Christmas Eve Watchnight

Come away in

shake the snow off your boots

coorie up close

to see what's afoot.

There's a happening here

this night of the year

and everyone's welcome

to share

Away on the hillside

and here in the town

whether busy or weary

sit yoursel' down

God calls you to worship

both friend and stranger

to pay homage again

to the babe in the manger

Everyone's welcome

whoever you are

on this holiest of nights

follow the star

as it leads you to find

the most precious gift given

God's love for all 

true gift of heaven

Quiet Christmas Service

We lit our candles

thinking of loved ones

who aren't with us this Christmas

Some have died

some are far away

some are lost

some are estranged

we only know they are not here

and we miss them.

We lit our candles

taking some time

out of the bustle of the season

to remember those we love.

We lit our candles

and placed them on the cross

remembering Mary

whose heart was pierced with sorrow

even as she cradled her newborn son.

We lit our candles,

the flames flickered

their reflection comforting,

spreading light

through our darkness.

We lit our candles

and it was good to share with others,

to remember that we are not alone

in our loss

to remember

the love that came down

at Christmas.

We lit our candles

and somehow

our loved ones

seemed close

and hope was ignited again

as we remembered

that love never dies.

And the light that came into the world

can never be put out.

Longest night and Lunar eclipse

Lunar eclipse 21st December 2010

The full moon hid from the sun

playing peek a boo with the earth

while commuters fought their way to work

through snow and ice and fog

oblivious to the cosmic show.

A show that heralded the start of the day

of the longest night.

A day begun with such a fanfare

deserves to be feted and prized

made special, worthy of note.

For as we while away

those interminable hours of darkness,

 we take comfort in the knowledge

that this is a turning point 

at the end of the year.

A change in direction

Now light begins to triumph again

squeezing out the darkness

edging its way in

bit by comforting bit

fuzzing the edges

softening the hard lines

easing out the cold

making room once more for hope.

The earth continues to turn

life moves on at a pace

But even the brief contemplation

of re-alignment

shows that change is possible

And as the world hurls on towards Christmas

we are reminded

that love will come again

that the Lord of the Longest night

is the Lord of the Lunar eclipse

God with us.

This Christmas-tide

the babe in the manger

needs little encouragement

to come and

dwell in us

warming us

soothing the darkness

bringing the light of hope

eclipsing our lives

with love.

Hurrying to Bethlehem

Fred Craddock said: "Everybody is already having Christmas except the church". That reminded me a bit of the description of Narnia as a place where it is always winter but never Christmas.
People, even in the church, do get impatient with Advent - and want us to move on to celebrate Christmas. Advent hymns are not as well loved as Christmas Carols. And yet, if we do not wait and wonder, can we ever be prepared to welcome the gift of God's son? Even by observing Advent, is our preparation ever enough?
The wife of a colleague was laughing today as she confessed that, by the time Christmas comes, they will both be miserable, worn out with all their Advent efforts. I know that feeling of slumping over Christmas dinner (and, yes, I know how fortunate it is to have that luxury in such an unjust world). I would plead for at least another week of preparation. But then, I'd probably use that up too. Can we ever be ready? Does it matter? God comes. God is with us. Contemplative or frazzled, rested or exhausted. God is accustomed to surprising us and has survived much worse than our lack of readiness. Those powerful themes of advent, Light, hope, love, peace are themes that need time to be absorbed and retold. Christmas comes, God is with us. All in God's time.

Holiday Fun

Accommodating change

How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.
Watching the snow fall brought to mind these Christmas carol words.
And struck a cord.
Who knows what we will awake to in the morning?
Will the snow be thick - or have melted away?
Will our plans have to change or can we work around it?
Falling snow seems to create a hush.
It is mesmerising.
While the earth slept, Jesus was born - and nothing would ever be the same again.
People awoke to find a changed world.
But we soon accommodated his birth, sanitised it and got on with life.
Will we do the same this Christmas?

Crowns and palaces

Kings in purple curtains

with crowns from last years crackers

Proud kings, shy kings,

loud and quiet kings

with packages wrapped

in velvet or shiny paper

carried reverently

or tossed about

to be presented

to a mother

whose head dress has come adrift

and who holds her baby upside down

while her husband smiles mischievously

distracted by the angelic throng

of tutu-clad nursery children

with sparkling wands

bringing Good News to all.

