Christmas continues

The light shines in the darkness

and the darkness has not overcome it...

The Christ candle continues to burn -

it burns clear in all the demands of life

illuminating the possibility of rest

it burns true in days of confusion

pointing the way to clarity

it burns steadily when all is shifting

alluding to calm in the storm.

Every day becomes a holy day

Lit by God in our midst.

Incarnation - God is with us still

Because its Christmas...

The waiting is almost over

the tree is trimmed

the parcels wrapped

Food preparations are underway.

For some, this Christmas Eve

brings a rush of activity

to get all the last minute tasks done.

For others, this Christmas Eve

brings a calm approach

as they quietly prepare

to welcome the Christ child again.

And for still others,

this Christmas Eve

brings a desperate struggle

just to survive another day.

Because it's Christmas...

means little to the homeless young woman

sheltering under the railway bridge

trying to keep her Christmas box wrappings dry

so that she can sleep under them another night.

Because it's Christmas...

has no impact

on the heroin addict

wandering the High Street

checking out "opportunities"

for his next fix.

Because it's Christmas...

brings no comfort to the young parent

trying to do the best for their children

while sick with worry

about their partner

off fighting in Afghanistan.

Because it's Christmas...

will not change a thing

unless we allow the baby God

to leave the swaddling behind

Unless we embody Christ 

in our lives

and work to bring peace and hope and light

into all the darkness of today's world,

Because it's Christmas... 

will not change a thing

unless we allow the God of Christmas

to be born in our hearts and lives

this day and every day

Because it's Christmas.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

Christmas crib

During another excellent school Nativity presentation this morning, I had a moment's panic that the crib had been left behind. It hadn't and, at the right time, it was brought forward for Mary to lay down her baby.
That moment of panic, though, spoke to me of the season of Advent and all the preparation we've tried to build into our lives at home and in worship together. When the Christ child comes, nothing else matters - all that is important is swaddled in a manger - therein lies Christmas.

Christmas Eve Watchnight

Call to worship

Come fresh from your revelry

or your loneliness

to find warmth and fellowship here

as we watch in the darkness

for the dawn of another Christmas

Know that you are welcome

just as you are

The baby who snuck into the stable

slips in here tonight

Can you see him?

Can you feel him?

Sense the beat of the wings of angels

brushing your cheek-

announcing to you this night

as they did 2000 years ago in Bethlehem

the good news

that God lives in love with us.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

Seasonal magic

Four candles are now lit

in our advent ring

Just waiting for the Christ candle

to complete the circle

The longest night

has come and gone

we hurtle on

toward Christmas

When we get there

will it matter

if we've forgotten something?

Will our celebration

be diminished?

And when Christmas day is over

will things be any different?

Or will we simply breathe a sigh

and immediately begin

to whip ourselves up into a frenzy

to get to the end of the year?

Celebrating Christmas

whether well prepared

or weary

provides for us

amazing possibility.

One day in the year

cannot change the world.

But hearts prepared

to welcome

and embrace

the Son of God

and share that Christmas Spirit

will go a long way

to bringing magic

into the season

More waiting

The sanctuary is quiet -

recovering from the onslaught

of one school service

getting ready for the next

taking a breather

before the story

is played out 

all over again.

The same old story

told over and over

sometimes to new audiences

sometimes to familiar faces.

But the greatest story ever told

bears repeating

in every time and place

made new 

for every generation.

God dwells among us.

Seasonal weariness

Did they weary, those wise men?

Did their steps become slower,

their momentum more forced?

Did the novelty and the wonder

and the excitement

begin to wear thin?

Their journey was long

and drawn out.

It wasn't exuberant and spontaneous

like the shepherds.

Or full of glory

like the angels' song.

Perhaps that is one of the drawbacks

of a period of preparation -

the anticipation mellows,

worn down by the passage of time.

The destination ceases to attract,

lost as it is in the ordinary.

A quest for all of us 

journeying through Advent:

to recover something of the vitality

of the beginning

so that this far on in our travels

we can be refreshed

and rekindled

by a glimpse of the goal.

And our weary steps

take on a sprinkling

that will provide the surge we need

to see it through.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

They followed the star

Girvan Beach November 2011

The star carves out a path

lighting up the way for others

It beckons us to follow

in its wake

to tread the contours marked out

and those we can barely imagine 

It lures us in

out of the shadows

banking on our curiosity

to keep us on the quest

for that sense of promise

and fulfillment 

that can only be sated

by a love

that is out of this world.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

Nativity

Tea towels that simply won’t stay,

tied on with dressing gown cords,

halos  lopsided or sagging,

slipping down over eyes lit with mirth.

