Churches Together in Rye had an excellent quiet day today led by my colleague Peggy. We met at the Servants of Jesus house in the old town in Bexhill. The car park was very busy - there was a huge Christmas thing in the place next door, Santa was in town, except he wasn't when I went for a look at lunchtime, as my picture shows - even Santa needs a lunch break. There was an hour's wait to see him, but the queue was expectant. apart from one little boy. Dad said to Mum as they were leaving: "not paying that £5 next year, he didn't even look at him, turned the other way." Yes, put your child on the knee of some old man he or she doesn't know, they will love it. (I hated going to see Santa as a shy child!)
The visit to Santa for most was about encounter, about receiving, about being special.
Meanwhile, inside our warm surroundings we were left to read books and reflect on a journey. It was lovely to have space to read and be. My encounter today dipping into Peggy's books was this powerful paragraph from a book about Charles Wesley's hymns for Advent and Christmas:
An American author wrote this in 2007:
"When nations rage with hatred and war and innocent people are slaughtered for no cause, when humans terrorise one another in body and spirit and the clamour from the streets is but a massive cry of despair and groans of hunger; when there appears to be no reason for a child to be born to endure the insensibilities of life; when it seems that all is lost and there is no hope, there is still a song to be sung, a song which unites the music in every soul."
On Christmas morning, little children will shout "He came!"
May we shout the same as we encounter God's presence anew. He will come, if, like us reading books today, in words and messages that will enliven us.
No comments:
Post a Comment