Advent Musings: Thinking Outside the Box
The term ‘thinking outside the box’ is a metaphor that means to think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective. This phrase often refers to novel or creative thinking, and certainly, it’s interesting to discover how other people think. We tend to think initially that everyone thinks the same way that we do, but one of the most challenging and interesting facts about belonging to the church is that here, there is diversity and differences galore, but God can still unite us!
How we think will shape our lives, because we inevitably act according to our thoughts. That’s why the Bible places so much emphasis on transformed thinking (Rom 12:2, Phil 4:8) and urges us to think like God. (1 Cor 2:6-16) It can be extremely hard to think differently, but we are urged to fix our mind and thoughts on Jesus (Col 3:1, Heb 3:1).
In the context of the sanctity of life, this has radical implications for how we live and where we work. It means we ask God to help us see the world through His eyes, ‘finding beauty in the broken’ (‘Plans’, Tim Hughes & Nick Herbert), so that we do not shun those with disabilities or ‘imperfections’, but seek to love them. It means we view the elderly as those to be cherished and honoured, not shunned and shut away. It means we seek to help those struggling with mental health issues, not simply dismissing them as ‘crazy’. It means we value children of all ages and abilities. It means we seek ways to help those who are struggling with disabilities. It means we consider alternative ways of living so that we can spend time with family and friends, valuing people more than possessions or status. It shapes our thoughts on abortion, adoption, euthanasia and social justice and consequently motivates us to action.
Stephen spoke to us recently about living life in a limiting box. We need to take the lid off our ‘boxes’ and allow God to inspire, motivate and challenge how we are living. Christmas is not about cosy comforts and candy canes. It is about a stupendous plan of salvation involving Almighty God becoming a baby on a rescue mission! What rescue mission might He be calling you to?
Advent Musings: God of Miracles
Mary spent much of her pregnancy with her cousin, Elizabeth, who was also pregnant. (Luke 1:5-25, 39) God’s miraculous intervention in enabling Elizabeth and Zechariah to conceive is an echo of many other miraculous births in the Bible (e.g. Gen 21, 1 Sam 1) and a reminder to all who are desperate to conceive that God is able to do so much more than we can ask or imagine (Eph 3:20).
It’s ironic that whilst so many women do not want to be pregnant and seek abortions to end their pregnancies, many couples are desperate to have children, but cannot because of infertility problems. There are different options available for those struggling with infertility, but some (e.g. IVF) may not seem suitable to Christians because of ethical concerns. Life again works with couples struggling to conceive (see http://lifefertilitycare.co.uk/infertility/ for more information), seeking to support and help. It’s good to read their success stories (http://lifefertilitycare.co.uk/about-life-fertilitycare/aims-and-objectives/) and to know that there are those in medicine who are seeking to help such couples. Not every infertile couple will be able to have children naturally, but many will go on to consider other ways to nurture children, including fostering and adoption. It’s good when God calls people in this way and is yet another reminder that He sets people in families (Ps 68:6).
The Christmas story reminds us, however, that we serve a God of miracles. As we prepare for Christmas, a miracle of truly stupendous proportions, may we have the faith to believe that what He has done for others, He can do for us too – surprising us with the ‘marvellous deeds’ we read about in the Bible, astonishing us with the ‘immeasurably more’ that only God can do.
Preparation
We are now two weeks away from Christmas, and preparations in most homes are ongoing – putting up decorations, buying gifts and writing cards are all ways we use physical symbols to remind us of the time of year. Shops clearly start their preparations early (some of us feel too early!), but for God, preparations for Christmas began a long time ago…
The first prophecy about the coming of the Messiah is found in Gen 3:15. God’s plan of renewal and restoration was in place even in the Garden of Eden, but time was needed before the fulfilment of this plan took place. Time was, for God, a tool to work towards this plan, for people needed to be aware of the desperate need for salvation before they could hope to embrace it. God used this time to prepare the lineage of His Son (related in Matthew 1 in fulfilment of God’s word to David in 2 Sam 7:13) and to ensure that the mother of Jesus would be a virgin (in fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy in Is 7:14).
