'Actions speaks louder than words' - Weekly Reflection 11th January 2026

I remember many years ago watching a small drama team present the story of the Prodigal Son with a slightly left field take. They set up this well known story as an episode of The Waltons, complete with harmonising the iconic theme tune. The story followed the line as were expecting except it was given a novel twist at the end. With the team harmonising and humming the theme tune we had dad and wayward son running towards each across the stage in slow motion, all set up so we expected for a big embrace.  

The son opens up his arms ready to be welcomed back into the arms of his father, and then as they get close enough the father drops his arms and slaps his son across the face. The son is shocked and said, ‘Hey, I’ve read the script. This isn’t supposed to happen! Where are the new sneakers and the coat and the best beef burger. This wasn’t what I was expecting.’ To which the father responds, ‘Yes I know, but isn’t this just what you deserve?’

The power of this plot twist and its message has remained with me forty years later!

Today at St Oswald’s we explored Jesus’ baptism and our preacher picked up on the idea of expecting the unexpected with Jesus.

All four Gospel reference Jesus’ baptism, each giving a particular aspect. John, for example, doesn’t have a record of Jesus being baptised but it is there by inference.

We were considering the story as told by Matthew. (Matthew is this year’s Gospel in the Revised Common Lectionary)

In this account you can hear the voice of John saying, ‘I’ve read the script, I know how this is supposed to work out. I am supposed to be baptized by you, not the other way around.’   

It wasn’t what he was expecting. With Jesus, we learn to expect the unexpected.

At the time of Jesus there was an ongoing debate about the Messiah and there was no clear view at all as to what a Messiah would be like, or where he would come from or what the Messiah might do. The most common expectation was not of a particular figure but of an age; the Messianic Age when peace would prevail, when Israel would be vindicated, when the nations came to Mount Zion to learn wisdom and bring tribute.

But Jesus bar Jospeh – he comes and he mixes with all the wrong sorts of people. He announces the forgiveness of sins, he reaches out to a Samaritan woman and a Syrophoenician woman, he allows the ‘unclean’ to touch him and he himself touches corpses. He heals on the Sabbath and launches a tirade against the religious leaders of the day.

Reflecting on Psalm 24.3-4 …Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear deceitfully.…

Yes, with their ritual washing (one aspect of baptising) they may have clean hands, but as for their hearts…..

And therein lies the challenge set before us as we move deeper in 2026.

Very sadly we have yet another great Christian writer and leader confess to marital infidelity, Philip Yancy. His books became best sellers, especially, ‘What’s So Amazing About Grace.’

His hands, his outward appearance, all appeared clean, and yet he was holding a dark secret in his heart.

I am not sitting in judgment here, just stating the fact and heeding a warning!

We can do and say all the right things. However, writ large across the Scripture is the call and the warning. Be careful that you are not simply a whitewashed sepulchre! (Matthew 23.27)

In another of Jesus’ parables he tells of a man who asked his two sons to go and work in the vineyard. One says no and then rethinks and goes. The other says yes, but then doesn't go.  Therefore, Jesus asks, ‘Which of the two did his father’s will?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you.”  (Matthew 21:28-32)

I am sure there will be lots of surprises for us in the year ahead. ‘Really? That person, that prisoner, that drug addict, that abuser - they have come to accept Jesus as their Saviour?!’

‘The conversion of the soul is the miracle of the moment; the manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime’ writes Michel Quoist in his book, ‘The Christian Response.’

James in his Epistle puts it this way, ‘Obey God's message! Don't fool yourselves by just listening to it.  If you hear the message and don't obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror and forget what they look like as soon as they leave.  But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don't just hear and forget. James 1.22-25

And having put ourselves and our lives into the hand of God we may find ourselves surprised by the unexpected way God guides and leads us, by the things God calls us to do. At times like that I like to ask myself a question, how does this help me to know Jesus better, or to make Jesus better known.

And with Jesus, we learn to expect the unexpected. 

                             

                            https://youtu.be/E4963QPHAIM?si=8H8JC0wxPDI7jwt4

 

On being disconbobulated! - Weekly Reflection 4th January 2026.

It’s not heard so much now but as a child you often heard the phrase "I didn't know whether I was on this Earth or Fuller's earth.”  (Fullers earth is a type of clay used in various manufacturing processes and has very absorbent properties.)

The phrase means, to use another one of my favourite words, that you have a feeling of being discombobulated, or confused. And with Christmass day falling on a Wednesday this year I am not alone in feeling confused and not knowing what day of the week it is, I have heard several people speaking of this confusion. Many will be pleased to get back to some normality and routine, though not everyone welcomes this.

However, order and routine do help us navigate through our lives, and we know the disruption chaotic lives can have on people and their families if there is no structure, no rules, no boundaries. (Something explored in the famous novel, ‘Lord of the Flies, by William Golding)

And order out of chaos is exactly what we meet when we open our Bible to the first page.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

And God speaks and brings order. The story continues until we find human kind being created to partner with God in continuing this process of bringing order out of chaos.

