Tag Archives: Jesus

Freedom from the Christmas Beast

Has your credit been crunched?  This period of financial instability and austerity continues to have mixed effects.  And Christmas just messes with people’s heads.

I recall watching a news report on the way the crisis is affecting people in our region.  In this report a young woman was being interviewed about the very real prospect of having her home repossessed by the bank.  Her anxiety was tangible, but never more so than when she raised the immanence of Christmas; “I’m managing to keep up mortgage repayments now,” she said, “but I don’t know what’ll happen when Christmas and all its extra expense comes round.”  My heart ached for her, but I must confess my sympathy was directed not at her financial need, but rather her enslavement.

She was on the brink of homelessness, facing the prospect of her family having to move out of the home she loved if she were to default on her mortgage payments.  Yet her comments seemed to suggest that extra expense brought about by the Christmas season was inescapable.  In her head was what seemed to her to be a genuine dilemma; “Which ‘bill’ shall I pay – the bill for the house or the bill for the Christmas celebrations?”

Clear thinking about her situation shows there is no contest; the mortgage must be paid, and Christmas luxuries can wait – forever if necessary.  It would be wrong-headed to put them in the same category as essential household bills.  If the young woman truly loves her family, she will surely hold back from spending on turkey and trimmings until she has guaranteed they’ll be able to stay in the house into the New Year; far better to be housed than to have a new flat-screen TV and nowhere to plug it in!  Her problem is the strong message being transmitted by the commercial world; “If you love your family you will buy them ….”  It’s a lie, but it’s on every street-corner, and it has been carefully set up to resonate with our heartbeat until we begin to believe it and it enslaves us.

It saddens me to see the impact of this lie upon peoples’ lives.  The consumerist culture we inhabit is so inhospitable and short of compassion.  Market forces feel no sympathy towards the people they lead on, and ultimately their promises of deep satisfaction prove shallow and empty.  Christmas comes at a dark time of the year, and commerce, whilst promising light, often ends up adding an extra layer to the darkness we experience.

In light of the current on-going difficulties in the world economy, perhaps now is a good time to re-evaluate the way we celebrate Christmas and give a mind to what is truly important.  If we are in any measure simply slaves to the system, it is my prayer that we would be like those mentioned in Isaiah 9:2; “The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.”  The good news of Christmas is that in Jesus Christ, his only Son, God has sent us a Saviour to free us from all that entangles and liberate us to be what he always intended us to be.  This is something in which we can, surely, confidently invest.

Dad’s Taxi – a 21st Century Dilemma

I’m sure that many of you will know what it means to be “Dad’s Taxi.”  As my children have grown, this part of my identity has developed rapidly.  I’ve been driving my children around for years, of course, but it would appear to be true that the amount of driving does increase in proportion to the age of the child.  In one sense, it’s been fairly easy for me to accommodate my daughters’ increasing transport requirement because I work flexible hours.  However, my ability to be flexible presents its own unique problem – I have a serious gap in my arsenal of excuses!

Consider the parent who works nine-to-five, commutes a further hour at the beginning and end of every day and is afforded only four weeks annual leave.  The question, “It’s half-term; can you take me to the swimming pool / shopping centre on Wednesday lunchtime?” is fairly easily answered; “No – I’m at work!”  Whatever the request, such a parent has a fairly robust argument to employ if they are at all unsure about the wisdom of letting their child attend the function in question.

I don’t have that luxury.  So if I don’t want my children to go, for whatever reason, I can’t hide behind the convenient (albeit partially true) “I’m at work” excuse.  I have to give the proper reason. But actually, this is no bad thing.  After all, if I want them to forge relationships which are based on honesty, faithfulness and mutual respect, then I have to model that in my relationship with them.  So I have to be really clear in my own mind about what is good for my children.  I must make right judgments about allowing them to grow up at an appropriate speed and, above all, I must surely communicate my thinking with them in a way which doesn’t exasperate them (Eph 6:4) but which demonstrates my love.

