The first thought here was written in advent 2009 and the second in early Jan 2011 so they are a year apart, the Christmas spirit though is strong in both. The second though also begins to look forward to Easter and the saving act of the cruxifiction and resurection.
You may also notice, as I only just have, the similarity in the last line of each thought.
Preparing for Christams - What's really Important
Last night I got home from work feeling very tired and worn out after a long hard week. I got home before Gail so I had time to lay the fire and get our advent calendar and crib down from the loft. When she got in we ate, we had fish and chips, eating on our laps in front of the fire. We put on some Christmas music and just looked into the dancing flames. Neither of us felt the need to talk. After an hour or so we roasted some chestnuts a friend had gathered from his garden for us. They were warm and sweet, the very taste of Victorian winter. During the course of the evening both our Mums rang for a chat. As the fire died down towards the end of the evening we enjoyed a glass of wine, a little cheese and a slice of soft crusty bread. We finished the evening sitting in bed, with a red advent candle burning slowly down to 4, I was reading Delia Smith's a feast for advent, and reflecting on the short amount of time before we celebrate Christmas. Advent is a time for preparing, we have less than three weeks now, to prepare for the coming our our Lord. So, should I be thinking about, the presents I have to buy, the meals to be prepared, the visits we have to make, the people coming to stay with us, what time Doctor Who will be on on Christmas day. No that's not the preparation that's needed, although I probably do all that as well. Last night was the preparation that's needed, time spent with a loving family and time spent reflecting on the wonder and love of our Lord.
I wish you all a happy and Holy Christmas, may God Bless us one and all.
A Christmas Carol
For the first time this Christmas I actual read 'A Christmas Carol'. Like all of you, I know the story well. I have watched it many times over the years in many different forms. Classic versions with Albert Finney, George C. Scott, and Patrick Stewart. Fun versions with Mickey Mouse & Kermit the Frog. Even re-worked version with Doctor Who or Jimmy Stewart in 'It's a wonderful life'.
For me the story captures the Christmas spirit. It's bitter sweet. There is joy but also sadness. Christmas is much more than Coke-a-Cola's “holidays are coming”, paint the world red, happy family Christmas images. I think we need to feel a little sadness at Christmas, to let us relish the joy.
At Christmas our Lord came into the world, and because of that wonder we rejoice, but if we look at his first Christmas presents we see his life mapped out. Gold for a king, Frankincense for the priest, and Myrrh for his death. Just listen to the lyrics of the hymn We three Kings. Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying. Sealed in the stone-cold tomb. But His death was His gift to us, the gift that secures our salvation. You can see why I think Christmas needs to feel bitter sweet, but when it does we must relish the sweetness.
And it's one of those moments of sweetness I want to leave you with. As I read “A Christmas Carol” I came across a sentence I hadn't heard before. It read :
“But they didn't devote the whole evening to music. After a while they played at forfeits; for it is good to be children sometimes, and never better than at Christmas, when its mighty Founder was a child himself.”
I wish you all a happy new year, and in the words of Tiny Tim, “May God Bless us, Everyone”
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