Tag: Christmas

Light in the Darkness

~ Mel Eyeons ~ Leave a comment

Christmas Eve 2021

This sermon is partly based on an article by Nick Baines, which you can find here.

Isaiah’s mad idea

Nearly three thousand years ago Isaiah wrote words that must have sounded like nonsense to his audience: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.”

It sounds lovely in a setting like this, but what about when we leave here and go back into everyday life?

Well, Isaiah was addressing people who were fearful about the future.

They belonged to a small territory which was always under political, economic, and military threat from neighbouring powers.

The question these people faced every day was how to ensure their security and freedom in an uncertain world, in which the future was often shaped not by themselves, but by others.

Each day was a bit of a gamble.

Isaiah, though, wants his people to remember who they are, what they’re about and where they’ve come from.

And, running through their story, was an apparently ridiculous idea that, however dark their circumstances became, the light of God’s presence couldn’t be snuffed out.

Not just God’s presence when everything was going well for them, but when the darkness descended, and the future seemed to be shutting down.

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.”

 

A challenging time

This time last year I was here recording this service in a nearly empty church as we were in lockdown, at the end of a challenging year.

Then 2021 came along, promising much before delivering little.

Promises of a return to ‘normal’ gradually got forgotten as the world came to terms with continuing uncertainty and new Covid variants.

We continued to learn that human beings cannot control everything and are not invincible rulers of the world.

Infections, illness, bereavement, death, isolation can’t be organised according to convenience.

But the interesting thing here is that this is exactly the sort of world Isaiah wrote in and into which a baby was born in Bethlehem.

The story of Christmas is not essentially about making us feel comfortable, but, rather, about God joining us in our difficult world.

The real world we know and enjoy and endure.

Darkness is part of that reality and can’t be avoided.

This in itself sounds a bit miserable, but the Christmas story continues to surprise us.

For it invites us to look for the light that is there when the going is tough, and the gloom seems all-powerful.

One of the radical challenges the grown-up Jesus would bring to his people was simply this: don’t just look for the presence of God when all is well, your problems are solved, or you think all is going to be OK in the world; look for the presence – the light – of God even when the darkness persists.

In terms of Jesus’s first friends, this sounded like: “Can you spot the presence of God in your world even while you remain under Roman military occupation, your freedoms are curtailed, illness is all around and the chances of your children surviving infancy are pretty low?

 

God wins

This is why I think Christmas should be a great celebration.

It rejects the idea that darkness always wins.

It dares to see past appearances to angels bringing good news, a young woman giving birth to the Son of God under enemy occupation, shepherds dropping everything to come and see, foreigners setting out on long journeys to bring gifts and worship.

This isn’t some fanciful story just meant to make us feel good; rather, it takes the world seriously, looks tragedy in the eye, and still insists that this is where God is to be found.

The people who first heard the news that God had come into the world weren’t the ones you’d expect.

They were people whose work meant they couldn’t meet all the religious requirements that were expected of them.

They were foreigners and pagan stargazers who didn’t even come to the right place at first.

They were the local people of this small place called Bethlehem.

These weren’t people who had found all the answers, but they knew the daily struggle to survive in a difficult and confusing world.

And it was to them that God appeared in Jesus, interrupting the routine of the everyday and hinting that the darkness doesn’t get to have the last word after all.

And it’s to us that God appears now.

In darkness and in light God appears, to the tired, the confused, the worried, and the unsure, as much as to the confident, the eager, and the happy.

God is still here, constantly fighting with us and for us against the darkness, bringing light in unexpected places and in unforeseen ways, just as he did among the people of a Middle Eastern village.

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us, and authority rests upon his shoulders.

Thanks be to God!

Boxing Day

~ Mel Eyeons ~ Leave a comment

A ‘Thought for the Day’ for Black Cat Radio

Merry Christmas!

It may not have been the Christmas Day you were hoping for or expecting but I hope it was as good as it could be.

Now we’re on Boxing Day and you might wonder what that name is all about.

