Being
Thoughts in forms
Thoughts in forms
And is it true? And is it true
This most tremendous tale of all
Seen in a stained glass window’s
hue,
A baby in an ox’s stall?
The maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on Earth for me?
John Betjeman – former Poet
Laureate from ‘Christmas’ 1940
Thoughts in forms
Thoughts in forms
In the beginning was the Word
And the Word was with God
And the Word was God. He was
with God in the beginning. Through
Him all things were made; without
Him nothing was made that has
been made. In Him was life, and
that life was the light of all people.
The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness cannot overcome
it.
The special prayer (collect) for Christmas
Eve:
*
People are like stained glass
windows – they sparkle and shine
when the sun is out, but when the
darkness sets in, their true beauty is
revealed only if there is a light from
within.
Elizabeth Kubler Ross
*
I saw a stable, low and very bare
A little child in a manger.
The oxen knew Him, had Him in their
care,
To men He was a stranger.
The safety of the world was lying
there,
And the world’s danger.
Mary Coleridge – a short piece
called ‘Salus Mundi’ (the safety of
the world). 1908
The people - who were living in
darkness –
Have seen a great light;
On those living in the land of the
shadow of death,
A light has dawned.
These are words from the start
of John’s Gospel. They are the
last reading in a traditional Carol
Service, and the one which we
stand up for.
These are words from the prophet
Isaiah chapter 9, written in 740BC, and
often read in Carol Services from the
beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, where
they are quoted and applied to the birth
of Jesus Christ.
Reflect
And is it true? And what if it is – in
what way is it true for us? Do our
Christmas celebrations show us its
truth...or hide it nicely from us? A
present is there to be opened, not kept
in its paper, however pretty.
In the middle of the darker days
of winter, consider the joy of
light, and seeing.
Consider also the Light of the
World.
Almighty God, you make us glad with the
yearly remembrance of the birth of your Son,
Jesus Christ. Grant that, as we joyfully receive
him as our redeemer, so may we with sure
confidence behold him when he shall come to
be our judge. He is alive and reigns with You,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now
and forever.
Amen
*
What people do with Christmas and with the
Christmas holidays often seems similar – the
shopping the presents the dinner the visits to
and from family members we see once a year
and the Carol Service, the familiar songs.
Victor Borge, comedian and writer said ‘Santa
Claus has the right idea: visit people once a
year’ ! Maybe we have the same idea about
Church and the Christmas story – once a year
might do. Certainly the annual experience of
Christmas shopping and eating is best done
once ...but we also know that there are deeply
important things which this time of year tells
us about ourselves, about human history, and
about our destiny.
*
‘All I really need is Love ... but a little
chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt.’
Lucy ...from Peanuts ...by Charles M Schultz