The story however takes a dark turn when God offers the humans a choice, they can either trust that God knows what is good and what is bad, what brings life and flourishing, and what will bring death, destruction and a return to chaos. The humans chose their own path of self-determination, and we might say, then all hell broke loose!

I wonder as we step into this new year what things we might put in place that could become ‘holy habits,’ something we can do that would help shape and form us more into the likeness of Christ. To help us partner with God in bringing about order out of chaos, whether that is in people’s lives, and that might mean something like CAP (Christians Against Poverty Home | CAP UK) for example, maybe helping them sort out debts, or helping prisoners who have led chaotic lives.   Or it might be something in the actual environment, something in the natural creation. (This year I have made the same New Year’s Resolution as last year, to endeavour to pick up at least one piece of litter every day)

One of the holy habits you might pick up is to engage with the Scriptures and The Bible Project are offering a great way of doing that in conjunction with YouVersion Bible App. See https://www.bible.com/reading-plans/63058

One very obvious aspect of the Scriptures, especially the Old Testament is that the life of the Israelites revolved around holy days or seasons and festivities, often linked in with the farming calendar, like most cultures of that period, it was an agrarian society.

That is one of the aspects I like about the ‘Church’s Year, the calendar of Events, Feasts and Festivities along with periods of solemnity and reflection.

Every year we make the journey following the life of Jesus from birth to death, to resurrection and then the birth of the Church, God’s people.

Of course there is always a danger that we can become enslaved by routine, and at its extreme this can be very damaging and disruptive. I have read of people who had to return home, take off their socks and then put them back on, in the right order.  

One of my ‘holy habits’ is to spend around an hour while eating lunch, saying prayers and reading Scripture. However, this occasionally gets disrupted as I must be somewhere else, or we have the grandchildren around or something. I have learned to be relaxed about this as long as I do not lose this ‘habit’ altogether.

And let me leave you with this holy habit to try.

When you take down your Christmass cards put them all in a box. (I use a carboard shoe box) On a Sunday take out one of the cards and pray for the sender. I usually place the card with the name so I can see it, and then whenever it catches my eye I offer up an arrow prayer. I will also, if prompted, contact the person and let them know I am upholding them in prayer that week. At the end of the week, I will see if the card has a nice cover, something that might be used again, maybe as part of Christmass decoration, or a gift tag. The rest is then recycled.  

I would love to know if you have set or will set anything by way of a holy habit in 2026.  We might then encourage each other, checking in to see how we are getting on.

And on creating Holy Habits I can highly recommend Andrew Robert’s book.

 

 

 

1. Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
   Till all our strivings cease;
   Take from our souls the strain and stress,
   And let our ordered lives confess
   The beauty of Thy peace.

And this is a different version of the classic hymn  'Dear Lord and Father of mankind' - I 'think' I like it....

https://youtu.be/yxEUXHWqrN8?si=7vr0ulvFUAyyjC8e

The escape into Egypt - Sermon Transcript 28th December 2025

In Junior Church one of the leaders was exploring this incident of Joseph, and Mary with baby Jesus, escaping to Egypt.

She then invited them to draw a picture or write a poem describing the story.

As she was looking at the pictures the leader said to one child, that’s very good, I can see Mary on a donkey cart with some bundles, and Jospeh walking alongside, but what is it with that big bug on top of the luggage?

The child replied, well I read the story again from the Bible as you asked us to, and I noticed it said, ‘and the Lord said to Joseph, take Mary and Jesus and flee into Egypt.

Well, that’s one story, what we might call a groan story, but this morning I want us to explore three other stories wrapped around this incident.

The Biblical story, the contextual story and the contemporary story.

Let’s start with the Biblical story.

One of the overriding motifs for Matthew is that Jesus is a Moses type figure who leads a ‘new’ Israel out of slavery, through the desert, giving them the ‘law’ and finally leads them into the promised land, albeit that has yet to be fully realised.

Draw to mind the infancy story of Moses. An enslaved people ruled over by a cruel tyrant, the King of Egypt, or as more popular known, the Pharaoh.

And what did this Pharaoh seek to do?

To kill all the male babies born to the Hebrews.

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.  

Somewhat ironically it is away from Israel to Egypt that Jesus is taken.  But as Matthew makes very clear, this is to set Jesus up as the new Moses figure.

So, he (Jospeh) got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”  (Quoting Hosea 11.1)  

That’s a little of the Biblical story and serves to remind us of the importance of building up our knowledge bank of the whole of the Scriptural narrative.

On this, as quick aside, and for your encouragement going into 2026.

Just before Christmass, the story broke of white-tailed eagles that had gone missing. They were part of a repopulation programme.

Now, do you know why the eagle is often used as a lectern, such as the one tucked away behind me.

