Poem
There is a God whose light shines in every darkness
There is a God who hears every lament
There is a God who transforms even the deepest grief
Therefore you have hope:
You shall sing again, but with a different tune
You shall dance again, but with a different step
You shall laugh again, but with a different breath
Not yet, but one day,
For there is a God who heals your wound with the gentlest hand.
Michael Mitton
Reflection
This may seem a mournful poem to have so close to Christmas, but I think that Advent is a time that encourages us to reflect on the last year. Many of us have suffered loss, perhaps bereavement, or a change in circumstances at home, perhaps a child leaving home. The rich pattern of our lives is made richer by the contrast between sadness and joy, light and dark, but this poem reminds us of the love of God even in the little things and the hope for the future.
Prayer
Lord
Thank you for all who love us and who we have loved
Those with us and those we have lost
Lift our hearts when we are sorrowful
And remind us of the hope we have through you
Amen
Poem
Come humbly, Holy Child,
stir in the womb,
of our complacency;
shepherd our vision
of the little we need
for abundant living.
Come humbly, Holy Spirit,
to whisper through the leaves
in the garden of our ignorance,
exposing our blindness
to children dying,
hungry and in pain.
Come humbly, Holy Light,
Pierce our lack of generosity and love,
Scattering our dark fear
Of living freely in your way,
Poured out in wanton service.
Come humbly, Holy Wisdom,
cry through the empty streets
of our pretence to care,
that the face of the poor
will be lifted up,
for holy is the name.
Come humbly, Holy God,
Be born into our rejoicings,
Come quickly, humble God,
and reign.
In Janet Morley, ed, Bread of Tomorrow
Reflection
This poem reminds us that Christ comes in such a variety of settings, many of them in the world today as much as in the past or the future. This challenges us to continue on our journey, living our life with an understanding of the world we live in and the needs of those less fortunate.
Prayer
Lord
We are surrounded by those who are less fortunate
We see a world that is suffering
Help us to know your will for us Lord
Help us to see the glimmers of joy and hope
And the places where your Kingdom touches our world.
Amen
Poem
Advent.
Season when
Dual citizenship
Holds us in
Awkward tension.
The world, intent on
Spending Christmas,
Eats and drinks its way to
Oblivion after dinner.
The Kingdom sounds
Insistent warning:Repent, be ready,
Keep awake,
He comes.
Like some great fugue
The themes entwine:
The Christmas carols,
Demanding our attention
In shops and pubs,
Bore their insistent way
Through noise of traffic;
Underneath, almost unheard,
The steady solemn theme of
Advent.
With growing complexity,
Clashing, blending,
Rivals for our attention,
Themes mingle and separate,
Pulling us with increasing
Urgency,
Until in final resolution,
The end attained,
Harmony rests in aweful
Stillness, and
The child is born.
He comes,
Both Child and Judge.
And will he find us
Watching?
Ann Lewin
Reflection
We are sometimes happy to let the meaning and waiting that Advent is about to slide as the pace of life increases as we move towards Christmas. Perhaps some of this is because the traditional advent imagery of the end of the world and the judgement of Christ can be disturbing and difficult to understand. We need to persevere in finding a way to understand what this end of times means to you and me.
Advent teaches us that to find Jesus is not just to find a baby in a manger, but to also find the one who, for all his love and mercy, is also judge.
Prayer
Dear Lord
Help us to watch and wait
To learn the meaning of this season,
to wait for your coming again
To meet you ready,
prepared to face your love,
your mercy and your judgement.
Amen
Poem
The House of Christmas
There fared a mother driven forth
Out of an inn to roam;
In the place where she was homeless
All men are at home.
The crazy stable close at hand,
With shaking timber and shifting sand,
Grew a stronger thing to abide and stand
Than the square stones of Rome.
For men are homesick in their homes,
And strangers under the sun,
And they lay on their heads in a foreign land
Whenever the day is done.
Here we have battle and blazing eyes,
And chance and honour and high surprise,
But our homes are under miraculous skies
Where the yule tale was begun.
A Child in a foul stable,
Where the beasts feed and foam;
Only where He was homeless
Are you and I at home;
We have hands that fashion and heads that know,
But our hearts we lost - how long ago!
In a place no chart nor ship can show
Under the sky's dome.
This world is wild as an old wives' tale,
And strange the plain things are,
The earth is enough and the air is enough
For our wonder and our war;
But our rest is as far as the fire-drake swings
And our peace is put in impossible things
Where clashed and thundered unthinkable wings
Round an incredible star.
