worry so much about the rest. In the Turnbull house, we have bought our Christmas meat (and will get our veg) from a local farm shop, as suggested by the Living Lightly web site, have asked a few people (not everyone, I have to say) to buy us Present Aid presents and some people are getting cakes instead of cards this year.

And what about Fusion3:16? Well, we are having a variety of events such as: Viaticus, the Junction, raising money for a cow, the Christmas wrap event, the Christmas meet up and the Christmas party and midnight mass to help us all remember that Christmas really is about Jesus, about God's love for us, and being part of a community.

What ever we do, with which ever organisations ideas or help, however big or small, it certainly seems to be time to stop talking and take action.

And if you are interested in the whole climate change/change of lifestyle thing, here are some more people (other than the links above) talking about it: Breathe, Superbadger, the Prince of Wales, nigels ecostore.

Advent 09 - readings six and seven

You may have noticed you didn't get an advent reading last week... so to make up for it you have two together this week.

Our first reading is:

Luke 2:1-7

Such a quiet thing, such an everyday miracle. No Choirs of angels for Mary and Joseph at Jesus' birth... (the shepherds saw the angels).

In the middle of hardship, worry and pain, in poverty and obscurity, God Almighty himself steps into human history.

And all you would have heard way the cry of a baby.

It is no different today. We see so much difficulty around us. Hurt, hardship, worry, poverty. And we can wonder where on earth God is. It can seem so very hard to see His presence and hear his voice.

But he is born again in every act of forgiveness, every kind word in the face of adversity, each commitment to love, persevering where others have stepped away.

And we may wonder what is the point of unseen patience and forgiveness that only we know about? But there will be a day when Jesus comes again and all those unseen things will become visible. (Matthew 10:26)

We continue in faith, even though Christ's presence might feel as obscure as his birth, because now we only see in part, but one day we will see in full. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

Our next reading is:

Luke 2:8-16

This passage gives me great hope. Is it kings, rulers, intellectuals or pop stars that God chooses to announce his birth to?

Oh no, they were shepherds.

Which gives me great joy in knowing that God announces himself to us ordinary people (and to kings as it happens) and that we too may go and see the thing the Lord has told us about.

But we do need to go and see. What would have happened if the shepherds had said "oh that was a lovely time of fellowship with the lord" and gone back to their sheep?

They would have missed meeting Emmanuel, God with us. God in action, God in the world, Jesus the hope of the nation and the saviour of our souls.

They would have missed him.

If ever we have an experience of God, whether big our small, some quiet revelation, some beautiful outpouring of the Spirit... lets not just go back to what we were doing before, lets go see what Jesus is doing in the world, lets be part of what He is doing.

So we too can witness the presence of God, entering his world, just as the shepherds did.

Guest post: Living Lightly from A Rocha

This Advent the Church of England are taking time to slow down and consider our lifestyle with daily challenges and thoughts.

So what better time to introduce you to A Rocha with this guest article from their Living Lightly web site:

What gives you the most amount of pleasure in life? Maybe itʼs playing with
your kids, watching the hum of city streets, planting some seeds, creating
something in your workshop, walking with God in the fields, seeing a friend
step closer to Jesus…
Whatever those things are they are likely to be based on the relationships we
have; the relationships with God, with other people and with the natural world
around us. Yet, too often, our lives get taken over with stuff: we work long
hours, get distracted by consumer gadgets and donʼt have time to spend on
those relationships that matter, including our relationship with the rest of
creation.
Living Lightly is a new website from A Rocha that is designed to help us live
more lightly in Godʼs world through every area of our lives, from our own dayto-
day choices through to campaigning and what happens in our churches
and workplaces. Living Lightly will give you ideas of things you can do, further
information on key issues, links to useful website and resources, and an
online community that you can share your thoughts and questions with.
So do have a look at arocha.org.uk/livinglightly and be inspired to see what
you can do to live lightly in this amazing world.
Please also consider becoming a ʻFriend of A Rochaʼ - it is absolutely free of
charge and we will send you a booklet about A Rocha. As a Friend you will
receive regular news of our work through our free magazine, which we
produce three times a year.
To become a Friend of A Rocha please send your name and address, stating
where you heard of A Rocha, to uk@arocha.org.uk.