The eagle can have a bird’s eye view, seeing the expanse below, but also has an ‘eagle eye’ for the detail, noting the smallest movement, the scuttling of a mouse for example.

This is the eagle that carries the Scriptures, the Word of God. And we are invited to approach the Scriptures as an eagle. Soaring over its pages to get the broad sweep and the overall landscape. In technical terms, the meta-narrative of God’s redemptive purposes for the cosmos.  And we are also invited to look at the detail, the meaning of a particular word for example. Looking at it in Hebrew or Greek and when and where else it is used.  And thankfully there are many tools to help us with this type of exploration.

A deeper dive into the Scriptures would be an excellent New Year’s resolution.

The Bible Project is one good place to help explore the Scriptures. Study the Story of the Bible With Free Tools | BibleProject™

Back to our stories and our second story, the contextual story.

Now I don’t know how you would portray this story, with or without any bugs.

What we read is this…

So, he (Jospeh) got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt…

Now this was very unusual. People didn’t travel alone; it was too dangerous. Think of the man going down to Jericho in one of Jesus’ parables. Think of Luke’s story of Mary and Joseph taking Jesus to Jerusalem when he was twelve. They lost him for three days because they assumed that he might be amongst others in the caravan. That was the safest and the most normal way that peopled travelled. In groups, forming a caravan.

 When the Magi 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.

This is unusual, this is a flight, this is escaping from a cruel tyrant bent on your destruction.

However strange and unusual their flight might have been they were heading to a strong and very well-established Jewish community in Egypt. The Jews there had their own area and were to all intents and purposes self-governing.

And this segways into our third story, the contemporary story.

A young couple with an infant escaping for their lives in the night, going down an unsafe route but heading towards a community outside the jurisdiction of those seeking them harm, but where there is an established community of your people, your community and from your country.

And this is a contemporary story is it not?

However, I am not going to make any pronouncement from this platform as I don’t believe that is an honest use of this space and time.

However, I would invite you to reflect on these figures taken from the UNHCR web site. Figures at a glance | UNHCR

As of the end of June 2025, the most recent reporting period, 117.3 million people had been forced to flee their homes globally due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations or events seriously disturbing public order.

Among them were nearly 42.5 million refugees. In addition, there were 67.8 million people displaced within the borders of their own countries (IDPs)* and 8.42 million asylum-seekers.

There are also 4.4 million stateless people, who have been denied a nationality and lack access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.

That works out at an average of 1 in every 70 people  on  Earth have been forced to flee!

As we do this against the backdrop of the Scriptural story we have been exploring today, I would invite to consider this question.

When did refugees become migrants, to then become immigrants, to then become illegal immigrants and then to becoming a threat to our way of life?

Is it a matter of using different words or has there been a fundamental shift in our thinking and in our denoting of people.

A few weeks ago, Margaret spoke of one of her heroes, Corrie ten Boom. Her story was told in a film called ‘The Hiding Place.’   This was the story of the ten Booms hiding Jews from the Nazi’s who were seeking to destroy them.

In 1978 Corrie wrote a book called – ‘Don’t wrestle but nestle.’  Speaking about our need to always trust God in all circumstance and situations.

The song we are going to sing in a moment invites us to do just that, to nestle into the loving presence of God, to make him our hiding place whenever we are afraid.

However, just a few short days ago we celebrated the incarnation, Immanuel, God with us, in blood, flesh, skin and bone.

Let us be very aware of those around us who are living in a place of fear, however that fear may present itself and from whatever source it comes from. May we be ready in a sense to be God incarnate, Christ’s body upon earth.

I would like to imagine that when Joseph was getting ready to escape to Egypt he would have told a few others and maybe asked for their help in getting some things together for the journey.

Corrie ten Boom and her family sought to offer sanctuary and safety to those of the Jewish community being taken of to the Nazi death camps.   

Maybe, just maybe, there is a lesson for us to learn here!

'I will trust in you' - this is a great version, but some of the pictures are a tad, mmm?

https://youtu.be/ElVC6rfX3Z8?si=7xDkVb_r4QCbFPGn

To see the sermon in context visit follow this link. 

https://www.smso.org.uk/

 And I invite you to watch this short video of Sa's experience as a refugee and the help and hope she and her family found...

https://youtu.be/HhwORH_sygY?si=SdwilgOErWvGoGi8

 

 

 

 

 

 

'Put the fear of God into them' - Weekly Reflection 21st December 2025

“We put the fear of God in them.”  A common idiom that means to frighten or scare someone, usually with a sense of gaining their compliance.

There is certainly a lot 'fear' in the birth narrative of Jesus.  Check out Luke 1:11–12 Zechariah visited by Gabriel, Luke 1:29 Mary visited by Gabriel, Luke 2:9 Shepherds visited by an angel. And these recipients of an angelic visitation are following a common pattern, see for example Daniel 8:16 when is Daniel visited by Gabriel. 