To an open house in the evening
Home shall men come,
To an older place than Eden
And a taller town than Rome.
To the end of the way of the wandering star,
To the things that cannot be and that are,
To the place where God was homeless
And all men are at home.
GK Chesterton
Reflection
This was sent by Tricia, it is a different telling of the nativity, reminding us of the power Rome held over the people of that time. But what I think is so amazing is that after telling of the nativity, we are taken through the way things are now, with people living secular lives, looking for nothing more than that, that is enough, the earth and the air. But then we are given the invitation, extended to all men, to come to the place where all are at home, to come home to God.
Prayer
Lord
As we see images of the nativity in ever increasing numbers
Help us to see the real story
Help us to remember that when Christ came down to earth
He was homeless
He was born in a stable
But that now he has risen
He offers a place of rest
A home
To each and every one of us.
Amen
Poem
The Advent wind begins to stir
With sea-like sounds in our Scotch fir,
It's dark at breakfast, dark at tea,
And in between we only see
Clouds hurrying across the sky
And rain-wet roads the wind blows dry
And branches bending to the gale
Against great skies all silver pale
The world seems travelling into space,
And travelling at a faster pace
Than in the leisured summer weather
When we and it sit out together,
For now we feel the world spin round
On some momentous journey bound
- Journey to what? to whom? to where?
The Advent bells call out 'Prepare,
Your world is journeying to the birth
Of God made Man for us on earth.'
And how, in fact, do we prepare
The great day that waits us there –
For the twenty-fifth day of December,
The birth of Christ?
For some it means
An interchange of hunting scenes
On coloured cards, And I remember
Last year I sent out twenty yards,
Laid end to end, of Christmas cards
To people that I scarcely know –
They'd sent a card to me, and so
I had to send one back. Oh dear!
Is this a form of Christmas cheer?
Or is it, which is less surprising,
My pride gone in for advertising?
The only cards that really count
Are that extremely small amount
From real friends who keep in touch
And are not rich but love us much
Some ways indeed are very odd
By which we hail the birth of God.
We raise the price of things in shops,
We give plain boxes fancy tops
And lines which traders cannot sell
Thus parcell'd go extremely well
We dole out bribes we call a present
To those to whom we must be pleasant
For business reasons. Our defence is
These bribes are charged against expenses
And bring relief in Income Tax
Enough of these unworthy cracks!
'The time draws near the birth of Christ'.
A present that cannot be priced
Given two thousand years ago
Yet if God had not given so
He still would be a distant stranger
And not the Baby in the manger.
John Betjeman
Reflection
I love this poem, it starts with the most beautiful description of our winter, and as I am writing this it hasn't really reached proper daylight all day, and with wind and the rain, it fits beautifully, but then we are lead through the reminder of where our journey is going and the challenges, the commercialism, the traditions and things we do because we ought, not because we want to. But just as you are wondering about why we do the things we do he brings us back to the reality of the precious gift given to us all, the Baby in the manger.
Prayer
Dear Lord
In the midst of the advertising
In the opening of cards and round robins,
We thank you that the true excitement is in the
Gift given all those years ago
Your Son, on earth.
Amen
Poem
The Guest
Yet if his majesty, our sovereign lord
Should of his own accord
Friendly himself invite,
And say "I'll be your guest to-morrow night."
How should we stir ourselves, call and command
All hands to work! "Let no man idle stand.
Set me fine Spanish tables in the hall,
See they be fitted all;
Let there be room to eat,
And order taken that there want no meat.
See every sconce and candlestick made bright,
That without tapers they may give a light.
Look to the presence: are the carpets spread,
The dazie o'er the head,
The cushions in the chairs,
And all the candles lighted on the stairs?
Perfume the chambers, and in any case
Let each man give attendance in his place."
Thus if the king were coming would we do,
And 'twere good reason too;
For 'tis a duteous thing
To show all honour to an earthly king,
And after all our travail and our cost,
So he be pleas'd, to think no labour lost.
But at the coming of the King of Heaven
All's set at six and seven:
We wallow in our sin,
Christ cannot find a chamber in the inn.
We entertain him always like a stranger,
And as at first still lodge him in the manger.
Thomas Ford
Reflection
This poem gives a wonderful picture of how a well-run wealthy household would look in Jacobean England, and the time spent preparing for an honoured guest.
I don’t know whether to be cheered or despondent about the fact that idea of waiting and preparing for our honoured guest in Advent hasn’t really changed and the general feeling is that we are still not really ready!
