21st December - Angels visit Joseph - again! 

by Jen Read

Listen to Jen's thoughts on the flight into Egypt
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/f12ccf7e-3cc0-4168-8061-d990dfc6bdb1.m4a

When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” Matthew 2:13
After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.” Matthew 2:19-20
 
This is the final appearance of angels in the nativity story. This time the angel has a very different role to play in the narrative of Mary and Joseph’s lives. Instead of a herald of Good News, the unnamed angel has come to Joesph with a warning and then with a reassurance that all is safe. The warning comes just after the visit from the magi: Leave or your son will be killed. Herod has heard that a child has been born who will one day become king and he is determined to find and kill Jesus. As with the last time the angel appears to Joseph, we don’t know how Joseph feels about this warning – there are no songs or poems about how anguished he must feel about uprooting his family and fleeing to a neighbouring country. Instead, Joseph quietly gets on with relocating his family. We also don’t know what life was like for them in Egypt, only when the angel appeared again to tell him it was safe, they returned. Joseph’s quiet and determined obedience to the angel’s instructions saved his family. We sometime forget that Jesus was a refugee and that his family fled from their home to safety in another country. Let’s pray for all those in similar situations around the world, in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East. Pray too for an end to violent conflict in those regions so that people can return home to peace and renewed prosperity.
 

Carols by Candlelight tomorrow, Sunday 22nd December, 7pm at St James Church

Parish Communion at 9.30 - Advent 4.

No service at 11.00am

20th December - Myrrh

by Brian Goddard 

 

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/f1268880-930a-43b0-82c3-b13c0b0c4354.m4a

Myrrh is another very valuable spice used from ancient times as a medicine, in perfumery and for anointing the dead. It is mentioned in the Bible 152 times!

Myrrh, is a fragrant gum resin obtained from a small bushy tree cultivated in the Arabian Peninsula. The grower makes a small cut in the bark, where the gum resin leaks out. This is then collected and stored for about three months until it has hardened into fragrant globules. Myrrh was used either raw or crushed and mixed with oil to make a perfume. It was also used medicinally to reduce swelling and stop pain.
Myrrh is one of the oldest known medicinal plants and played a key role in the middle east in embalming the dead.
This final gift of the wise men symbolised Jesus’ humanity, his mortality and death.
All the gifts of the wise men are significant. Gold points to Jesus' royalty, frankincense to his divinity, and myrrh to his humanity. The wise men, by their gifts, provide us with a clear picture of the key role Jesus plays in God’s big story.
 

19th December - Frankincense 

by Brian Goddard

 


https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/e123f323-dfac-4661-8533-2fcec817a87d.m4a

The finest and most highly prized frankincense resin is produced from the sap of trees grown in Oman which has easy access to the King’s highway.

Oman has a reputation for producing superior-quality frankincense trees that deliver the highest-grade resin. This is reserved for royalty.

Incense is first mentioned in the Bible in the book of Exodus when the priests burn incense as a fragrant offering to God in the Tabernacle where the Israelites met together to worship God.

The wise men brought frankincense as another of their gifts for Jesus. Was this just a valuable gift that could be used by Mary and Joseph to make the stable smell nice or or was it symbolic of Jesus’ deity and the priestly role he would play in the Bible story where he offered himself as the perfect sacrifice to pay the price for all the wrongs mankind has committed over all time?

 

18th December - Gold

by Brian Goddard

Listen to what Brian has to say about Gold
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/6c03347b-f4c3-4774-9a50-46f2261995c8.m4a

Saudi Arabia has been mining gold for over 5,000 years. The Mahd Adh Dhahab (Cradle of Gold) mine is estimated to have produced over six million ounces of gold since antiquity.

From ancient times to the present day, gold has served as a powerful symbol of wealth, power, and prestige.
Gold is first mentioned in the Bible in Genesis chapter2 and for thousands of years, it has been the symbol of kingship around the world.

The wise men brought gold as one of their presents for Jesus. Was this just a valuable gift that could be used to help Mary and Joseph pay their living expenses or was it symbolic of the kingly role Jesus would play in the Bible story?
 