As it happens it has nothing to do with fighting or clearing up opened boxes. No-one’s exactly sure what it means but there are a few theories.

One idea is that it comes from the tradition of giving to the poor on St Stephen’s Day, which is the 26th December. This tradition started because St Stephen was not only Christianity’s first martyr but also known for being generous to the poor.

Another idea is that it comes from people seeking out boxes, or tips, from rich people they’d worked for during the year.

And a final idea is that it comes from servants being given the day off to celebrate Christmas after having to work on Christmas Day.

Now of course it’s connected with turkey sandwiches, sports and sales.

Whatever the reason for the name Boxing Day, though, and however we spend it, it really doesn’t mean the end of Christmas. In fact, in the church’s year it’s only day 2 of the twelve days of the Christmas season. But, even without that, there’s no reason why we can’t try to keep some of the Christmas spirit of giving, hope and togetherness alive all year round.

After all, the Christmas message isn’t just about making one day different but about making all days different, all year round.

So, Happy Boxing Day and best wishes for the New Year!

Mel

Christmas lights

~ Mel Eyeons ~ 1 Comment

A Thought for the Day for Black Cat Radio on 12th December 2020

Hello, I hope you’re all keeping well.

Walking around near where I live, I’ve noticed a lot of people have put their Christmas lights up outside. Some mutter that it’s too early, but I think this year, of all years, we need to cut each other some slack and appreciate people putting in the effort to brighten things up a bit. The lights on the houses are all different from one another and give a lovely variety to look at in the dark. I find them very cheering.

The desire for light in the darkness is very old, going back to the days when our earliest ancestors would huddle round a fire at night for warmth, light, and safety. With light we can see where we are going, know who and what is around, and feel a bit safer. On one of my recent walks, I nearly bumped into someone walking her dog on an unlit pathway. This was not only embarrassing but we also both thought that a light would’ve made that part of the walk so much nicer.

Christmas, like many festivals and celebrations at this time of year, is all about light. Not just physical light, although there’s plenty of that with bright stars, shining angels, and so on, but a spiritual and inner light. The story of God coming to earth as a human baby brings light to many by offering comfort, hope and joy. It also reassures us God is not some far-off man with a beard sitting on a cloud. Rather, God comes right down into the darkness and mess to share our lives, help us cope with darkness and difficulty, and show us a better, more fulfilling, more loving way to live.

So, as we go towards Christmas, and look forward to the Covid-19 vaccine hopefully making a difference next year, why not remind yourself of the story of that first Christmas and see if there’s light in it for you?

 

Take care

Mel

Having Fun?

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A ‘Thought for the Day’ for Black Cat Radio on 14th December 2019

I’m writing this on election day. By the time you hear it we’ll know what the result is and, whatever it is, I hope it’s a good one for our country and especially the most vulnerable people in it.

I don’t know about you, but I can get a bit fed up with hearing about politics all the time but I do enjoy seeing the pictures of dogs at polling stations, which bring some fun into things. It’s easy to forget about having a bit of fun when everything seems big and important and stressful, and not just when we’re talking about politics.

In the run up to Christmas as well we can get overwhelmed with lists and busyness and buying enough food for an army and feeling like we have to get everything perfect. We might also feel left out if we don’t have big family gatherings planned or if we’re grieving for someone. In all the pressure for the perfect Christmas we can also forget that actually it doesn’t matter in the long run if the potatoes are a bit burnt or we forget to get the cat a present. Also, that perfect Christmas Day is a myth – it’s more likely that the kids will get overexcited, there’ll be an argument and everyone will fall asleep in front of the telly.

All we really need is people we love, whether it’s one friend or a big family, a bit of a laugh, and perhaps to remember that behind all the decorations and food and presents there’s a small baby, born in a stable, who has changed everything for all of us and offers what really matters: love, joy and peace  – even in the chaos of Christmas preparations.

With best wishes for a happy and fun-filled Christmas.