8th December 2019

Homily from this morning's 8am service. The readings were Isaiah 11.1-10 and Matthew 3.1-12.

We’re well and truly into Advent now aren’t we? There’s no going back folks! It’s full steam ahead. And we get one of my favourite Advent happenings today- John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees- those coming for baptism without actually feeling they need to change in any way- a brood of vipers. If you’re playing Advent bingo it’s right up there. 

What John is telling us is that the only way we’re going to bear the fruit which leads to the wonderful vision we hear in the reading from Isaiah is if we change in some way. Being a baptised, and maybe also in our tradition confirmed, Christian should lead us to having the kind of relationship with Jesus that changes us for the better, that makes us long for and work towards the vision of Isaiah’s prophecy.

The line “and a little child shall lead them” inspired the whole of the communion service at the 2016 Greenbelt festival. Andrew Greystone wrote a song for the service and I’d like to share it with you this morning as a poem. As we continue our Advent journey and are so aware of the problems and divisions of our world and our own communities, it may help us as it brings alive the vision of what our world could be if every one was completely open to letting God’s vision for our world be born into our hearts this Christmas;

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Sunday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day wolves will live in the same field as little lambs, and the wolves will look after the lambs and the lams will teach the wolves how to sing. 

One day tasty calves and hungry young lions will share the same feeding trough. One day cats will offer to take dogs out for walkies and dogs will learn to scratch cats behind the ears.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Saturday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day Tom will make friends with Jerry, and Sylvester will stop chasing Tweety Pie. One day He-Man will shake hands with Skeletor, and Batman and the Joker will join forces to clean up Gotham City. 

One day the Montagues will invite the Capulets over for tea and say how nice it will be to be one big happy family. 

One day the Beales and the Mitchells will sit down for Christmas dinner together in Albert Square and nobody will throw anything or call anyone else a Muppet.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Friday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day the fans of Manchester United and Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal, Liverpool and Everton will sit side by side on the same terrace and cheer when each other’s teams score.

One day the biggest bully in the school will walk home hand in hand with the smallest kid and the smallest kid will help the bully do his homework. 

One day brothers and sisters will share their toys, and not argue over who has to go to bed first or what they want to watch on TV. One day kids will laugh at their dads’ jokes – without even trying.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Thursday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day women will be able to walk home at night, and if they hear footsteps behind them it will only make them feel safer.

One day men and women, gay and straight, will share everything from changing rooms to churches. 

One day no-one will be interested in what kind of school you went to, or whether you went to university, or what your father did for a living. 

One day prison doors will be flung open, and prisoners and the people they have hurt will throw their arms around each other.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Wednesday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us. 

One day politicians from every party will sit around in a circle and work together to bring about justice. 

One day the people of America will embrace the people of Russia, the people of Britain will swap recipe tips with the people of Europe and the children of Syria will work together to rebuild their country. 

One day Protestants and Catholics will worship side by side in a language they don’t even understand, and no-one in the church will feel the need to talk about gender and sexuality any more. 

One day there will be a black James Bond – or even Jamelia Bond for that matter.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Tuesday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day Democrats and Republicans will listen to each other to choose a leader they can all respect and trust. 

One day all the passport booths at ports and airports will be replaced by welcome desks where someone with a smiley face will tell you how glad he is that you’re here. One day the fact that you are black or white, Hutu or Tutsi, Sunni or Shia will be nothing more than an interesting topic of conversation. 

One day the wall between Israel and Palestine will be torn down, and the children of Abraham will live side by side in peace.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Monday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us.

One day, one day, perhaps it will be Sunday … Saturday … Friday … Thursday …Wednesday … Tuesday … Monday

One day we will live in peace and a little child will lead us. 

7th December 2019

It's been a really full day today of sorting, tidying, clearing and cleaning; I've just nearly fallen asleep on the sofa. When the day is so full like this you never think you'll be able to set time aside for silence and reflection but I'm now sat in bed with my 20 min candle lit, catching up on today's readings. It's been a reminder that even one minute set aside, to breathe and to be,  can make all the difference;

Do you have only one minute? Hem it with quietness. Do not spend it in thinking how little time you have. I can give you much in one minute.

Amy Carmichael 

6th December 2019

Each day within their prayer cycle the Northumbria Community has a non-biblical meditation. These repeat on a monthly cycle and today is one of my favourites. 