Prayer
Lord
We watch and wait
We try and prepare,
Help us to prioritise
Ensure we have the focus we need
So that if you came to us tomorrow
We would be ready
We would know you and praise you
Amen.
Poem
THE WORK OF CHRISTMAS.
When the song of the angels is stilled
And the star in the sky is gone
When the kings and the princes are home
And the shepherds are back with their flocks,
The work of Christmas begins;
To find the lost
To heal the broken
To feed the hungry
To release the prisoner
To rebuild the nations
To bring peace among the people,
To make music in the heart.
Howard Thurman
Reflection
This poem has been chosen by Tricia, and it sits beautifully as a reminder of all the work that goes on behind the scenes, with our pastoral team, those involved in KIT and all those who pop in, give lifts and perform those small acts of kindness that so often go unnoticed, the true work of those wanting to live in the way that Christ showed us.
Prayer
Lord
Guide us in the days and weeks ahead
Open our eyes to the things we need to see
Open our ears to the messages we need to hear
Open our hearts to the things we need to do
Fill us with your wisdom, compassion and mercy
Amen
Another short poem by ZaKyr Davis
Poem
God's Perfect Plan
God guides me every moment,
He has a perfect plan.
I want to share His purpose,
And proclaim Him where I can,
The problem is, I try too hard;
I Preach, push, and plead.
It takes a while to understand,
It's best to let Him lead.
And when I do, it's oh so neat,
To see His plan unfold.
It only happens though, I've learned,
When I do just what I’m told.
Reflection
Again a poem from David, and what a practical no nonsense reminder of the fact that if we offer up everything to God that things will unfold and we will have a sense of being a part of that grand plan. That doesn’t mean of course that there won’t be part of our lives that can be difficult, sad, and sometimes almost senseless, but within all the mess there is love, compassion and mercy that comes from God.
Prayer
Lord
Remind us that you are with us in all we do
Give us the strength if faith to trust in you
Whenever our path becomes difficult, help us to trust
Whenever our path is full of joy
Remind us to give thanks
Amen
Poem
The Overshadow
“…. the power of the Most High will overshadow you… “ -Gospel of Luke
When we think of God, and
angels, and the Angel,
we suppose ineffable light.
So there is surprise in the air
when we see him bring to Mary,
in her lit room, a gift of darkness.
What is happening under that
huge wing of shade? In that mystery
what in-breaking wildness fills her?
She is astonished and afraid; even in
that secret twilight she bends her head,
hiding her face behind the curtain
Of her hair; she knows that
the rest of her life will mirror
this blaze, this sudden midnight.
by Luci Shaw
Thought
Our lives are full of light and shade, joys and sorrows, but darkness isn’t usually associated with angels. So many images of Mary have her surrounded by the light of the angels, but in her innermost being there must have lurked a shadow, fear of the unknown, being unsure that she was able to fulfill this task, along with the joy of knowing a new life was beginning.
Prayer
Lord
Our lives are full of light and shadows
Help us to praise you as our hearts blaze with joy
And to turn to you in our times of darkness,
Give us the strength and faith to do your will
As Mary did all those years ago
Poem
Advent themes by ZaKyr Davis
The hope we have in Jesus Christ,
Brings Joy into our heart;
And when we know the love of God,
His peace He will impart.
Reflection
In searching for poems for Advent, I came across this very short – but to the point – poem by the very young ZaKyr Davis. It seems to me to sum up very concisely the waiting for Jesus’ arrival.
Carolyn writes: not all our poems need to be long, as a complete contrast to yesterdays, this one chosen by David would be a great one to learn by heart, it would be a wonderful thing to recite under your breath as you are being shoved out of the way in the supermarket, standing hearing some over stressed person ranting at an unfortunate assistant or just trying to find somewhere to park!
Prayer
Lord
Your greatest gift to us is your love
Help us to keep your love in the centre of our lives
And open our hearts to your peace
Amen
For today, Carolyn has chosen an excerpt from TS Eliot’s Choruses from “The Rock”
Poem
O weariness of men who turn from God
To the grandeur of your mind and the glory of your action,
To arts and inventions and daring enterprises,
To schemes of human greatness thoroughly discredited,
Binding the earth and the water to the service,
Exploiting the seas and developing the mountains,
Dividing the stars into common and preferred,
Engaged in devising the perfect refrigerator,
Engaged in working out a rational morality,
Engaged in printing as many books as possible,
Plotting of happiness and flinging empty bottles,
Turning from your vacancy to fevered enthusiasm
For nation or race or what you call humanity;
Though you forget the way to the Temple,
There is one who remembers the way to your door:
Life you may evade, but Death you shall not,
You shall not deny the Stranger.