17th December - King's Highway

by Brian Goddard 

Listen to Brian's thoughts on The King's Highway
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/93a724ba-3851-4846-8f3a-66ef4f9b923e.m4a

This was an important trade route in ancient times. You might be surprised to learn it still exists today. Its stone paving can still be seen in the Jordanian desert.
 The road connects Arabia and Western Africa with the mediterranean states,  traversing the length of Jordan, and running north through Israel and into Syria.

The 3 wise men mentioned in Matthew 2:1-12 are said to have come from the east which is likely to be modern day Iraq, Iran or Saudi Arabia.
They brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, all of which can be found in this area.

Did they use this road?
 

16th December - The Star 

by Alison Winstanley

Listen to Alison's thoughts on The Star
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/f04ae016-1aa1-4d6c-8e4d-7789c2a6c7e0.m4a

Meet the star.

I'm very quiet. I just shine. That's what we stars do. We've been around a long time since the 4th day of creation when God made us to give light upon the earth. Normally I'm on a fixed path. People who look up know where to find me. They can plan their journeys by me. My light can be counted upon, but once I was sent on a journey, Bethlehem-bound, to be a sign, a shining light in a dark sky at a special time. You will often see a child in a nativity play dressed up as me. They will be garlanded with tinsel and perhaps carrying a pole with a sparkling foil covered star. Ours is a non-speaking part in the story but you don't always have to make a noise to make a difference. I shone as brightly as I could over the place where the child lay, but there was one who shone even brighter, the child himself. Jesus is the light of the world, the brightest star of all.
 
Jesus, true light, shine with your divine brightness, that all darkness be defeated and that we may reflect your light into the world. Amen
 

15th December - Herod 

by Michael Wilkinson

Listen to Michael's thoughts on Herod 
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/706c7cd4-1e58-4770-b1c0-79eb2ab48aea.m4a

Matthew 2 v 8  “Go and search diligently for the young child ,and when you’ve found him bring me word that I may come and worship him also.”
These were the instructions of King Herod to the Wise Men from the east, who were seeking the Christ child. Herod, like a devilish Dick Dastardly from the Wacky Races cartoons, you can imagine sat on his throne, twiddling his moustache, stroking his beard, knowing full well that this child was a threat as he was the one destined to be the King of the Jews. So the Wise Men did seek him diligently, not because of any instructions from Herod but because this child heralded a new way, a better way, and they earnestly desired to find him. When they had found him, they gave to him their treasures and their hearts, as they worshipped him. They returned home by another route, probably leaving Herod pacing up and down, waiting for the Wise Men to return with news on the whereabouts of the baby Jesus.
 

14th December - The Star 

created by Kathleen and Wendy Kelk in their garden

Let the light of the Lord guide you this Christmas time 

Services tomorrow - Advent 3: Parish Communion at 9.30am
Together@11 - the Angels appear to the shepherds. 11.00am

13th December - Shepherds' Song 

by Susan Wilkinson

We were familiar with the night.
We knew its favourite colours,
its sullen silence
and its small, disturbing sounds,
its unprovoked rages,
its savage dreams.
 
We slept by turns,
attentive to the flock.
We said little.
Night after night, there was little to say.
But sometimes one of us,
skilled in that way,
would pipe a tune of how things were for us.
 
They say that once, almost before time,
the stars with shining voices
serenaded
the new born world.
The night could not contain their boundless praise.
 
We thought that just a poem —
until the night
a song of solar glory,
unutterable, unearthly,
eclipsed the luminaries of the night,
as though the world were exorcised of dark
and, coming to itself, began again.
 
Later we returned to the flock.
The night was ominously black.
The stars were silent as the sheep.
Nights pass, year on year.
We clutch our meagre cloaks against the cold.
Our aging piper’s fumbling fingers play,
night after night,
an earthly echo of the song that banished dark.
It has stayed with us.


 

12th December - Angels visit the shepherds 

by Jen Read

Listen to Jen's thoughts on this
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/3a54f633-db08-4146-9b37-8d375c340d63.m4a

An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people…Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.” Luke 2:9, 13-14
This is the fourth time that an Angel appears in the nativity story. This time an unnamed Angel appears to the shepherds, again to tell Good News – do you see the theme here? Once his good news has been passed on, the angel brings friends to sing the praises of God. For the fourth time we have a message from God, for the fourth time the recipient of the message is an ordinary person or people. This time though, the news is so spectacular, so awesome and wonderful that heaven itself can’t help but sing out in joy and praise! One of my favourite carols is Joy to the World, and the line ‘let heaven and nature sing’ sums up our reaction to the birth of Christ – we should sing with joy for what God has done for us and then, like the shepherds after they had visited the baby Jesus, rush out into the world to tell others of this joy. Let’s pray that the overwhelming joy of the birth of Christ spills out from us to all that we meet in our day to day lives.

