Curate Conundrums

Hark the glad sound! The Saviour comes, The Saviour promised long; Let every heart prepare a throne, And every voice a song. Happy Christmas! So now what? We’re now headed into what I call ‘the slump time’. That weird period between Christmas and New Year, when many people are off work, we’re all full of rich food, or a bit hungover, and nobody has any idea what day of the week it is. Although to be honest, for some people, perhaps we should call 2020 the year of the slump. Though of course our hardworking Key Workers have been doing anything but slumping. This year has been very tough emotionally, physically and financially for many. For Christians the joy of Christmas continues as we celebrate Christmas Season, which carries on until at least the 3 rd of January when we celebrate the feast of ‘The Epiphany’, otherwise known as when the Wise Men visited Jesus. Or for some Christmas continues until the 10 th of January when the baptism of Christ is celebrated. For us this should b...

  Why are we here? Today in this church? We’re here because we believe in hope. Throughout human history there have been times that are dark. Jesus was born into dirt and mud. Into the poor, into the lives of ordinary people, just like us. In fact just like those who now rely on foodbanks. The poor. The unwashed, the unloved. Jesus was born into a people that were oppressed and downtrodden by an Imperial Superpower. Into a world where very few had much, if anything, and lived hand to mouth. But Jesus’ people, they hoped. They awaited their messiah. They longed for Him to come, and to save them. God promised She would. God chose ordinary people, Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds, to be part of the story. The light is born into the world of darkness. And the darkness did not overcome it. Through war, famine and plague, the Gospel has always endured. In times of plenty, and times of little, the hope that the Christ child brings has always been there. The light of it cannot be e...

  Now don’t tell anyone, because I have a reputation to keep. But I love Christmas. This is my third Christmas as an ordained person. Before I was ordained I worried that I would be unable to celebrate Christmas. I would end up being bitter, and busy. The way I celebrate Christmas is different. Christmas time is certainly much less relaxing than it was. I don’t get time off like many others; I do have to go to lots of things I don’t want to go to, like church. The core of Christmas hasn’t changed for me. That sense of love. The incarnation of Jesus still happens, and I still get to eat Christmas Dinner! Back of the net! But now I have an excellent excuse to have it cooked for me. Oh, I’m working, I couldn’t possibly come to you. So in some ways Christmas is better. I’ve discovered Christmas in a very different way, and deepened my knowledge and sense of what it means. That’s been a gift and a surprise. This time of year is all about gifts and surprises . It’s certainly been...