How silently, how silently

Dear Friends,

Crickey! Christmas is fast approaching, bringing many tasks such as attending many carol services and school nativities. However, amongst the stress and twinkly lights, there are many opportunities for sharing the good news. 


Out of the Ordinary is our 2023 Advent and Christmas theme. Our theme invites people to scratch beneath the surface to see God revealed. Advent and Christmas invite us to spend time with God: times when God promises to show up. Let’s keep watch, so that we’ll notice when God keeps that promise. Advent comes from Latin adventus, “coming”. As the carol proclaims: Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free.

What’s your favourite Christmas Carol?

According to Classic FM website the number one Christmas Carol is O Holy Night. In the top ten is the well-known O Little Town of Bethlehem which was written by the Revd Phillips Brooks following a journey he had made from Jerusalem to Bethlehem during the season of Christmas 1865.

I am drawn to verse 3: How silently, how silently.

This Christmas, the land known for ‘holy’ is in a state of war and turmoil, focussed on Gaza some 46 miles southwest of Bethlehem. This silent town that Brooks visited back in 1865 is popular for pilgrimage tours and having cancelations will hit the local people hard.  

So, my call to you all is can you sing this well-known carol as a prayer and not just sing the words because as people called Methodists, we sing our Theology. Don Hinchley has updated the hymn to reflect the modern reality. To be honest I am praying if I should use this version in our carol service. This is the first verse:

O Little town of Bethlehem

how still we see thee lie;

above thy deep and restless sleep

a missile glideth by.

And over dark streets soundeth

the mortar’s deadly roar,

while children weep in shallow sleep

for friends who are no more.

 

It would be interesting to think what Revd Brooks would have written if he were to visit Bethlehem today. 

 

When we consider the ongoing war in Ukraine, the heart-breaking situation in Israel/Palestine, and countries forgotten by the news such as Sudan, the hope that was born into the world in a place wracked bu conflict – both then and now – feels even more emotional.

So please, as we retell the Christmas story in Bethlehem, the Nazareth, and the Jerusalem of our carols, please prayer for those same ‘dark streets’ today. 

With every blessing, 

Matt  




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dealing with My Depression: Feeling Much Better

Image
Hello everyone, It was exactly a year ago that I shared my news with you because I wanted it to be my story. Today, I want to update you on my journey and how I’m feeling much better now. When I was first diagnosed, I felt like I was in a black hole. I experienced feelings of rejection, loneliness, and uselessness. My mind was overwhelmed with doubts and worries. During this dark time, I found comfort in Jesus’ cry from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” (Matthew 27:46 & Mark 15:34). His words reminded me that even in my suffering, I am not alone. The journey to recovery wasn’t easy. I started on antidepressants and received counselling. The support from my friends and family has been invaluable. I’ve had my share of “wobbles,” but overall, I feel much stronger and more hopeful. One of the significant realisations during my recovery was the importance of talking about mental health. There’s a stigma around depression, especially in the church, where people...
Read more

Living in Darkness

Image
I haven't updated my blog for a long time.  I want to share something with you. Two weeks ago my GP diagnosed me with depression.  We can’t control how we feel and the thoughts we get. The average person will typically have more than 6,000 thoughts in a single day, and the brain can process these thoughts. However, I wasn’t able to think straight because of certain things that had happened and I wasn’t in control of it. This goes back to Autumn’s Synod in the London District. I put my name down to attend the Methodist Conference as a presbyter. The London District had two spaces for Presbyters and three applied. I came third and the other two Presbyters were chosen fairly. Some reading this might think this is trivial and it’s only a conference but don’t forget we can’t control our thoughts because we average about 3000 thoughts per hour or 50 per minute, just under one per second.  I have taken this badly. I struggle with ministers who have attended the Methodist Confere...
Read more

The Power of Touch

Image
One of the difficult things during the pandemic is not being able to hug family and friends.  Grandparents can only see their grandchildren on the other side of the window.  Some people have lost a loved one and we want to hug them, for others, we live miles away.   Touch is important. Physical touch matters for your wellbeing.  Touch plays a primary role in our development and physical and wellbeing. Lepers were never touched because the danger of infection was too high. Living as we have during Covid-19 gives us the insight into the life of the leper. For nearly a year we’ve not been able to embrace and welcome people with a hug, handshake or kiss. Covid has given us insights into what it’s like when we see people as ‘problems’ and not individuals.  Jesus looks beyond the problem and see’s a person made in his Father’s image.  He touches the outcast and the person is healed.  A part of loving your neighbour is keeping your distance, wearing a face co...
Read more