11th December - Joy to the World 

Listen to King and Country sing Joy to the World

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPA0jTQI2HM&list=PLzYWFfU4RIUtqe7Bq547pbEtYazJ5SqPb&index=2
 

10th December - Faith, Hope and Love 

by Jayne Robinson

In Corinthians 13:13, Paul writes, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, but the greatest of these is Love”

3 Donkeys share a few thoughts

Early one morning in a small stable in Nazareth 3 donkeys named Faith,  Hope and Love were huddled together keeping warm. 
 
“I don’t know why” said Faith “but I feel particularly happy today. We are so lucky to have such a good master. Although he is so busy he always, always gives us all that we need.  Each day we wake up to  fresh water and food and warmth and comfort. We are so blessed. I’m sure that we will never want for anything.”
“I know said Hope.  I look forward to spring that when we will be out in the fields.  The butterflies will be skipping around us.  Fresh grass to eat. We might meet new friends and see new places.  I always have little bubbles of happiness in my tummy, every time I wake up to a new day.  Who knows what our master has planned for us.  The sky may be gray and the earth muddy at the moment but summer will be here before we know it.”
“Well” said Love.  “I have already had the most wonderful thing happen to me when I went out one winter night”  
“I carried Mary on my back when our master needed my help.  We travelled a long way.  Mary and our master Joseph seemed as though they had the weight of the world on their shoulders.  I could tell that they were both so very weary and it was a long long dark night.  I really felt for them.  Mary would sigh and Joseph would whisper soft words of encouragement to her.  ‘Not far to go now my love”.  He let me stop as often as he could. Gave me water, stroked my forehead and said ‘Come on my little Love, almost there now!’ We travelled to Bethlehem and they couldn’t find anywhere to give us all some rest. My hooves were sore from the long journey and I longed just for a morsel of hay.  Eventually a really kind man took pity on Mary and Joseph and gave us a stable.  Joy of Joys there were some other animals there who were happy to share their hay, though there wasn’t much.
My eyes were heavy and I soon fell asleep but when I awoke what a sight met my eyes.  Mary had given birth to a beautiful baby boy and the stable was full of all variety of people.  Some sheep men and some other men in really rich looking clothing.   The stable was bright and such a sense of joy filled the air.
The journey back was along a different route but what a difference!  No longer was the weight of the world on Mary and Joseph’s shoulders.   Mary cradled the baby close to her and I know this sounds really strange but it was as if all the love in the world had come together in one tiny bundle so precious! and I was the one helping to carry him home to make our home such a wonderful place. I tell you when Mary showed me those little eyes peeping gently out of the blanket I knew my world would never be the same again and I had a feeling that little boy would grow up to give so much love to the rest of the world” 
Ooops Look lively Faith and Hope time to stop talking, here comes our master!! 
 

9th December - Nativity 

by Paula Devis

Listen to Paula's thoughts on this painting

https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/eaba23ac-9d06-48e7-b663-a3899e7c074b.mp3 

Take a minute to imagine a typical nativity scene pictured on a Christmas card. What do you see? A star above the stable, Jesus sleeping in the manger, Mary & Joseph looking on, smiling at the visiting shepherds with their sheep and the wise men bearing gifts.
 
Now have a look at Melcher’s painting of the nativity. We wouldn’t expect that on our Christmas cards! What do you see as you look at it?
 
Mary seems exhausted, lying on the cold floor, propped up by something that’s leaning against the wall. She’s so tired, she’s fallen asleep and has slumped over to one side. It’s not surprising as she’s just given birth, the labour probably having started while she was still travelling to Bethlehem on a donkey.
 
Joseph appears contemplative. What’s he thinking as he leans forward and looks at the baby? Is he relieved that the baby has safely arrived, and that Mary & Jesus have both made it through the delivery? Is he overwhelmed by the enormity of responsibility and the uncertainty ahead of them?
 