Advent 09 - reading five

Mary. A lot has been said about her, written about her. Sometimes its hard to see the woman for all the history.

A quick Google round the internet and you will see people say she was anything between 12 and 17 when she had Jesus. However old she was, she was young. God didn't wait until she had had a child so she knew what she was doing, he didn't even wait until she was officially married.

Which made things a little awkward for her and Joseph, to say the least. And yet the Bible says she was blessed:

Luke 1: 26–38

It all sounds so romantic doesn't it? But wait a minute - Mary not only has to figure out things with Joseph, but they both have to deal with the enormity that their first child actually belongs to God...

That they have both been chosen to raise God's son. They must have been so confused, frightened. There must have been times, in spite of Josephs love, in spite of Elizabeth's support, that Mary must have felt very alone. She was, after all in a unique position.

But here is where we can really learn from Mary:
She trusted God.
She accepted God's way, not any other way, for her life.

Sounds so simple doesn't it? But her life was never simple. It started with Joseph thinking she had been unfaithful (although God explained it all to him) and a mere 33 years later she watched her first born son die horribly. And there was a lot of ups and downs in between (see Luke 2:48-50 and Matthew 12 45-47 as examples)

And that's the thing.

We have complicated lives too. We might not be asked to carry God's Son into the world, but we all have trials, and God calls all of us to his service. We couldn't do better, than with prayer and hope in Jesus, trusting God as Mary did and accepting Gods way, not any other way for our lives...

Just as Mary did.

Questions: What are you struggling with in your life? In those situations, what do you think it might mean for you to trust God? To accept his way? Talk to Jesus about it...

Advent 09 - reading four

You may think I am labouring a point this week. But then, I believe it is an ongoing, life changing, God honouring... point. This week's reading is:

Isaiah 11:1-9

As I was saying last week, Advent is the time when, we not only remember the coming of Jesus at Christmas, but also look forward to his return.

This passage is about Jesus. Its about when he came 2000 years ago, its about when he will return.

In becoming a man, God has entered all our lives, brought in his kingdom. Not perhaps in the way people thought he would - many were expecting the overthrow of earthly enemies, of the removal of oppression and injustice.

And they were. And they are. Funny thing, the Kingdom of God.

Jesus brought it in, but somehow its also still coming in... and won't get finished until Jesus returns. And at the risk of sounding like a broken record, that's where we come in.

Our redeemed lives are not our own, we were bought at a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), and our new, whole lives are meant for Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:16-18)

How is this worked out? Those of you who come on a Monday night will have been listening to the Advent MP3's and videos from Proost connected to these subjects. This week's one had something very important to say:

"pray for the courage to lie down with lions
pray for the wisdom to know when we are wolves"

Seeing the sort of justice Isaiah spoke of doesn't always mean becoming a UN peacekeeper. Mostly it means becoming an everyday peacekeeper, by forgiving those who hurt us and saying sorry and starting anew with those we have hurt.

And remember, we don't do this alone, God who is with us, Jesus our saviour, gives us light and life through his Spirit for tasks such as this.

Our Father who is in heaven
Hallowed be your name
Your kingdom come
Your will be done
On earth
As it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread
and forgive our wrong doing
as we forgive those who have done wrong against us
For yours is the kingdom
The glory
The power
Now
and forever
Amen

Who do you need to forgive? Keep on forgiving? Who do you need to make amends to? Keep on loving?

Advent 09 - reading three

You don't have to look very far to see we live in an unjust, unfair world.

Homelessness here in the UK, post conflict crisis in Sri Lanka and famine in east Africa... The ongoing climate crisis, which of course effects the poor the most.

As we said last week, dark times indeed.

But Jesus is the light of the world, and Advent is the time when we not only remember his coming, but also look forward to his return.