The scuffle between the camel and the sheep

is soon forgotten 

as these angel voices strike up

"Away in a manger".

And the adults, with a tear in their eye

think they have truly seen portrayed

the Christmas story.

Is it any wonder

we think of this baby God

as benign and ineffective

born in such cloying sentimentality?

Divorced from the reality

of crushing poverty

and oppressive regime.

Ignoring the fears of a pregnant teenager

giving birth and then taking to the road

with her partner 

not much older.

The angels that visited them

were scary, not cute.

And the kings - well meaning

but almost got them killed.

No wonder baby Jesus

grew up tough

and still hangs out

with the poor and exiled

in our communities

and cries at what we have done

to the Christmas story.

Thorns in the straw

Away from the stable

It's an occupational hazard that ministers get rather oppressed in the run up to Christmas. There are so many fun opportunities to get involved in - tea parties, lunches, school shows and nativities - all on top of the ongoing pastoral needs and crises that arise. But, the pressure of honouring all these commitments and keeping sane is considerable.
Tonight, I went ice skating with Girl Guides - not on the river I hasten to add - and I hope everyone will remember how dangerous the river is even with thick ice - but on the Ayr synthetic Christmas ice rink. For the first time, I felt slightly Christmassy. As I drove home, I reflected on the Christmas detachment I seem to be experiencing this year. And I'm not sure it is a detachment but more a reality. When God sent Jesus, the world was busy, people were oppressed, physically and spiritually. They couldn't drop everything and make their way to the stable. Nor was that what God required or desired. God sent Jesus into the real world, where people go about their business - the business of birth and death - the business of life. God doesn't want to stop us in our tracks but wants us to let God carry us over the ruts in the track when the going gets tough and float with us when life is buoyant. Christmas isn't about pausing to experience that Christmassy feeling but about knowing God present in the reality of life.

God with us

Walking down the High Street

listening out for the sound of the Salvation Army band

hearing instead the funny hooter of the candy floss maker

trying to snare the children or those with sweet tooth

and the call of the news vendor

peddling depressing headlines.

Being assaulted by bubbles

spewing out of the early learning centre.

And then the band appears

accompanied by carol singers

and collectors with bells

and the angels unfurl their wings

and blanket the earth with peace and goodwill

There’s a pause in the music as they decide what to play next

As the cornet player blows on his fingers to warm them

he sends up a prayer for the homeless family he found shelter for last night

As the collector waves her bucket

she prays for the youngster who needed an emergency payment

because he’s not on the system yet

As the carol singer passes the boiled sweets around

she gives thanks for the food parcels she will distribute later

As the conductor raises his hand to begin another carol

he sees the hand of God

reaching out to all the lost and lonely

and weary and vulnerable

and hungry and poor

and homeless and forgotten

beloved of God.

Joy to the World the Lord is come!

Joy comes in the morning?

Despite our fears and anxieties,

God promises joy

Despite our loss and grief

God promises joy

Despite our neediness and lack of resources

God promises joy

Despite ourselves

God promises joy

In the arid places

water will gurgle up

in the barren places

life will sprout

frozen wastes

of hearts and lives

will be lovingly thawed

and nurtured

and infused with joy

We cannot stop it

God infiltrates our best efforts

and our worst

and causes joy to bubble up

in the hopeless places

However unlikely it may seem

Be prepared

to experience joy

(Based on Isaiah 35)

The big thaw

We retreated to safety

hurrying home out of the cold

and chaos of snow and ice

We lit fires and snuggled up

making the most of a season of quiet

in busy full lives

Only one who was used to being left out in the cold

remained behind to check on those

with no means of retreat

One who was born in a drafty steading

who knew the resignation and discomfort

of enforced exile

He snuck in under cardboard shelters

shivered around braziers

tucked newspaper covers 

tighter around his friends

He slugged from their bottles 

of warming spirit

listened to the chattering teeth

and hacking coughs

and wept frozen tears

that so little has changed

in 2000 years

And when the thaw came

those tears turned into a river

for a world

that still abandons the vulnerable

and deserts the poor

and prefers glitzy news

to cold reality

And just as his cries went unheeded then

so his tears are met with indifference now.

