Seeker

Growing up in Kent, England, I was familiar with parts of the Pilgrim's Way to Canterbury . This leads to the site of the medieval shrine of Thomas Becket, a former Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas Becket was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral 850 year ago today, 29 December 1170 by 4 of King Henry II's knights.  The knights believed they were doing what the king wanted by getting rid of the man King Henry II had described as "this turbulent priest". Thomas Becket was a friend of King Henry II but defended the independence of the Church against the King's wish to have more monarchical control of the church in England. The disagreement over authority, fuelled perhaps by personality clashes, lasted for years. For more on the story leading up to the murder (or assassination) take a look at Richard Barber's article, 'The unholy feud that killed Thomas Becket'. Thomas was neither the first nor last Archbishop of Canterbury to be murdered, but he was the only ...

  What do you call the day after Christmas Day? Boxing Day? The 2nd day of Christmas? Or St Stephen’s Day? Christians have observed the Feast of Stephen, Deacon and Martyr on 26 December since before the church chose to celebrate Christ’s birth on 25 December. It is discomforting to remember the 1st known Christian martyr in the season of ‘comfort and joy’ that is Christmas. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a baby named Jesus, born to Mary, born to save. But if we stick only with nativity stories, we might forget the baby in the manger grew up. When Jesus grew up and began his good-news mission, some people rejected and others welcomed and followed him. Stephen followed Jesus. You can read Stephen’s story in the New Testament, Acts Chapters 6 and 7 . That tells us Stephen was “a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit”, “full of grace and power” who “did great wonders and signs among the people.” Stephen didn’t choose to die a hideous execution. He did choose to be one of Je...

“First Coming” He did not wait till the world was ready, till men and nations were at peace. He came when the Heavens were unsteady, and prisoners cried out for release. He did not wait for the perfect time. He came when the need was deep and great. He dined with sinners in all their grime, turned water into wine. He did not wait till hearts were pure. In joy he came to a tarnished world of sin and doubt, to a world like ours, of anguished shame he came, and his Light would not go out. He came to a world which did not mesh, to heal its tangles, shield its scorn. In the mystery of the Word made Flesh the Maker of the stars was born. We cannot wait till the world is sane to raise our songs with joyful voice, for to share our grief, to touch our pain, He came with Love: Rejoice! Rejoice! Madeleine L’Engle. From A Cry Like a Bell, 1987 Image Credit: Pixabay

In the Northern hemisphere, today has the shortest number of hours of daylight. The further north you are, the less light you will see. I'm writing this in mid afternoon light, but today it is nearly sunset time. Where I am, the sky is heavy with rain clouds and it's raining, so there's even less light than usual. I'm longing to see evidence of the nights getting shorter and the days longer, a process that begins after today. After sunset today, it may be possible to see a 'Christmas Star', a bright light in the sky when the planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear close together, although in reality will still be 400 million miles away from each other. This is a very rare event. In the UK it may be possible for some people to see it by looking south-west from about an hour after sunset. But, given the current weather, I'm not expecting to see it. It is a dark time for the world in so many ways today. We are in the middle of a pandemic, which where I live is ...

There are only a few more days of Advent to go before the celebration of Christ's birth comes on Christmas Eve/Christmas Day. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this last week of Advent feels very different this year. And when Christmas comes it will not feel the same as other years, due to restrictions to protect ourselves and others from transmission of the virus. Perhaps as an antidote to the anxiety many of us feel, I'm drawn more at this time to music that is soothing. Lullabies have greater appeal just now than some other musical genres. That is why I am revisiting, the beautiful video by Christine Sine, about 'Awaiting the Christ Child'.  Christine Sine is the founder and creator of Godspace - a site well worth exploring. In the video 'Awaiting the Christ Child' the music is Christ Child Lullaby played by Jeff Johnson. The theme of the visual meditation by Christine Sine is encouragement to await the coming of Christ with expectation and joyful anticipation. ...

You came to this world for the poor in spirit, the broken-hearted, those held captive, those lost in sin. You came to this world to bring good news, wholeness into lives, to bring release and to forgive. You came to this world to guide your people from a desert place to a kingdom of love and grace. You came to this world to show how far love is prepared to go, and on a cross showed heaven and earth. Halleluiah! Amen. ©John Birch, faithandworship.com Image Credit: Daily Verses

  Due to the Covid-19 global pandemic, many of us have been forced to step outside our usual way of living and working. Some have found it's been a time to reassess what's important, which relationships matter most, what's urgent to do and what needs to be let go. It's also been a way to discover how much we need the help of others, just to get by. About 2000 years ago John the Baptist deliberately chose to step outside the way most people lived. He entered a desert experience, like going on an extreme retreat, in order to experience God. Dressed in camel hair and eating wild locusts, we would have found his appearance strange. Through choosing that lonely 'camel hair road', living simply, he could be alone with God. As a result, he saw what was important and urgent. John the Baptist became a voice for God calling people to prepare for God's coming by reshaping their lives according to God's way of justice and mercy. You can read about John and his urgen...