Isaiah 9:2; 9:6-7

We have the light of hope. Not an "I wish it was so" hope, but as Paul put it: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1)

We have faith that Jesus will return, that all the worlds injustice will be removed, that he will rule a world of fairness and love for perfect eternity.

In the dark of humanity's winter, he is our eternal spring.

But that is then. What of now? Jesus has victory now, so how come there is the aforementioned injustice?

Its all about the kingdom of God being here... and incoming.

Jesus IS Lord, and until he returns, he has left the bringing of justice and fairness... to us.

Do you believe this? When you read your Bible, can you see how we are called to do what Jesus did, and "to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour" (see Luke 4:16-21)

And if you believe it, what are you going to do about it? Because we are called to be doers of the word, not hearers only (James 1:22)

This Advent, why not take a look at what you might DO.
You could volunteer at church. There are also many other places to get up and do something. Here are some links to help you:

Christian Aid

Living lightly

Tear Fund

V inspired

volunteer England

Advent 09 - reading two

The second in our series on the nine lessons for Christmas is Genesis 22:15-18.

Can you imagine. Abraham had been promised a child. But he had to wait a long time. Way beyond the circumstances in which you might think it possible to have a child, stretching his and Sarah's faith to the very limit. And after all the waiting, finally, Isaac.

And then God asks Abraham to sacrifice him. What kind of sick world, Abraham must have thought, do we live in, that I wait a lifetime for a child, only for him to be taken from me.

Dark times indeed.

But Isaiah 45:5 says:

I will give you the treasures of darkness,
riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the LORD,
the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

And so it was with Abraham. This wasn't a gamble on Gods part, He sees all things, including the whole of Abraham's life from start to finish.

But it did teach Abraham an important lesson. That God can be trusted even in the most terrible times and that out of what might seem the darkest moment of our lives - treasure can be found. In Abraham's case, his blessing was also ours as through his line, Jesus came:

Jesus was born, as many babies are, in the night. He was born into obscurity, made a refugee soon after his birth. To save us, he suffered willingly the darkest of nights: the cross - and through it we have gained great riches.

Grace is a treasure of darkness.

As we begin to look forward to celebrating Jesus' birthday, you may be dealing with great darkness. There may be things in your life that are hard to bear. Or perhaps you are waiting for something. Longing for change.

Just remember:

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow of death
a light has dawned. (Isaiah 9:2)

But more on that next week.


To think about:

God announced the coming Light with angels. Who or what are Gods messengers to you?
How have you seen God's treasures coming out of darkness in the past?
What are you waiting for or struggling with right now? It might be the smallest of things, but why not spend some time now talking to Jesus about it.

Advent 09 - reading one

Some of you may remember I did weekly emails for Lent this year. Now that I have this blog, you will be able to follow some Bible thoughts through this coming Advent.

We are starting a bit early, as their are nine traditional readings for Advent and only eight weeks. That means you get two this week, although if you went to the half day retreat and pizza tonight, you will have already seen the material in this post.

Advent, like lent has strong themes of preparation, of waiting, of the coming dawn. And the story started a long time ago. Why did God decide to be born a man? Why was the rescue plan needed? It all started way back in the beginning:

Genesis 3:8-19



We all have our failings. We all have our dark times. But God has journeyed with us through it all. When Adam and Eve left the garden, God clothed them and followed them. He never left them alone, and has been with us ever since.

Of course it is in the coming of Jesus we see the greatest expression of God with us. As we wait for his coming this Christmas, lets not forget why he came.

We are not lost, or left in the dark, His salvation has dawned upon us. Today we have a heart bead each to remind us of this - why not do the same? Make one or buy one...



Extra study:

How are we to deal with the world we live in? Does anything we do really make a difference? Take a look at the example of Pilate's wife:

Cloud of Witnesses - Pilate's wife

Today we each took home with us a nut - the nut and bolt variety... why? Because it may look insignificant, but acutally its very useful - as we are useful in Gods eyes and plan.