Crowns that are coming unstuck

as the tinfoil decides to unravel,

yet, together creating a scene

of such harmony and tranquillity

that it tugs at the heart strings

and reminds all who look on

of the chaos and the holiness

that unfolded so long ago

in a stable in Bethlehem,

when God was born

in a feeding trough.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

You expect me to believe that?

Immaculate conception

virgin birth

angels and shepherds

bright shining stars

wise men and mangers

an angry king

a desperate world

and a baby God

Do you really expect folk

to believe all that?

What a story to tell a world

that longs for good news today.

The only way folk will believe

such a fanciful tale

is if they can see the evidence

that God is born

in us

if we can share the love

that came down at Christmas.

Incarnation

Incarnation - God WITH us

not just an historic event

not just in a manger in Bethlehem

for, as momentous as that was

it is NOT enough

Not enough for a world

experiencing the darkness

that shrouds the world today

Not enough for a world experiencing 

economic recession, 

unemployment,

homelessness,

poverty, 

insecurity,

corruption,

oppression,
injustice

hopelessness.

Not enough for a world

constantly needing to see

and to feel

God with us.

God with us

in ways that make sense

of the world today.

God with us

in ways that bring light

and hope into today's darkness.

God with us

as startling

and as transformative

and as unthinkable

as it was 2000 years ago.

God with us

kicking and screaming

and helpless and vulnerable.

Incarnation - for today.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

Irrational season

This is the irrational season

When love blooms bright and wild.

Had Mary been filled with reason

There'd have been no room for the child.

Madeleine L'Engle

Believe...

Believe in what your heart is saying
Hear the melody that's playing
There's no time to waste
There's so much to celebrate
Believe in what you feel inside
And give your dreams the wings to fly
you have everything you need
If you just believe

Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri

Performed by Josh Groban, featured in The Polar Express

Choosing

These past few weeks, schools have been disrupted by industrial action and by bad weather. Inconvenient for some. A bonus for others. Weekends tend to be work filled, so an opportunity midweek to enjoy some quality family time has been a gift.
Life bombards us with situations not of our choosing or making. How we see those and use them varies and is dependent on lots of other factors but, often, we have the chance turn a difficulty into something positive.
In the busyness of this season of Advent, we can choose to find time for contemplation, choose to swim against the tide that wants to sweep us headlong into Christmas and, instead, take time to appreciate the journey along the way.

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

It wasn't supposed to be a candle lit carol service. We hadn't done a comprehensive risk assessment. But, when there was a major area power failure about an hour before the service was due to start and, with the 80 strong community gospel choir, the brass ensemble, the worship band and the drama group already there rehearsing in a well heated sanctuary, we decided to dig out the candles and go ahead. And what a beautiful service. What a wonderful ambience. And the baby Jesus certainly showed up, right at home in the improvised setting, enjoying the spontaneity and as disappointed as the other worshippers when the lights eventually came back on!
In those one-off unplanned moments, God is at home, inviting us to lay down our carefully choreographed schemes to make room to celebrate the advent of God with us - Emmanuel.

Advent wishes

This meditation is based on the four weeks of Advent 

Christmas wishes ….

My wish for you this Christmas is hope

the hope that things can be different

that the odds can be reversed

that justice can prevail

that we can see God turning cartwheels right in front of our eyes?

Why?

Because God is continually trying to attract our attention

so that even in the darkness of life

we can see flickers of hope

My wish for you this Christmas is peace

not that wee moment of darkness when all is quiet and you can take a breath

but peace that is deep and lasting

that seeps in to everything you do

changing your perception

calming your fear

letting you relax as you have never done before

  

My wish for you this Christmas is love

the love that came in the form of a baby

born in poverty and seen as a threat

to political stability

that kind of love

not sentimental or slushy

but grounded in the reality of a harsh and brutal life

fighting for survival

succeeding against the odds

making all the difference

Love that perseveres because love is of God

My wish for you this Christmas is joy

joy that ripples right to your toes

not the easy smile you wear

or forced jollity you perform

but a joy that bubbles up from the depths

lifting your spirit

sending you soaring

leaving you reeling and breathless

the joy of the baby God

And with these gifts

of hope and peace and love and joy

God fills us to the brim

so that we can overflow

in to the world around us

being Christ to each other

Seeing Christ in each other

And serving even the least of these.

Liz Crumlish December 2011

And is it true...

I love these words from John Betjeman:

And is it true,

This most tremendous tale of all,

Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,

A Baby in an ox's stall ?

The Maker of the stars and sea

Become a Child on earth for me ?