To this we can add all the others fears around, from Mary, her parents, and from Joseph, including making a journey to Bethlehem. Even fear from Herod, that another king was born. And look how his fear played out!

But what are we to make of fear itself, there are around forty verses in the Scriptures with the injunction not to fear. At the top of that list must be 1 John 4.18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”

Fear and hope were the subject of a discussion group I attend when I am able.  We met last Thursday and continued our exploration Bishop’s Guli’s Advent Book, ‘Listening to the music of the soul.’  Our discussion kept circling back to fear. Despite the many injunctions not to fear, we agreed that ‘fear’ is necessary to enable us to survive and navigate our way through life. Fear and the crippling nature of misplaced fear is way beyond a short weekly reflection, but I do encourage you to give some further thought and consideration to what fear is, its purpose as a powerful motivating factor for good and for ill - Herod's actions for example. 

And check out this BBC podcast on fear and child development - see link below.

A straightforward everyday incident demonstrates the value of fear.  Imagine having no fear of those metal boxes that travel up and down the road, sometimes at very high speeds, and I am talking about vehicles.  Having a fear of being hit by one and seeking to avoid that occurrence makes fear valuable, sensible and we might say necessary for survival.  You can easily add any number of other things to replace the car, big dogs, a nasty person, a ferocious animal.  

However, we can see here that even this perfectly normal and rational fear could become irrational and debilitating. If we developed amaxophobia for example, which is an extreme fear of vehicles, being near them or driving one or being a passenger in one.

At it most basic level fear can be brought down to the level of harm, injury or death. Hence, it is a perfectly natural and normal part of our defence mechanism enabling us to survive.

But if we push that we can begin to see just how crippling it can be at all sorts of levels. We might not have heard of amaxophobia before, but I am certain you will have heard of xenophobia. And that ‘fear’ is driving so much of our politics across the world currently.

And if we drill down even further and take the Scriptures and the story they tell as a guiding principle and source of wisdom we note something that resonates deep within the human experience.  We live in the mind-set of either scarcity, which produces fear, or a mind-set of abundance.

The first story where we see this plays out is with Cain and Abel.

 Genesis 4:3–7

3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the Lord. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The Lord looked with favour on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favour. So, Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.

6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”

There is a lot in this story, but I would draw your attention to Cain being angry because it would seem that the Lord did not look with favour on his offering. (Which might be related to the tension between farmers and shepherds, something that continues to rumble on through the years. Those who want to settle and farm, and those who want to roam with flocks or with cattle put out to pasture) It would seem from reading the rest of the text that Cain considered that in accepting Abel’s offering, that God had nothing left for himself, Cain.  He had a scarcity mind set. And he looked with a jealous rage against his brother. This rage God describes like a monster crouching at the door, if Cain opened that door then the monster would enter and consume him.

Which sadly, we learn is exactly what Cain did, he didn’t manage to rule over his passion, his fear, his anger – and he rose up killed his brother.

That story has continued to be lived out, individually and corporartely, and across nations.  

The fear that there isn’t enough - food, land, homes, friends, shelter, name what you will. We live in a world crippled by a fear of there not being enough, a mind-set of scarcity.

‘Give us this day our daily bread’ – remember the provision of manna in the desert. Gather only enough for the day. Living in fear and with a mind-set of scarcity we gather not only for today, but also for tomorrow, thus depriving someone else of their daily bread.

In our discussion we began to note that if we lived truly in a community of reciprocal love than that would dissipate a lot of our fears and a scarcity mind-set.  

Let me give you a very real example of what this might look like. Last night (Sunday morning) at around 4.30am Jane woke me as she was in an incredible amount of pain and couldn’t move her leg. She was obviously in pain and fearful, not knowing what was happening.  Thus, I thank God for both fear and pain on this occasion because it spurred us into action rather than trying to ignore the situation, which obviously did need attention. Thankfully I was around, thankfully we have a car and I can drive as NHS 111 advised us to go to Coventry Hospital. But what if Jane lived alone. This is where a ‘community’ would then come into play, someone who could be contacted to offer help. I would dare to suggest, this ‘should’ be the place of the Faith Community, i.e. the Church.  And I have known many occasions when this help has been forthcoming from someone in the community.  Knowing that people from the community (however we see that constituted) are willing to help in times of need, helps to dissipate fear.

Knowing that if I fall on hard times, if I become hungry and homeless, knowing somebody from the community who is living in the mind-set of abundance and not scarcity will share their resources with me, because they trust there is enough, helps to dissipate fear, because love practically expressed begins to chase away the monster crouching at the door.

I might be naïve, but I am convinced that there is absolutely no need for anyone to fight for anything, no need for anyone to go hungry, absolutely no need for anyone to be without shelter.  The ‘problem’ is not a lack of resources, but a lack of distribution because we operate out of fear and a scarcity mind-set.  

Perfect love casts our fear.

As much as we can in our own sphere of influence let us endeavour to be those who embrace an abundance mind-set, to recognise the value of fear to keep us safe, but the danger when it slips over into becoming a phobia.

