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Advent begins today, the 1st Sunday of Advent. Much has been spoken and written about what Advent (4 week season before Christmas) is about. One of its aspects is preparation for an expected coming, the coming of Christ, past present and future. A few years ago, I attended an Advent retreat during which the retreat leader quoted these words from a prayer by a New Guinea Christian. "At Advent we should try the key to our heart's door. It may have gathered rust. If so, this is the time to oil it, in order that the heart's door may open more easily when the Lord Jesus wants to enter at Christmas time! Lord, oil the hinges of our heart's doors that they may swing gently and easily to welcome your coming." from The Lion Prayer Collection, Lion Books 1992, p. 321 Image Credit: Colinfoo, Pixabay Licence

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...

Advent begins today on this 1st Sunday of Advent. The Advent story starts in darkness, with people who struggle in a world gone wrong and long to see a glimmer of hope. If all’s well for you today, thank God for that! But someone near you or far away is feeling a depth of darkness. Sometimes we are in darkness, or alongside others in their darkness, desperate for God to do something to put things right, crying to God with Isaiah, “O that you would tear open the heavens and come down” (Is. 64:1). Advent is about the coming of Christ. Christ’s coming is the answer to each prayer cried in darkness. That cry was answered in Jesus’ first coming, the Light of the world breaking into human life as one of us, to share our darkness, to bring us to light and life. Advent also looks forward to when Christ comes again in light and glory. In the meantime, in the gospels, Jesus urges us to, “Keep awake”. In Mark 13: 24 – 37, Jesus uses the image of a doorkeeper who must stay awake, ready for the hou...

On the 24th day of Advent and Christmas Eve the Advent Word is 'beloved'. The word 'beloved' reminds me of this verse from Chrisina Rosetti's poem, 'In the bleak mid-winter'. "Angels and archangels may have gathered there,   Cherubim and seraphim thronged the air;   But His mother only, in her maiden bliss,   Worshipped the beloved with a kiss." Image Credit: Flickr, CC License

Today's Advent Word is 'message'. It's nearly the end of Advent. Christmas Eve is tomorrow so I'm thinking of the message of Christmas. The heart of the Christmas message can be found through the Christmas story. The Christmas story takes us to a manger where Mary laid her baby, because there was no room in the guest rooms of Bethlehem. Once upon a time, shepherds hurried there to find the new born Christ-child. There had heard a message from angels about good news of great joy to all people. Once upon a time, wise men came to worship him. They had received a message through studying signs in the heavens. But the message of Christmas is that God isn’t confined to ‘Once upon a time’. God has become incarnate – taking on our flesh, expressing himself as babies do in such an immediate way to to hunger, pleasure, joy, pain. What an amazing message. The message of the story is that in Jesus, God gave himself to the world, not in overwhelming power, but in ...

On the 22nd day of Advent the Advent Word is 'restore'. I am enjoying looking at this image of a peaceful path and summer greenery. The weather in the UK has been mostly dark and wet during this Advent season. I look forward to summer and the chance to walk on dry paths again. Meanwhile, I am looking forward to the celebration of Christmas. Christmas can be very busy, but it can also be restorative, a time to renew relationships, take a break and enjoy a time of rest and refreshment. The word 'restore' makes me think of Psalm 23 about the divine 'good shephered'. Here are the first 3 verses: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.   He makes me lie down in green pastures;   he leads me beside still waters;   he retores my soul. He leads me in right paths    for his name's sake." Psalm 23: 1 - 4 NRSV I hope all who read this will find some way to be restored today, even if you are busy. Image Credit: dor619 on Flic...

On the 21st day of Advent the Advent word is 'rest'. To rest sounds like a good idea at this busy time. So, I will do just that and imagine I am resting on this seat, warmly wrapped up and enjoying some winter sunshine. And while I do that, on this oh such a short day in the northern hemisphere, I will look forward to the coming of more light (in every sense) into the world, as the day's start to lengthen. Image Credit: Flickr, CC License

This morning I had to go on an unplanned journey, following an unplanned breakage of our shower unit. I really did not want to go, but I did want people to be able to shower over Christmas, so going to buy the necessary replacement parts was a must. My husband has now skilfully done the work necessary, for which I am grateful. Today's Advent word on the 20th day in the Advent Calendar I am following is 'go'. As time is limited today, I am reposting below, some thoughts on the word 'go' that I first posted in Advent last year in a post called #go. The word 'go' got me thinking about the last journey we each have to make, that is death. 'Go' also reminds me of the many ways we need to 'let go' in life, sometimes to let go of things, attitudes or habits, in order to make room for something better. The final letting 'go' is the letting go of life as we go into death. For Christians, that final letting go into death, is in the '...

The word 'bless' - today's word in the Advent Calendar I am following this year, sound such a comforting word. Yes, to bless someone, does show good intentions, even if it's just to say 'bless you' when someone sneezes. At the very least, it shows someone has noticed your problem. These last days of Advent bring a mixture of blessings and woes. We want and are encouraged to experience all the joyful aspects of the Christmas season. There's nothing wrong with that, unless in so doing, we stop noticing the problems in and around us, or worse still, stop caring. Can some of us too easily avoid uncomfortable Advent themes by focusing exclusively on the feel-good factors of Christmas? We are still in the Advent season. One of Advent's major themes is the challenge to make way for the Lord of justice, truth, peace, love and grace to come among us. So today I am posting again a most uncomfortable prayer for God to bless us.  I do not know its origin. Th...