When I look at the blood
all I see is love, love, love.
When I stop at the cross
I can see the love of God.

But I can’t see competition.
I can’t see hierarchy.
I can’t see pride or prejudice
or the abuse of authority.
I can’t see lust for power.
I can’t see manipulation.
I can’t see rage or anger
or selfish ambition.

I can’t see unforgiveness.
I can’t see hate or envy.
I can’t see stupid fighting
or bitterness, or jealousy.
I can’t see empire building.
I can’t see self-importance.
I can’t see back-stabbing
or vanity or arrogance.

I see surrender, sacrifice, salvation,
humility, righteousness, faithfulness, grace, forgiveness,
love! Love … love…

When I stop! … at the cross
I can see the love of God.

Godfrey Birtill

5th December 2019

Well that flooring is finally laid, 11 years on, and I'm getting there with my jam and chutney making. Advent is well under way. 

The new flooring is really making us look at the space in a new way- the old carpet was down for probably 30 or more years, from when my parents owned the house, and the space in our hallway is something I've been looking at for over 35 years, but changing a room- and this is also the case with rearranging the dining room- makes you see it differently, no matter how many years you've known that space. 

When we're so familiar with something it's hard to imagine it any other way or look at it from a new angle. Our rituals and traditions at this time of year can be a bit like that- I know in the past I've always bought particular foods for Christmas, and yet they may hardly get touched. I've tried to stop that more recently, to look at the things I do during Advent and Christmas out of tradition or habit and reassess if they're important or not, knowing what's ok to let go of. We've done this with our church services at St Michael's too, giving ourselves the freedom to experiment and try new things, and giving ourselves permission to fail. It can take a lot to change something familiar and comforting, especially change that may not go as hoped, but that's how we grow.

4th December 2019

Another Advent practice I'm undertaking this year happened purely by accident. I usually journal each evening throughout Advent, and try to at other times of the year, but often take time off too. My lovely friend Katya has a monthly stationary subscription but not so long ago ended up with a double delivery. I was surprised and delighted when a package arrived though my door from Kat containing amongst other things a happiness journal. Rather than fill out my usual journal, though Advent I'm completing the happiness journal. It gives me the opportunity to reflect on the day behind me but also look forward to the one ahead and includes planning joyful things, which anyone who's had a look at my colour-coded Google Calendar always remarks are a bit missing from my schedule!

Today has also involved making Christmas chutney. As a response to my issues with the commercial, consumerist side of Christmas I make up bags of homemade goodies for my dear ones. The preparation of the contents is like a mindfulness exercise. Each chop, stir and taste is an action of love, or a prayer. 

3rd December 2019

Today's Adventword is Time. 

I've spent my day creating an office space in my dining room- something we've been planning for six years, since I began training for ministry. The catalyst for doing it now has been the need to replace the hall carpet (thank you dogs). We've had the flooring we're going to lay for eleven years! 

The thing is, those six years since I began training and even the eleven years since we planned to replace the carpet have passed us by pretty quickly. A lot has happened in those years; my kids have turned from toddlers to teenagers, I've become a priest and completed curacy an my husband changed jobs three times. 

Our lives are so full we often don't realise how much time is passing but Advent is a time to slow the pace and to purposefully have moments of space and quiet. For me it's a time to reflect upon what really matters, what I value and what I want to let go of.

2nd December 2019

Advent has started in the way it usually does for me with a week off work, the plan being the get the house and myself organised. There's more to do than usual as the hall carpet needs replacing, meaning major furniture shifting.

Through all the disruption and disorganisation I try to keep my Advent focus. My beautiful friend Tracy gave me a little kit to help me through Advent- it's a tiny brass candle holder and 25 tiny beeswax candles which burn for 20 mins each, giving me 20 mins to set aside for silence and contemplation. 

My other Advent practice this year is following the Northumbria Community pattern of prayer with the December reflections focusing on our inner life. I'm also participating in the Society for St John the Evangelist (SSJE) Adventword- a daily living advent calendar on social media platforms where you post a picture with the hashtag #adventword and the word of the day. Today's word is "visit" and we've had a marvellous time this evening with a pre-Christmas meet up at the rectory with the rest of the ministry team...although after that game of charades I might not be able to look some of them in the eye again!