One thing that strikes me is that this isn’t what Mary & Joseph had planned. They’d had their own lives mapped out, but God had broken through. When the angel Gabriel visited Mary and she agreed to carry Jesus, God’s son, both their lives were turned upside down. They’d placed their lives in God’s hands and trusted Him.
 
Returning to the painting, the scene is quite dark, even the oil in the lamp has run out. The only light illuminating Mary & Joseph and their surroundings is the glow from Jesus’ head. Jesus brings hope. ‘The lights shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.’ (John 1v5)
 

8th December - Incarnation

Andrew Clayton-Stead 

Listen to this Christmas Hymn written by Charles Wesley
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/4f08771e-9616-47eb-b00d-27798f81b6e3.mp4

This carol contains the following lines:
 
‘God contracted to a span
Incomprehensibly made man.’
 
A 'span' of a human hand, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger, is about 6 inches (150mm). Of course, Wesley was describing the incarnation using poetic language. However, I read a statement in a Christian book a few months ago that made me reconsider his amazing statement.
Did the great creator God really become a baby in the womb, 6 inches long?
Isaiah 7v14 says: ‘Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son.’
And, in Luke 1v31, the angel that appeared to Mary said to her, "You will conceive in your womb and bear a son.”
Then, as Luke 1v39 recounts: ‘Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, and entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.’ We are told that the six month old baby leapt in Elizabeth's womb and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed is the fruit of your womb! As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leapt for joy.” Therefore, at this point the Holy Spirit's work in the womb of Mary had already begun.
After three months, Mary returned to Nazareth. Meanwhile, Joseph, who was concerned for Mary's honour and thought to divorce her quietly, had the dream in which he was told that the baby in Mary's womb had been ‘conceived by the Holy Spirit’, a phrase that is repeated in the nativity accounts.
If the unborn Jesus grew in the same way as a normal baby, then when Mary visited Elizabeth in these early days of her pregnancy, the Son of God in her womb would be no more than the size of a grain of sand or a pin head! Now, that was mind blowing.
So, should Charles Wesley's hymn rather say:
 
‘Our God contracted to a grain of sand
Incomprehensibly made man.’?
 
As the angel said to Mary, “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

7th December - Mary meets Elizabeth

Paul Winstanley

Listen to Paul's thoughts on God's Mean Time
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/233f5426-85b2-487d-ba44-dd480e17de7b.m4a

Today's reading is from Luke 1 v 41 to 42 when Mary is visiting her cousin Elizabeth. “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting the baby leapt in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. She gave a loud cry and said ‘Blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb’.”
Mary's cousin Elizabeth is inspired to recognise that Mary’s baby is not just an ordinary baby, and she calls both Mary and her unborn son “blessed”, literally meaning to speak well of. Waiting for the birth of a baby is a special time - a time of excitement and anticipation. Imagine how both Mary and Elizabeth must have felt.  Advent is a season of anticipation, of waiting and preparation for the Lord, and at Christmas we celebrate the miracle of the incarnation where God chooses to become one of us. He chooses the constraints of time and space to be an occupant in our world – “the word made flesh and dwelt among us” as John's Gospel puts it. He chooses to abide with us, spending time with us, so we might enjoy eternity with him. It is in this God's mean time that Jesus is born in Bethlehem. Time is about to be split between BC and AD. Suddenly this new era becomes God's gift to us, because time is a gift. Time is a gift when we can give each other, to offer back to one another. It is not for rushing. Time belongs to God and we are to give that time to others. So let us think "what time is God asking me to give to others during this advent season?"
 
And the closing prayer - God of hope and promise, be with us throughout this advent season and draw us ever closer as we journey towards the stable and the birth of your Son, our Saviour. Amen
 

Don't forget our services tomorrow morning - Advent 2 Parish Communion 9.30am
Together@11 - the Angel appears to Joseph, 11.00am

6th December - Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)

Listen to this song by Amy Grant

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWo3qlqyW1c&list=PLzYWFfU4RIUtqe7Bq547pbEtYazJ5SqPb
 

5th December - Mary

Joanna Kaye

Mary
Just an ordinary girl
from an ordinary family
In a small community
In an ordinary town.
So young, so innocent,
naive and inexperienced.
 
