Journey through Advent 3

We come now to the journey of the Wise Men. We read in Matthew's Gospel.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod,Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler    who will shepherd my people Israel.’[b]”

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route."

These men had travelled far and did not really know where they were headed. They simply knew they had to follow a star to find a king. Looking for a king they went at first to the palace, where you would probably expect a king to be, but of course, the king they were looking for was not there. So they continued to follow the star and came at last to where Jesus was, there they bowed down and worshipped him and gave the gifts they had brought with them.

Sometimes we don't always look for Jesus in the right places. God speaks to us in many different ways, sometimes not in the way we expect. But, like the wise men, if we continue to follow then God will guide us. As get closer to Christmas keep following the star and do not let yourself get distracted by the trappings and bustle of this season, follow the star to the manger and find the baby there.

Journey through Advent 1

This Advent as we journey towards Christmas I thought we could think a little on the various journeys that were made at the first Christmas.

The first journey to pause and think about is the journey that Mary and Joseph made. They journeyed first to Bethlehem to be registered there because of the decree that Caesar Augustus issued. We read in Luke’s gospel:

“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, ⁵ to be registered with Mary, his betrothed,^[b] who was with child. ⁶ And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. ⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.”

This would not have been an easy journey, the road would have crowded with other people also going to Bethlehem, it would have been hot, dusty and Mary would have been tired and soon to give birth. They would not have had many possessions with them. Then when they arrived at Bethlehem they could not find a room to stay in.

Their next journey was a frightening one, we read in Matthew’s gospel

“Now when they (the wise men) had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴ And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵ and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Again not an easy journey to make, with a young baby this time. They fled not knowing what awaited them, they fled with little possessions. They made a journey from danger to safety, trusting in the Lord.

As we think about the preparations we are starting to make for Christmas let us also think about those today who are making journeys to safety.  Let us remember those refugees who are fleeing for their lives, from places torn apart with war and destruction, refugees who are hoping for a safer life. They are fleeing with little or no possessions to a place they do not know, let us remember to pray for them this Advent season.

 

Christmas Blessings!

 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. he was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all manking. the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."  John 1:1-5

Light Looked Down

Light looked down on darkness
Darkness everywhere
Light said 'I will go there'
Where light does not show
Darkness abounds, in all the world below
Light came in at Christmas
So we all would know.

Peace looked down on warfare
Fighting everywhere
Peace said 'I will go there'
To battle, death and woe
Conflict abounds in all the world below
Peace came in at Christmas
So we all would know.

Love looked down on hatred
Hatred everywhere
Love said 'I will go there'
To hate, disgust and fear
Emnity abounds, in all the world below
Love came in at Christmas
So we all would know.

So the Lord of Light, the Prince of Peace came in
Silenty he crept in, to this world of ours
Crept in beside us, the gracious King of Love
Humbly we adore him
Jesus Christ our Lord.


From Cloth for the Cradle

Christmas Carols

As many of you are no doubt either attending or participating in various carol concerts, carol services or carolling out on the streets,  over the coming weeks, I thought I would share this short extract from the Celebrating Christmas concert at the Royal Albert Hall recently. I am sure it must be a fabulous concert to attend.

Mary, Did You Know?

A song to start us thinking about Advent and what Christmas really means.

What are your favourite Christmas hymns or songs?