Mary, Zechariah, Elizabeth and Joseph are all key players in the Christmas story who were prepared by God (through angelic visitations) to receive the Messiah. God worked to ensure that Jesus’s earthly parents were faithful and obedient servants, tying together all the strands needed so that at the right time (Gal 4:4), His Son would be born to put into effect God’s great plan of salvation.
As we prepare for Christmas, we need to prepare our hearts, to slow down and put Christ first in everything we do and to be willing to be an example for others to follow and a witness to the greatest story we can ever experience. Advent is not so much a time for preparing for Christmas as for preparing for Christ.
Three Gifts
Stephen spoke this morning at the Cherry Tree Carol Service on three gifts which God has given to us connected with this season of Advent. A recent TV programme has looked at different gifts given at Christmas to different ages and at different times and commented that so often, children spend more time playing with empty cardboard boxes than they do with the gifts they receive! The gifts God gives are not empty, however, but full of life!
1. Advent is the season when we traditionally remember the arrival of Christ our Saviour (see Luke 2:11). The Son of God came to earth, born as a baby, and in Him we find a remedy to sin, the key to eternal life. We thank God for this historical gift which paved the way for our salvation.
2. God has also given us the gift of the Holy Spirit, revealing to us His will and purpose for our lives (see Eph 1:9-10). Acts 1:8 reminds us that this gift enables us to be witnesses, for we can live in the power of the Holy Spirit rather than in our own strength.The Holy Spirit is our guide and leader, helping us through the difficult paths of life; this is our gift for the present.
3. The final gift has yet to be fully realised, for we wait for Christ’s return to earth as King and Jjudge (see Luke 17:24-25), when He will return for His people. This is our ‘happy ever after’, the final conclusion to God’s story. Hope fuels us in the meantime, as we wait for this return, ever ready and ever anticipating the arrival of our King with excitement and joy.
Advent Musings: Journeying
Pregnancy is a journey that lasts 9 months. We can be grateful we’re not elephants (whose gestation period is 95 weeks, more than double ours!) Most of us don’t like journeys that take more than a few hours, but this journey involves many ups and downs.
A human pregnancy is usually divided into 3 trimesters, roughly 3 months each. Often, a woman will feel sick and tired during the first trimester as hormone levels fluctuate and her body prepares for the arrival of a child. The second trimester (weeks 13-27) is the most comfortable period of time for the majority of pregnant women, with renewed energy levels and less sickness. This is when a woman begins to ‘look’ pregnant and may find out through scans the sex of the baby. The third trimester may well be more uncomfortable as the baby grows and it can be hard to sleep well. Women often feel as though the end will never come!
Life can be likened to a journey too, as Alison spoke about last night at the ‘Churches Together’ carol service. It’s less definite than pregnancy (we often don’t know how long we have!) and often involves uncertainty and change, but through it all, there is a sense of progression and also the growing realisation, if we are believers, that God is with us and is in control. I often wonder if Mary had any other angelic encounters during her pregnancy, but suspect, like us, she had to live by faith rather than by sight. (2 Cor 5:7) Our challenge is to keep on believing and journeying towards ‘the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.’ (Heb 11:10) Just as Mary journeyed literally to be with Elizabeth and then to Bethlehem, just as the shepherds had to journey from the fields to the stable, just as the Magi journeyed from afar to worship the new-born king, so we too keep on journeying towards our loving God.
‘Churches Together’ carol service
Despite a very cold evening, the ‘Churches Together’ community carol service took place tonight at the parish church in Goldthorpe. It was lovely to be able to sing of the hope we have in Christ through the many carols and to hear traditional readings reminding us of the first coming of Jesus as a baby born in Bethlehem.
Garry reading Isaiah’s prophecy foretelling the birth of Jesus:
Alison spoke (with visual aids!) of the journey to Bethlehem by different characters in the Christmas journey and how so often we journey through life feeling weighed down and burdened, but how Jesus (who made the greatest journey of all from heaven to earth) can lift those burdens and help us through life. Mary and Joseph travelled and found nowhere to sleep except among the animals. The shepherds and wise men had to negotiate Roman rule and Herod’s antipathy to find Jesus. Journeying is not always easy, but God is with us (‘Immanuel’) to help us negotiate every stumbling-block and difficulty in life.
Our thanks to Father Schaefer and all his helpers for hosting the carol service, especially those who provided refreshments afterwards.