The heart of Christianity

It is hard to imagine why anyone would want to destroy the Holy Thorn tree in Glastonbury. But I have to take issue with the director of Glastonbury abbey who is reported to have said that "this crime strikes at the very heart of Christianity." Fortunately Christianity, in all its vulnerability, is much tougher than that and is built on much more than myth and legend. Herod could not destroy the love that came into the world at Christmas and centuries of flawed human adherents to the faith have not destroyed it. In this season when we prepare to celebrate God in our midst, we celebrate the light that shines in the darkness and can never be put out.
The heart of Christianity continues to beat on.

Advent 2 - Love

Out of the mouths of babes

A Presbytery meeting last night was considerably brightened by a report from two youngsters who recently attended the Church of Scotland Children's Assembly on Iona. Both boys were very articulate and gave an impressive report, illustrated by pictures and mimes. Great hilarity erupted when one of the boys stumbled over the name of the council responsible for organising the Children's Assembly - and Mission and Discipleship Council became Mission and Despicable Council. We should give them the names of other councils to see how those would be rendered.

Stranded

There is a distinct lack of snow in Ayr. But, since all the transport networks are closed down, it is difficult to venture out of the County boundaries. It feels surreal to watch the rest of Scotland collapsing under the weight of the snow and the havoc it has wreaked. If the predicted thaw comes at the end of the week, no doubt activity will be frenetic as folk get themselves back to where they belong and stock up on supplies before the next predicted onslaught.
Displaced folk are making headline news just now but what about those who spend their lives as displaced people? Where are they tonight? Will insights gained and lessons learned from this crisis make any difference to their lives?

Inconvenient

Gridlock

Airport chaos

Snow days at home

Busy lives disrupted

Nights out postponed

Plans put on hold

A census

with folk traveling 

to their place of birth

Dusty roads

Overcrowded inns

Cities teeming 

with lives disrupted

by occupying forces

Calm and bright moments

when neighbour helps neighbour

Be it with shovelling snow

or birthing pangs

Signs of light and love

Signs of Advent

Getting closer?

The animals were added to our Nativity Scene this morning as we butchered Good King Wenceslas, each section of the congregation making a different animal noise - because everyone knows it's too early to be singing Christmas carols. We also considered Edward Hicks' Peacable Kingdom, as we listened to the beautiful vision portrayed by Isaiah(Isaiah 11:1-10). Preparations are really gathering pace. The question is: How close are we to bringing about that kingdom that Jesus came to demonstrate by his life and death?

Mirror images

John the Baptist romps right through our domesticated Nativity scenes, upsetting the balance, challenging and confronting, compelling us to look in the mirror - always unsettling. He's so out of place in the cosy scene we have created. But John the Baptist is vital to our Advent preparations if we really want to see God's kingdom - where there is peace and justice - become a reality.

Connected

This light dusting of snow that visited last weekend was the most we got this week. Life carried on pretty normally. We watched, initially with a degree of envy and then perhaps rather smugly, as other parts of the country came to a standstill. But our clement microclimate could not protect us from the knock on effects of a country in crisis. Mail deliveries were delayed or failed to materialise, fuel tankers failed to deliver, bread supplies became sporadic, while bus and rail links were disrupted. Staff living in outlying areas struggled to get to work as did residents working further afield. We could get out and about and return home and keep warm but we could not be unaffected. Such is life. We depend on each other more than we'd ever care to own.
The Son of God came, helpless, depending on the care of others, relying on everyone to play their part, to get involved, to feel the connection and to respond. And still, he calls us to act in community, loving and caring for one another. Snowy days give us opportunity to get it right.

Be a part of it

Our Nativity scene is beginning to take shape -

 first, the stable backdrop, then the animals, 

the holy family, the angels and the shepherds - 

and, eventually the wise men, led by the star.

Building up, layer on layer, character by character - 

all with a part to play in the story.

A story that is never complete, that has no ending, 

a scene that is never finished 

but where there is always room for one more.

A layout that calls for no particular precision - 

haphazard will do. 

For there was nothing tidy about the advent of God 

into a world toiling under oppression.

Still we are invited.

Still we are welcomed.

To occupy a corner, to make ourselves at home.

And contemplate the Christ child, born in our midst.

Advent 1

Welcoming God's light.