Dear friends
In my study, my small wooden nativity is now full of the characters of the Christmas story, the kings were added last week, and there they will remain until Sunday 28 January when we celebrate Candlemas, the presentation of Christ in the temple.The other Christmas decorations are down in my home - with a daughter with a January birthday it's all a bit much! But in church, the decorations will remain up also until 28th.It's tempting to think "Christmas is over, now on to the new year", and of course while Christmas-tide is indeed over, we are as a church in the season of Epiphany-tide. Each week our readings invite us to consider the ways in which Jesus is revealed - from his baptism in last week's Gospel, to the recognition that "you are the son of God", as is proclaimed by his first followers in this weeks reading. Next week we have the wedding at Cana when Jesus performs his first public miracle, and then on the last Sunday of the month, at the presentation in the temple, where he is recognised by the elder Simeon and Anna as the one who has come to give salvation to the world. These aren't readings in chronological order, but they take us on a journey of discovery and recognition of who Jesus is, until we get to "ordinary time" again ... which is only a short season before Lent begins!We may be quite shocked to see Easter eggs in the shops so soon after Christmas, but in some ways the shops have got a deep theological understanding that Easter was present even at Christmas - the wise men bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were predicting the future life, death and resurrection of Jesus.So, whilst we may think Christmas is over, it isn't really because the story continues. The revelation of Jesus' identity throughout Epiphany draws us back to his birth, and then Lent points us towards his death. We are constantly called, as those who follow Jesus, to reflect and consider on what this story means for our own story. We do this when we gather, and this week you're invited to come along at 8.30am for our tradition Holy Communion service, or 10.30am for Cafe church, our more informal, conversational gathering.You might also like to consider the words of this poem, by Howard Thurman. I used it at one of our Christmas services, and offer it to you during this season of looking back, and looking forward:When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken,To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart. With every blessing, as everBecky
In my study, my small wooden nativity is now full of the characters of the Christmas story, the kings were added last week, and there they will remain until Sunday 28 January when we celebrate Candlemas, the presentation of Christ in the temple.The other Christmas decorations are down in my home - with a daughter with a January birthday it's all a bit much! But in church, the decorations will remain up also until 28th.It's tempting to think "Christmas is over, now on to the new year", and of course while Christmas-tide is indeed over, we are as a church in the season of Epiphany-tide. Each week our readings invite us to consider the ways in which Jesus is revealed - from his baptism in last week's Gospel, to the recognition that "you are the son of God", as is proclaimed by his first followers in this weeks reading. Next week we have the wedding at Cana when Jesus performs his first public miracle, and then on the last Sunday of the month, at the presentation in the temple, where he is recognised by the elder Simeon and Anna as the one who has come to give salvation to the world. These aren't readings in chronological order, but they take us on a journey of discovery and recognition of who Jesus is, until we get to "ordinary time" again ... which is only a short season before Lent begins!We may be quite shocked to see Easter eggs in the shops so soon after Christmas, but in some ways the shops have got a deep theological understanding that Easter was present even at Christmas - the wise men bringing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh were predicting the future life, death and resurrection of Jesus.So, whilst we may think Christmas is over, it isn't really because the story continues. The revelation of Jesus' identity throughout Epiphany draws us back to his birth, and then Lent points us towards his death. We are constantly called, as those who follow Jesus, to reflect and consider on what this story means for our own story. We do this when we gather, and this week you're invited to come along at 8.30am for our tradition Holy Communion service, or 10.30am for Cafe church, our more informal, conversational gathering.You might also like to consider the words of this poem, by Howard Thurman. I used it at one of our Christmas services, and offer it to you during this season of looking back, and looking forward:When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home,When the shepherds are back with their flock, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken,To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart. With every blessing, as everBecky