And in all of this we celebrate heaven invading earth, flooding it with hope and love. Our task is to dig out the mud that has clogged up rivers of love and stopped them flowing. Our task is to speak against those who guard their own wells and not open them freely to others who are in need. 

https://youtu.be/Z4nvVw8z6K8?si=VL7m1AbJ_y_ln7cd

Fear and child developement from BBC Sounds 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002m0c8?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile

 

 

'If music be the food of love...' - Weekly Reflection 14th December 2025

"If music be the food of love, play on." These words, penned by the legendary playwright William Shakespeare, (Twelfth Night ACT I SCENE I) capture the essence of the transformative power of music. In a straightforward sense, the quote suggests that music can nourish and sustain our love, like food sustains our physical well-being. It speaks to the profound impact music can have on our emotions and relationships.

And music in various guises has been something I have been bumping into a lot in this past week. Of course, it is the time for music, when there is so much of it around. Whether that is carols sung or heard, or Noddy Holder belting out as he does every Christmass.

And we will have our favourites both sacred and secular, some of which will evoke powerful memories of sometimes extreme emotion, such is the power of music.  ‘This was my dad’s favourite song.’ 

And this is the one time of the year when it is not very hard to get people to come to Church, Carol Services up and down the country are nearly always very well attended.

Let me highlight what music I have been engaging with.

A small study group I belong to have been going through ‘Listening to the Music of the Soul’ the Archbishop of York's Advent Book 2025 by Guli Francis-Dehqani.  Bishop Guli draws on her experience on Desert Island Discs and in each chapter she references a piece of music that she choose for that programme. In this week’s study exploring angels, which are a key feature in the birth narratives, she offers an interesting song by the artist Nick Cave which speaks at a deep almost visceral level.  

‘Into my arms’ – Nick Cave https://youtu.be/LnHoqHscTKE?si=4iBcjYZoTPQzR3zH

Then my second song is from a Facebook post about the French entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. 

https://youtu.be/4551zHeumdc?si=SHsAnkZnWcQTCkXT

Without understanding the words this song spoke deep into my soul as a beautiful melody and I posted this comment. Gordon Banks Now this is what we humans should be doing - not dropping bombs on people...more music, more art, more love and more recognizing that 'I am because we are!'  So far, that comment has received nearly 100 likes and several comments in agreement. In response to one of those comments I replied with a further reflection, ‘indeed - with the Eifel Tower as a backdrop I couldn't help but see it with Hitler - and other dictators we have with us now. Scary times but let the music and the dance play on bringing hope and joy...’

Several other comments also speak about the power of the music sung by young people in such an iconic setting.

Then my third piece of music is really a collection as last night (Saturday) some friends took myself and Jane out to Warwick to see Green Matthews, a very talented husband and wife team who play and sing mainly songs of the folk genre accompanied by historical instruments, shawms and the like. The evening was a ‘Midwinter Revels’ and we were wonderfully entertained with story and songs from across the world and from down the ages from the 13th century onwards. 

And we learned that "While shepherds watched their flocks" is a traditional Christmas carol describing the Annunciation to the Shepherds, with words attributed to Irish hymnist, lyricist and England's Poet Laureate Nahum Tate.

 It was the only Christmas hymn authorised to be sung by the Anglican Church; before 1700 only the Psalms of David were permitted to be sung.  The carol is sung to a wide variety of tunes, the two most common ones being Winchester Old in the United Kingdom and a variation on a Handel aria arranged by Lowell Mason in the United States. It is the fact that it was the only one allowed and that gave rise to various tunes throughout the country to try and bring some variety into singing it repeatedly, year on year.

Yet, note that music can also be divisive and used abusively and with a strong political motive.

I have also been listening to several podcasts this week, some political analysts trying to make sense of our crazy world at the moment that appears to be going through convulsions as the tectonic plates of culture shift and morph and move around us.  These are dark and dangerous times, full of uncertainty.

However, when I see 100 people concur with my comment about music making, along with the other comments, when I see stories of people out in all weathers picking up litter. When I hear stories of people paying for someone’s groceries because an elderly person had forgotten their purse, then I am cheered and I am hopeful.

Of course, I am not daft and know that there are some very nasty people around, and some of them are in charge of countries! However, I want to say amid all that is happening around us today let us sing, and dance, let us make and celebrate art in all its form. Let our creative spirit bubble up and be enjoyed.  If we get it right AI can help here, but we need a massive paradigm shift in our thinking. Not everyone will find work as we have traditionally known it, and they should be provided for, and they should be encouraged to be creative in other ways.

In the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewes and in The Magician’s Nephew, songs and singing symbolize the creative force that forges new life out of nothing. When Narnia is founded, Aslan creates life by singing: his wordless, beautiful song summons the stars, the first sunrise, the sprouting of grasses and trees, and even the appearance of animals. While Digory, Polly, the Cabby, and even Strawberry the horse respond with joy to Aslan’s song, others—like frightened Uncle Andrew and the hateful Witch—are repelled by it, suggesting that the attitude of a person’s heart conditions their response to the beauty of creation.  