And is it true ? For if it is,

No loving fingers tying strings

Around those tissued fripperies,

The sweet and silly Christmas things,

Bath salts and inexpensive scent

And hideous tie so kindly meant,

No love that in a family dwells,

No carolling in frosty air,

Nor all the steeple-shaking bells

Can with this single Truth compare -

That God was man in Palestine

And lives today in Bread and Wine

Never ending story

The Forth Bridge, which spawned the myth that, by the time its painters finished painting it, it was time to start again has, finally, been coated with a long lasting paint - which means it shouldn't need painted again for at least 20 years. It was unveiled today in all its painted glory. And so ends an era that produced a metaphor for those tasks that seem never ending.
Changing landscapes are a recurring theme in the life of faith. Continually, God's people are called to move physically and spiritually to embrace changes in the landscape and culture that surround us. Finding ways to keep the story alive and to share the steadfast love of God in a new age is the challenge always before us, a challenge to which we are called to respond with imagination and innovation that allows the old, old, story to be told in every age.
May advent hope and light pierce whatever landscape surrounds you.

Invisible halo

Pregnant Advent

For those experiencing the anticipation of pregnancy

in this season of waiting and expectation

God sends angels

to massage soothing balm

into the twinges of fear and apprehension

For those mourning the emptiness of loss

in this season of giving

God sends angels

not to fill the void

but to hold the space

so that grief may be honoured and cherished

Those same angels that announced

earth shattering changes

in the lives of Mary and Joseph

and Elizabeth and Zechariah

and life altering good news

for shepherds going about their daily grind

minister in our world today

stealing into lives disrupted

by  events

longed for or dreaded

bidden or unbidden

and wrap those invisible, noiseless wings

around our lives

mending and minding

swaddling in love

still being heralds

of the Advent of God

in ALL of life

Liz Crumlish Dec 2011

Love never ends

We held our Quiet Christmas Service tonight, an opportunity for those missing loved ones, to sit out for a time from all the brightness of the season and to have their loss acknowledged and their sadness shared. Although this is only my fourth Christmas season in this community, I was very conscious of all those whose loss we have mourned even in that short time. As we hung stars on the tree and lit candles it was wonderful to feel so much a part of folks' lives, folk who have generously allowed me to share in their joy and in their sorrow.
The stars we hung on the tree reminded us of the birth we prepare to celebrate and the candles we placed on the cross linked that baby with the Christ who died for us. God gets alongside us in this season and in every season constantly reminding us that love never dies.

Perpetual star

The star at the top of our tree is supposed to shine for 6 hours and then go dark, until the next night. But it has been shining since we set it in motion 3 days ago. It is battery operated and there is no switch so, other than removing the batteries, it continues to shine. How apt in the season when we celebrate the Light that came into the world which the darkness has never put out. (John 1)

Nativity chic

Nativity sets come in all shapes and sizes. In our home, we have several - a beautiful Willow Tree set, a plaster set, made by disabled ex service personnel, a chunky plastic set (from Avon) that the children loved to play with, a playmobil Nativity and, this year's addition - a rubber duck nativity set. Perhaps not in the best taste, but lots of fun. Each in their own way portray the Christmas story, of love born in lowly places, for ordinary people - even those with a warped sense of humour!

Advent 2

A reflection on John the Baptist - Preparer of the Way:

They flocked to see him, this wild prophet.

Out of curiosity?

Out of novelty?

Out of boredom?

He was certainly a sight to behold.

And he didn’t mince his words.

He told it straight.

Dressed nothing up.

Yet, still folk wanted to listen.

Maybe tired of being spoon fed

and molly-coddled.

They realised they needed to hear 

something more challenging.

It wasn’t a message of comfort

but, in a strange way,

it was a message of hope.

And, somehow, the starkness

made it more real.

What if we stopped dressing up the story

and allowed the truth to emerge?

Being a messenger might involve

saying the things 

that no one wants to hear

and showing a way 

that no one wants to follow.

Shaking folk out of their complacency

to look toward the light.

Decentralising faith

I've always wanted to see John the Baptist depicted in our church Nativity scenes. He'd be out of place to say the least. One of my colleagues suggested that we could put a motion activated John the Baptist in one of those outdoor Nativity scenes and, every time someone walked past he could call out something suitably insulting. That seems to be what John the Baptist was good at!
And yet, for all his harsh words, people flocked to the wilderness to hear him preach and to respond to his call to repentance.
John the Baptist conducted a ministry on the margins. And isn't that the sort of ministry in which the church today should be engaged - taking the good news out to the periphery of society, sharing with those on the fringes, to whom belongs the Kingdom of God.