Yet one ordinary day
An extra extraordinary thing happened
An angel appeared before her and told her that
God had chosen her
For an extraordinary purpose
To be the mother of His Son!
 
Mary was willing to trust
This extraordinary thing
That God was doing
And in obedience
Followed His will
Believing His word
she had to be brave
 
God chooses the ordinary to do extraordinary things
Are we ready to be brave?
Where we are willing
He will make us able!
 

4th December - Angel appears to Joseph

Jen Read

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1: 20-21
We are often so focused on the reaction of Mary to hearing that she is to be the mother of the saviour, that we sometimes forget how Joseph must have felt when he heard that Mary was pregnant. He knew it wasn’t his child but he was a kindly man and didn’t want to ruin and disgrace Mary so he decided to quietly divorce her. Here we have the appearance of our third angel, this time not named but could possibly have also been Gabriel. The angel tells Joseph the same as he has told Mary: that the baby was conceived through the Holy Spirit and that Jesus will be the saviour of all. Unlike Mary we don’t know exactly what Joseph’s reaction was to this news, other than he did as the angel asked him and made Mary his wife. Sometimes in our lives our faith can be at a bit of a low ebb, we might feel doubts creep in and struggle to know the way forward. Or we may have a quiet faith where we live out our Christian lives without fanfare, getting on with the business of being God’s people. Joseph is an example of this. He had doubts about Mary, and the appearance of the angel helped to dispel those doubts - if only all of us who experience doubt could have a visit from an angel too! He then got on with the quiet business of living out God’s instructions. Let’s pray today for those who doubt, that they may experience a renewed conviction of faith through the Holy Spirit. Let’s also give thanks for all who live out their Christian lives in faithfulness.
 

3rd December - Annunciation

by Lynn Heath

Luke chapter 1 verses 26 to 38 from the NIV

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid,Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called[b] the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.”

“I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.
 
Wow ! How mind-boggling to reflect on Mary's words to the Angel. Despite being “greatly troubled at his words” this young woman was able to respond “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled”
 
It's a courageous statement and also perhaps a prayer for us this Advent

2nd December - Angel Gabriel visits Mary

Jen Read

Listen to Jen Read's thoughts
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/b7c5e341-cd34-4776-ae8d-77a649f21419.m4a

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.” Luke 1:26-28
This is the second appearance of angels in the nativity story. Once again, Gabriel is sent to earth to pass on a message of good news from God. This time the angel visits Mary and tells her that she is going to have a son, conceived through the Holy Spirit. Gabriel is very patient to the young Mary who is frightened by the angel’s words. He tells her “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God.” Mary experiences many emotions as Gabriel explains her role in bringing salvation to the earth: she is confused, accepting and joyous. These emotions can mirror our feelings when we first hear the Good News of Jesus. At first we don’t understand the importance of the Good News, then we accept and understand it, then we are filled with joy and want to share that Good News with others. After the angel left Mary, her first action was to run to her cousin Elizabeth to share the Good News with her.  Let us pray that we, who have also found favour with God through His Holy Spirit, feel the joy and urge to share that good news with others too.
 

1st December Angel Gabriel visits Zechariah

Jen Read

Listen to Jen Read read the story 
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.3141.hubb.church/46241d59-106a-4f52-9ff1-1f97041ad971.m4a

The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. Luke 1:19
This is the first of five occasions during the nativity story when angels appear. Angels are messengers from God and appear at times when God has something important to pass on to humankind. Here the angel Gabriel appears to Zechariah to announce that his wife, Elizabeth will become pregnant with a son. This son will become John the Baptist. John was himself a herald or messenger of the Good News of Jesus and, at the start of Mark’s gospel, baptises Jesus, starting Jesus’s ministry on Earth. Gabriel says that, as an angel, he stands in the presence of God. John will also stand in God’s presence when he meets and baptises Jesus and we too will one day stand in God’s presence. Until then, we have his Holy Spirit inside us now to guide us. As we begin the Advent season when we look back at the birth of Jesus and forward to the time when Jesus will come again, let us pray for more of the Holy Spirit so we too can be heralds of Good News.

Today at 10am at The Gathering - Angel Gabriel visits Mary