And should you be in need of a ‘heart transplant’ here is where to go.

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  Ezekiel 36.26

And here I am reminded of the Grinch who had his heart warmed and another Christmass song by Wizard, ‘I wish it could be Christmas every day. ‘If Christmass helps to warm people’s hearts and helps them seek love, caring and forgiveness, then I say yes, bring it on, let it be Christmass every day. And the wonder is that it can be.  However, like John the Baptist, whom we are invited to reflect upon on this Third Sunday in Advent, it is down to you and to me to point to Jesus as the one who is able to offer a heart transformation and to enable people to hear the song of creation in all its beauty and wonder.  As we say, ‘O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing.’

                             https://youtu.be/EfwCm7TsqwE?si=AFkErlRkQ0rANhUG

'Offer rose buds while you may' - Weekly Reflection 7th December 2025

The first ten years of my ministry as a Church Army Officer was in two parishes between 1986 and 1996. The first was at the Church of the Holy Cross, Marsh Farm, Luton. The second parish I served in was St Mary Magdalene in Prudhoe, in Northumberland.

During those ten years I conducted hundreds of funerals of every shape and stripe.

(I went on to take up a post as a Deanery Evangelist, then Diocesan Evangelist in various Dioceses around the country. Hence my ministry was that of an itinerant and thus conducting funerals did not feature very often)

During those first ten years of conducting funerals, I began to see a distinct shift. There was an increased call for something more bespoke. And with the increased development of technology a call for a piece of music or a song that was important to the deceased. This did cause some issues, less so these days, although there may still may be ‘some music’ deemed inappropriate.

The other aspect that increased in popularity was the eulogy. I can rarely recall any family member themselves offering a eulogy in the earlier part of my ministry  The role of saying something about the deceased was the role of the Minister with information drawn from the family.  And on that I heard of a great use of A1 technology recently.  One priest said that on visiting the family to arrange a funeral she asks if she may record the conversation on her phone. The phone is placed on the table or somewhere where it can pick up that conversation. This leaves her to be able to listen well without having to worry about note taking. Later, she can take that recording and ask AI to highlight key words or phrases, like the word, generous’ was used several times. Personally, I really like this idea.

The idea of someone else giving a eulogy has increased, and now it is not unusual to have several by different people. As wonderful and as important as they are they can be a nightmare for those conducting a funeral. Because once someone has the microphone you have no control. And we may not like to be reminded, but there are times constraints that need to be adhered to.  I remember during my training with Church Army spending a working day with an Undertaker. Every funeral had to appear as it was the only one they were conducting that day, and that is right and proper, so it should. However, the reality was sometimes a fast drive down the motorway, a quick brush and clean of the hearse, before rounding the corner and sedately arriving for the next one.  (There is another reflection if you wanted to wander off for a moment. How good are we at giving our full attention to the person or the situation in front of us. Or do we find ourselves hopping on one foot to the other, trying to bring this conversation to an end!)

I attended a funeral last Thursday, hence this 'reflection.'  It was the funeral of a lovely man from St Oswald’s, who was two years younger than me! The tributes and the eulogies were beautiful, speaking of true gentleman who had married the love of his life, had a gorgeous family and had a deep faith practically expressed. On the day before he died, which was very sudden and unexpected, he was clearing up leaves outside the Church.

Hearing these wonderful tributes I did wonder if he had heard them before.  I did wonder if we ought not to have a eulogy before someone’s funeral.  As a friend of mine remarks, ‘send me flowers when I can sniff, not when I’m stiff.’

And this time of year, as we approach Christmass it is if we get a deep sense of how things should be. How we should be kinder to each other. The ‘Christmass Truce’ in the trenches in 1914, gives an indication, that we know instinctively that we should not be killing other humans.

Maybe we should take an opportunity to say some of those words we might say at someone’s funeral before the funeral!

And here is another, perhaps somewhat sobering thought, but one worth considering. What legacy would you like to leave behind. What would you like people to be saying about you at your funeral by way of a eulogy. What would you like your epitaph to be?

The one thing I can tell you for certain with a good number of funerals that I conducted, is that the person died whilst in the midst of life. I know this from personal experience. As a six-year-old my father was killed in a road traffic accident aged 34. He ‘thought’ he was going to be greeting his wife (our mum) after she had been in hospital when he returned from a quick trip on his motorbike to see his own mum.   I can tell you of a man who was being ‘encouraged’ to retire from his business. He eventually did and arranged a special cruise for him and his wife. He never got to go on that cruise.  This type of thing happens every day. 