Today's Advent Word in the Advent Calendar I am following is 'worship'. The word worship reminds me of 2 things that William Temple said about worship of God. The first answers the question, why worship? The second answers the question, what is worship? The first is this: "Worship is worthwhile because God is worthy   and worship is God’s work in us." In other words, worship is both something that the worshipper does and also something that God does in the person who worships.  The second is a definition of worship which resonates with me: “Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by his holiness; the nourishment of mind with his truth; the purifying of imagination with his beauty, the opening of the heart to his love; the surrender of the will to his purpose – and all this gathered up in adoration, – the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable….” Source of quotes: Readings ...

Today's Advent Word in the Advent calendar I am following is 'pray'. In response, I am quoting something I published on this blog in August 2016, in the post ' How to pray when you don't know how'. "Even when I want to pray, I sometimes feel I don't know how. Faced with disasters on a grand scale, or the smaller but just as painful griefs we all encounter at some time, there don't seem to be the right words. That doesn't matter. Prayer is about the focus of the heart, not the babbling of the mouth. Jesus taught that when we pray we shouldn't keep on babbling in the hope that God will hear because of the repetition of many words. When Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them to pray, he gave a framework or pattern for prayer which Christians call 'The Lord's Prayer'.  There are two versions of the Lord's Prayer in the gospels, one in  Matthew's gospel  and one in  Luke's gospel . Here's the Matt...

In this time of Advent preparation for the celebration of Christmas and the coming of Christ, what is it that I need to learn on this 16th day of Advent? Or maybe there is something I need to re-learn? As the day unfolds, maybe an answer to that question will come. I wonder what the child in this image is learning as she walks with her father? Or perhaps he is learning from her? Could she learn from him how to recognise the right path to lead them home before dark? Could he learn from her how to take life more slowly, how to stop and notice the little things on the way?  In the global Advent Calendar I am following, the Advent word for today is 'learn'. Perhaps the most important lesson for any of us to learn, and keep on learning, is wisdom. For the most part, we humans are rather foolish creatures, who find it hard to learn wisdom or even to know where to look for it. In many places in the Bible, its various writers speak of true wisdom as to be found in God. The lett...

Today's Advent Word in the 2019 Advent Calendar I am following is 'turn'. 'Turn' makes me think of the call found throughout the Bible to turn away from evil and turn back to God. Doing that can mean having to take a U turn in life's journey and choose a completely different way. It can mean taking a serious look at the direction in which you are heading and consider if that is really what you want? Or, might it be better to turn back? Might there be a better way? I haven't time to write much of a reflection today, but you might reflect on these words from the prophet Isaiah: "Seek the Lord while he may be found,   call upon him while he is near;   let the wicked forsake their way,   and the unrighteous their thoughts;   let them return to the Lord, that he may have mercy on them,   and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55: 6 - 7. NRSV Image Credit: Pixabay

On the 14th day of Advent today's Advent Word is 'gather'. Gather always sounds to me like a strangely old fashioned word, but rich in meaning. It can be used in so many different contexts: to gather people together, to gather things that are separated, to gather crumbs under a table. This image of part of a bronze statue of a shepherd in Cumbria, England, show him holding a lamb. I love the detail, the purposefulness of his walk and the way he is looking up, his attention focused. This image reminds me of words from Isaiah's vision of God comforting his people: "He will feed his flock like a shepherd;   he will gather the lambs in his arms,   and carry them in his bosom,   and gently lead the mother sheep." Isaiah 40: 11 NRSV Image Credit: Des Colhoun on Geograph, Creative Commons License

Water is today's word in the Advent Word Calendar 2019 for which I am trying to write a post each day. Water is essential to life. Is that why I've written about water so often on this blog? There's nothing more refreshing than water when you're thirsty and tired. There's nothing more life-giving than water when dehydrated. There's nothing more cleansing than water when dirty. Without water we stay thirsty, tired and dirty. Every cell of our bodies need water. Without water we die. I'm used to having safe water on tap at home. It's hard to imagine how hard it must be for those who don't have easy access to safe water for drinking or hygiene. How tiring it must be to have to carry water daily from a distant source, a task usually done by women and children. This Advent, how about giving a Christmas present to help the 785 million people in the world who do not have clean water close to home. You can do this by donating to a charity like Water Ai...

Harmony is the word for Day 12 in the Advent Calendar I am following. And today is polling day in the UK General Election. The various election campaigns have been anything but harmonious. People in the UK are deeply divided on many political issues, not least Brexit. And whatever the final result of this General Election, it will not act like a magic wand to immediately heal divisions and create #harmony between people of widely differing situations and political ideologies. The word harmony makes me think of music. A melody, sung or played by an individual or group in unison, may be beautiful, but for me it is harmony in music that I love most. There is nothing like an orchestra or band with a variety of instruments playing different notes that all work together. Or a choir of different voices singing in harmony of 4 parts or more. That is, of course, if they are all playing or singing their separate parts in tune, on beat and in line with the composer's and conductor'...

Day 11 of the Advent Word Calendar and today's word is 'confess'. To confess can mean to acknowledge guilt. It can also mean to declare faith in or adherence to something or someone, for example faith in Jesus or loyalty to him. This photo of the painting 'The Return of the Prodigal Son' by Pompeo Batoni, shows a repentant son confessing to his loving father. It is based on Jesus' parable of the Prodigal Son, found in Luke 15: 11 - 31.  In my mind this 18th century painting shows the 2 meanings of to confess that I mention above. Homeless, hungry and in desperation, after wasting his share of his father's wealth, the young man returns to his father to confess he has wronged him and feels unworthy to be called his father's son. He has enough faith in his father to hope to be taken on as a household or farm servant. The wide embracing arms of his father show the father's love and loyalty to the son he has never given up on. What was the result...