Advent 2020

It's been a difficult year to put it mildly, but we have hope... from events 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ came into this world to save us sinners.

As a raised Christian, I have held the Christmas Story told many times and so a fresh take is always welcome. I have one to share with you.

The Hornchurch Passion Play, which I am involved in (it was due to be performed in April, but you know what has meant a delay until 2022), have posted a series of short monologues on their YouTube channel.

You can find it here:

Hornchurch Passion Play

I would highly recommend it.

Have a good Advent as possible in the circumstances.

Advent 5: The Holy Spirit

The final gift that God has given us, so far, is the Holy Spirit. This gift "overshadowed" Mary result in the Immaculate Conception, but later appeared after Jesus had gone up to heaven.

In Acts, tongues of fire descended on the apostles, who had been in hiding after the resurrection, waiting to see how the land lay and fearing persecution. The tongues of fire were the Holy Spirit, which not only gave them renewed confidence, but the ability to speak all the languages of a diverse crowd.

Since that day of Pentecost, the Church never looked back. Jesus' followers would take the good news all over the Roman Empire. Many would die for it and did so gladly. After all, it was only death - they would soon be with Jesus.

From a small sect to a global religion; that's what the Holy Spirit caused to happen to Christianity. It still acts in mysterious ways today; including, I would say, in my own life.

There is still one more gift to come; a new Heaven and a New Earth.
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With that, I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Advent 4: Jesus

Probably God's greatest gift is his Son, Jesus Christ.

I'm currently watching The Nativity on BBC1. While it may be a bit twee, it's very biblical. Jesus' "father" was a humble carpenter. Mary was an ordinary young woman (the concept of "teenager" not quite existing back then). God chose them to provide the route where he could spread the Good News. He became a vulnerable baby, then a refugee. I wouldn't be surprised if he had problems making ends meet. He was viewed as mad by many and ultimately put to death for a non-existent crime by the Romans who were worried about his impact on their authority. I've mentioned a lot more about that last bit in my Holy Week series.

This is one of the best poems about it. Short, but worth reading.

Through all this, Jesus took the punishment for every sin that was ever committed or will be committed on himself. No need for animal sacrifices any more - we could now talk with God directly.

Jesus did not achieve a tremendous amount in his lifetime on Earth, but he set the stone rolling (literally on Easter Sunday). Three centuries later, even the Roman Empire, which had done so much to persecute Christians, became Christian. Even in our increasingly "Godless" society, people still have their children baptised and go for church weddings.

For all the problems that some in the Church has cause - Christianity has done a tremendous amount of good. From Jan Hus to William Booth to Mother Theresa, Jesus was God's ultimate present.

Advent 3: The Law

This is the third post in my series on the Gifts of God.
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We move onto the third gift; the Law. By which I'm referring to the regulations in Leviticus.

Everybody focuses on the grain offerings and the stuff about being unclean, as well as the food rules. These rules certainly had a reason at the time; often to do with hygiene and health. I must admit I'm not entirely sure about all of them; I'm sure some Bible scholars could explain better.

The purpose of the law was more serious though; to give people rules and regulations to live in a just society. It was not to enslave them, but to ensure that all could live in decent conditions, free from violence and oppression.

Of course, we completely broke it either in letter or in spirit. The Pharisees at the time of Jesus were following the letter, but not the spirit; ensuring their own power and not protecting the interests of the poor.

Thus we needed Jesus, the next gift.

We are no longer subject to the Law, but are now free in Christ, the ultimate sacrifice. That is not a licence to sin freely, but to live to our fullest for God.

We can also eat pork.

Advent 2: The Promised Land

A tad later than planned, this is my second of five Advent posts.

The story of the book of Exodus is probably fairly well known to most "Western" adults; it's even been the subject of a Disney film (Prince of Egypt).

In it, Moses leads his people out of pretty harsh slavery in Egypt with the help of a considerable amount of divine intervention from God. There's comedy and deep tragedy; when the first-born Egyptians all die.

After 40 years in the desert (a delay caused by their own disobedience to God's instructions), they arrive in Canaan, the Promised Land. It's the start of a long story involving Temples, exiles and a lot of idol worshipping (even Solomon ends up doing it).

Giving a dedicated area of the world to his "own" people is one of God's most noticeable gifts. The fact he didn't renege on it despite the number of times the Israelites annoyed him is a true testament to his mercy.

We will soon have a new Promised Land; the Kingdom of Heaven - and it will be open to anyone who believes.

Advent 1: The World

This is the first of five posts I'll be doing on the subject of Advent, as we approach Christmas 2010.

I won't be going on the traditional Advent Candle meanings, but focussing on five "presents" that the LORD has given to his people:
1. The World
2. The Promised Land
3. The Law
4. Jesus
5. The Holy Spirit

These may be a bit rambling; I'm just letting it flow.

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I look out of my window at the latest batch of frozen water that has landed on my street and caused travel disruption. While it's easy to get annoyed, it does actually look rather nice.

Travelling around my home area, you can't go too far without running into a "rural area", even in central London, which has some wonderful parks. While these rural areas may at times be muddy and hard to navigate, they definitely look far more varied than the umpteen high streets round here with their samey cheap shops and pawnbrokers.

I don't know very much about trees and flowers, but I know what I like.

This green and blue world is one of God's greatest gifts - and his first. We were given it to look after (as talked about in Genesis). Shame we've rather failed on that over the years.