And as we make our preperations for Christmass it is good to remember those for whom Christmass will bring a sharp pain because of the loss of a loved one. There are an increasing number of very helpful resource available to help Churches offer a ‘Blue Christmass Service.’   Or, as one Church I knew in Sussex, they had a Christmass tree at the back of the Church and people were invited to write on a silver star the name of a loved one they were missing. This was all done very quietly, as the weeks went by the tree carrying its precious memories grew with stars and names. It had no other decorations. It brought into the midst of the celebrations all those whom we carry in our hearts but no longer see.

I visited my stepfather shortly before he died when he was in the hospital. Now, our family wasn’t of the huggy kissy type. Emotions were not to be put on public display. A part of our culture not too many years ago. As I prepared to leave for what I knew would probably be the last time I would see him, I hugged him and told him that I loved him. He smiled and said, ‘do you,’ looking rather pleasingly perplexed. Yes, I replied, I do love you. Those were my last words to him.

‘…Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Carefully consider what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone.’  Romans 12.17-18

And if you are travelling along a dark and difficult path right now, allow this song to minister to your soul and lean upon Jesus, he's in the boat, and if he is in the boat, it won't go down no matter what storm is breaking about your head.!

https://youtu.be/DJdd5OXZNZE?si=5Ggv-_Fe2jMCTmup

 

'Look busy, Jesus is coming!' - Sermon Transcript Advent Sunday 2025

 

Advent Sunday 2025 Matthew 24:36-44

When I was working in the stables back in the 60’s we had a chap who was a Yard Man. This was an older person who didn’t ride out but worked around the yard doing various jobs. My recall of this chap was that he wasn’t the most diligent of workers, you might even have called him lazy. Now the Governor, Bruce Hobbs, wore Blackey’s on the heels of his riding boots and had a habit of whistling through his teeth, so you could tell if he was approaching. On hearing the Governor approaching this chap would suddenly start hustling and bustling about, huffing and puffing and even sometimes dip his hand into the water bucket and put it on his brow.   I am sure the Governor was not fooled by these theatricals.

‘Look busy, Jesus is coming’

Is that a suitable motto for Advent?

“Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into.  So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

On Emmerdale a few weeks ago week a landlady made an unexpected visit to a tenant farmer who was panicked because she has people upstairs, some of whom are illegal immigrants, following a story line of modern slavery. The tenant farmer would certainly have welcomed prior knowledge so she could be ready.

What are we to make of this ‘second coming,’ sometimes given the technical term, the Parousia, which like Advent which means, coming.

Well, lots and lots it would seem. The ‘second coming’ has proved to be fertile ground for books and films over many, many years.

When I became a Christian in 1975 it was Hal Lindsey’s book, ‘The Late Great Planet Earth’ that was all the rage amongst some Christians. I bought into all of that in a very deep way. I really believed Jesus’ return was imminent and all the stuff of what would happen to those left behind was for real. Only those who had given their hearts and soul to Jesus would be saved and be taken into glory.

And ‘Left Behind’ is another series of books and films produced more recently.

And on this phrase, ‘left behind’ we begin to see something of our difficulty in sorting out what Jesus is saying here and how we can easily get very confused. Is Jesus talking about contemporary events, or events that are yet to come to pass, perhaps heralding the consummation of all things with Jesus’ returning to earth as judge and Lord of all. And then, take all the faithful off to heaven and eternal life, with unbelievers left behind.

Well, first off it is important to note that Jesus states that these things will happen before this generation passes away.

Matthew 24.34 ‘Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.’

So, as the first generation has passed away, we therefore can assume that what Jesus is talking here about has happened. But what exactly has happened, verified by history and not speculation.

Now we certainly do not have the time, space or capacity to try and explore all what might be going on here, all the very many theories and understanding amassed over the years about the ‘second coming.’

That, however, could be something fruitful to explore during this Advent season.

The one thing we know for certain that happened within a generation was the First Jewish Revolt and the ensuing war with Rome and then the finally the destruction of the Temple in AD70.

And part of a Roman terror tactic was to take someone, a person here, a person there - and then kill them. A strong message to those ‘left behind’ not to mess with us, or you will be next. Here, you would be pleased to be left behind!

The fall and destruction of the Temple is key to Jesus’ message and a vindication of all that he said and did.  When he rose from death, he declared, ‘All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.’ Matthew 28. 18

Put simply, the destruction of the Temple, the place where God resided and could be accessed, the place that had developed from the Tent of Meeting in the desert wanderings, that Age had now gone and the new Age spoken of by the prophets had begun. 

That leads to Pentecost and onward as we, God’s people, are now mini-temples out and about in the world.  

Jesus knew that this was all going to happen as part of God’s overarching plan. And it would happen because they had refused to listen to his warnings, his teaching, his message, his gospel.

Biblical scholar, Tom Wright, argues that it is through Jesus’ death and resurrection that he ascends the throne and sat down at the right hand of God. Jesus has already come ‘riding on the clouds,’ and is now ruling both heaven and earth, and with all authority being given to him, referencing Daniel 7.13-14.