So “Dad’s Taxi” is part of my identity, but it is inextricably related to my being “Dad.”  Indeed, if I were just “Taxi,” there would be something desperately wrong.  It is in my daughters’ best interests for me to be Dad first and Taxi second.  And that means I have to work out what it means to be a good dad.  So where do I look for guidance on this?

Christmas is coming when we celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.  He was brought up by Joseph (“a righteous man” – Matthew 1:19) as his own son, but the New Testament makes clear that Jesus was (and is) the Son of God.  He taught his disciples to call God “Our Father,” and the Apostle Paul wrote that, as we entrust our lives to Jesus, so we receive “the Spirit of sonship … by him we cry ‘Abba (Daddy), Father.’” (Romans 8:15)

I dare to suggest that, since God has revealed himself to be “Father,” in God’s world, surely the best way we can care for our children is to model that care on the Fatherhood of God.   And the best way of understanding the Fatherhood of God fully is surely from the perspective of a beloved child.  The joyful good news of Christmas is that we can experience this – “To those who received [Jesus] … he gave the right to become children of God,” (John 1:12).  So have you received him?  Or are you just Taxi?

More famous than the Beatles

A couple of years ago it was Paris, Lindsay and Britney.  Nowadays its Kim, Cheryl and Katie that seem to be the movers and shakers – the newsmakers whose every move finds its way onto our breakfast table or computer screen.  And for what?  Some are famous merely for being famous; some, despite some initial promise are now famous for being out of control; some are both.  Is this freak-show really what life has become?  The cult of “Celebrity” seems to be in the ascendance.

As relational creatures, human beings have always been interested in the exploits of others, so this fixation with celebrity is not necessarily anything new (though perhaps it is on a new scale).  According to my diary, during October (the month I’m writing this) there are 28 people from down the centuries that the Church of England thinks we might like to remember and for whom we should thank God.  The lives of those whose names I recognise from this list are vastly more appealing than some of the dross we see on television.  These include the social reformer, the Earl of Shaftesbury, and St Francis of Assisi in whose name the chapel in Hunsdon is dedicated.  Also on the list are Martin Luther (the German priest who radically altered the religious and political landscape across Europe in the early 16th century), William Tyndale (who translated the Bible into English and was martyred for it in 1536), and Bishops Ridley and Latimer (who preached the Bible and were martyred for that in 1555).  Tucked away also is the renowned Nurse Edith Cavell, whose relative Kitty once lived in Hunsdon.

Though we rarely remember them, the impact these people have had on our lives is immeasurable.  There’s no doubt about it, these people changed the world.  It’s not surprising, then, that some have decided these notable characters should have a day on our calendar in their memory.  Somehow I can’t see the same honour being bestowed upon Ms Kardashian, Price, Cole, Hilton, Lohan or Spears!

But there is one who is even greater than these celebrated saints.  His exact dates of birth and death are unknown, but every year we commemorate them both.  His life did not inspire a single day to remember; rather, his life is the foundation for the whole of our calendar.  As we approach Christmas this year, let us remember that Christmas starts with Christ; the one who changed the world and keeps on changing it through his people.  And may the one who is more famous than the Beatles hold your hand in your hard day’s nights and whenever you need help.

 

Words of Jesus

Jesus is widely regarded as a good teacher.  Other religions recognise him as a wise man or a prophet.  He is so influential we even set the calendar by his span of years – he quite literally lies at the centre of history on the BC/AD divide.  Yet loads of people don’t really know much about what he taught or said.  In fact, a lot of those who profess to be Christians are not aware of his teaching – either his public teaching or the instruction he gave to his disciples.

This term’s sermon series focusses upon the Words of Jesus as recorded in John’s Gospel; words of prayer, comfort, truth, restoration, assurance and many more.  There’s something for everyone here; why not join us on a Sunday or listen online from our main website and comment about what you hear.