Reflection
This seems a quite a dark poem but one that resonates with many who feel that we are not good stewards, that we are exploiting God’s creation, it also creates in the reading that feeling of being on an ever speeding treadmill, with all the things we drive ourselves to do, when in all reality we just need to love one another.
Prayer
Lord
We ask you to help us to be good stewards,
To love and appreciate the beauty, and abundance of your creation
To avoid the trap we so often fall into,
That of wanting things now
Of wanting things just right.
Our lives are a journey towards your perfect love.
Help us to enjoy the journey instead of looking at the destination
Amen.
Tricia has picked today’s poem: Shared Blessings by Duncan Turk
As we continue on our Advent journey,
may we know that God is there.
By the strength of His Spirit,
share our faith with the uncertain;
share our love with the unloved;
share our presence with the lonely;
And share God with everyone,
just as God has shared with us
in the unfading blessing of Jesus Christ.
Reflection
This poem was sent to us by Tricia who says, “For me this is a reminder amongst all the busyness of preparations at this time of the year that prayer and friendship go hand in hand with those who need that companionship and will receive a blessing as a result.”
Prayer
Loving God,
Our hearts and minds are full of our own needs and desires;
Help us to be open to you that we may share your blessings showered upon us
with those we meet in these coming Advent days
bringing friendship and companionship.
Amen.
This poem was sent to me by one of my US friends:
Cleverly done!!!
Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
Why the PC Police had taken away
The reason for Christmas - no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears
You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!
Please, all Christians join together and wish everyone you meet
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!
Reflection
I always find the most Christian Christmas cards form y US friends because many of the US originated ones are simply “Happy Holidays” in spite of their significant Church attendance. If you haven’t seen these, there’s a link to websites with dozens of Happy Holiday e-mail cards you can send: and if you look at the top of the page of the first one, they are for December!
However, as we read this, we need to think about how many times a news article appears in the media about a council refusing to put up posters that advertise Christmas services, commercial enterprises that start referring to ‘Wintertide’, and so on, political correctness isn’t just in the States.
The challenge is at the end of the poem, we should all ensure that we remind people of the real message of Christmas. Carolyn has been into Great Missenden Early Years this week and one very young little boy put his hand up and said
“ Christmas is all about Jesus”
Wise words and ones we need to remember.
Prayer
Lord,
In the days and weeks ahead
Give us the strength to beat against the tide of commercialism
Give us the faith to challenge political correctness
Give us the hope that will push back secularism
And give us the inner peace to know your love for this world
Amen
Web sites
http://www.123greetings.com/events/happy_holidays/
http://www.jackcards.com/card?refine=Happy+Holidays
Chosen by Carolyn
Poem
Christmas is Waiting
Christmas is waiting to happen
Outside, a vacant hillside
Lies silent, strangely empty
Of any angel’s choir.
A stable waits
For bookings at the inn to multiply.
Distant Kings study charts
And keep gifts in cold storage,
While shepherds plan their memoirs
In expectancy of unexpected fame
And keep a chapter free
for miracles.
A small velvet patch
In the black night sky
Stands ready to hold a new born star,
And oppressed people everywhere
Cling wildly to prophecy and song
And whisper the word: Messiah.
They’ve switched on the lights
In Oxford Street,
Counting off the buying days.
Like Guardsmen on parade,
shops are stocked and standing by,
revving up the engines
of their debt powered swiping machines,
and history watchers mark another year
in the slow count to 3000.
But here an old man lies
In the stairwell where he fell three days ago
And no one knows.
A girl loiters
In a streets unholy halo
To sell the only thing she owns
That men will pay for.
And here an infant sleeps
On a sack on the hard earth floor
Where even a mother’s hand
is empty
and there are places where Christmas
is still waiting
to happen.
Gerard Kelly
Thought
We can get so swept along with our own preparations, that even the appeals that drop through our letterboxes become just junk mail, another begging letter, more recycling. Christmas seems so far away to some people, this year, support the Old Tea Warehouse, think about Save the Children and the awful statistics Sally gave us when she visited a couple of weeks ago and try and spread the spirit of Christmas to those dark forgotten places.
Prayer
Lord
We are all God’s children
We know that we should love our neighbour
Challenge us Lord to help those who are perhaps not loveable,
Who don’t fit into the worthy cause slot,
But who never the less, need to feel your love through the touch of another.
Amen