And here, in these passages he lays it on even thicker, all the signs that will take place. Yes, couched in typical Jewish apocalyptic language, that for us modern readers are cryptic, which means we have some work to do to try and grasp what is being said and what’s not being said in its original context, culture, time and space.

However, we do have our own phrases that we know aren’t factual but make a point using hyperbole.  Manchester United slaughtered Liverpool the other day. I literally jumped out of my skin. It’s proper taters out. That in large part, it what is going on here in the language Jesus uses. Basically, it’s heightened picture language.

And in the Greek, it is worth noting that apocalyptic means, to reveal, to uncover, to disclose. Hence we have the ‘Book of Revelation.’ It is only later that it has come to mean something like the end of the world usually through some catastrophe or some such thing.

Our ‘Yard Man’ learned to be able to discern when the Governor was around by being alert to the sound of his boots and the distinctive whistling.

I wonder what we might discern that would indicate God’s presence.

That’s a question Bishop Sophie is inviting all of us to do this Advent.

Mission, said the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, is seeing what God is doing and joining in’.

In other words, we should be seeking to do more of what is God is blessing rather than asking God to bless what we are doing.

So, what do we see God doing in our community?

What stories are we hearing?

Remembering as Ian opened out 1 Corinthians 15 last Sunday and spoke about the bigger picture that Paul was trying to put before those in Corinth. Reminding them, and us, that our stories are part of a bigger story, God’s story. A story that has a goal and a purpose in mind.  

The technical phrase for that is teleology. It has several meanings, but it broadly means heading towards a meaningful goal or purpose and bringing something to completion.

The destruction of the Temple meant the end of the Age and the beginning of the Age to Come – that phrase ‘beginning’ is important.

Rather like the D Day landings, that wasn’t the end, the last chapter, but the beginning of the end.

We are living in the now and not yet of God’s overarching narrative to bring about the full and complete redemption of the entire cosmos. That’s the goal and place where the Biblical story leads us towards.

And we are invited into this bigger story, to make it our own and to play our part in this story.

Michel Quoist in his book ‘The Christian Response’ writes, ‘You are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work present in this particular place, at this particular moment in history.’

Jesus Christ has need of you and of me to play our part.

“Without God, we cannot. Without us, God will not” said St Augustine.

Therefore, ask yourself this question - what do you see as the goal and purpose of your own life?

And what do we see as the goal and purpose of our life here as the People of God, this Church family of St Oswald’s?

Or as I sometimes like to ask people, just what do you think you are doing for God’s sake.

What do you think some of the current world leaders see as the goal and purpose of life and where we are all heading?

What about some of our political parties?

This must be one of the most important questions we could ask.

God’s story is revealed, through Scripture, as moving towards the goal spoken of in the poetic language of a marriage feast.

‘Look busy, Jesus is coming.’ Yes, we are awaiting that time, ^‘when earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea’.  Habakkuk 2.14

But while we await that final consummation isn’t Jesus already here, present in His people, acting as His ambassadors, ushering in the Kingdom, offering a foretaste, setting up signposts pointing ahead.  

We need to learn to be alert to the sound of his footfall - do you know what that sounds like?

Not necessarily someone with Blackey’s on the heels of their shoes but those wearing the sandals of the gospel of peace…

^‘….and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.’  Ephesians 6.15

And it may not be the sound of someone whistling through their teeth, but it may be the sound of someone worshiping King Jesus.

It may sound like a song of hope sung gently in places of darkness and despair.

And it may be the song of lament as we weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn.

It may be a song of defiance, as we stand up to the bullies of this world and as we cry out for justice.

Jesus invited those around him to be alert, vigilant, to be aware of what was happening around them.

As we journey towards the great festival of Christmass, as the people of God in this now and not yet of the Kingdom come upon earth, we are also to be similarly alert, vigilant, watchful, expectant and hopeful.

Seeking to always walk in God’s will and way, in all places, in every circumstance and in all situations.

In others words we look for God in our living, and in our breathing,​ we look for God in our waking, and in our sleeping. We look for God in our resting, and in our working. We look for God in our thinking, and in our speaking.

God is to be our everything….  If you are able, let us rise and sing as Jesus centred, God dependent, missionary disciples…  

https://youtu.be/vSfVI8aIE9Y?si=rNFxgs4UqVa-vDlW​

O Lord, I humbly seek Your guidance and wisdom in every aspect of my life. As I surrender my own understanding, I ask You to illuminate the path You have prepared for me. Open my ears to hear Your gentle whispers and my heart to receive Your divine instructions. Guide me in making decisions that align with Your will. Let Your Holy Spirit be my compass, leading me through life’s uncertainties. I surrender to Your loving guidance, knowing that You have plans to prosper me and not to harm me. In Your hands, I find true direction and purpose. Amen.

 To see the sermon in context visit the home web page of St Oswald's.

www.smso.org.uk