Today is Friday and my regular day free from clerical duties. I finished work last night at 7.30 p.m. for an evening out with Mrs WWA so this morning feels relaxed. I started, as I often do, by knocking off a short piece of writing. Earning £50 extra before breakfast is good (but I breakfast late these days).
Anyway, and this is the point, as I was finishing my article my mind wandered to breakfast and of what it might consist. This is why I am not a good proof reader and why I put written pieces down for a few hours before submitting them.
I recalled that there were left over rolls and tomatoes from a lunch yesterday and that I owned some bacon.
As I walked into the kitchen my inner dialogue went, 'And lo, it came to pass that he discovered bacon in the fridge and...' Stop.
Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.
Stop.
Nativity speak has begun. I never asked for that to happen. Why? It is November. I am not putting a tea towel on my head for at least a fortnight.
Showing posts with label Nativity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nativity. Show all posts
Friday, November 25, 2011
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
BBC Nativity
Interesting article about the BBC Nativity I keep going on about. 'People will be talking about this' say many Christian commentators, so worth being ready to listen to what they have to say.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/11_november/26/nativity2.shtml
And it goes without saying, please don't be in too much of a rush to tell others your interpretation but listen long and hard. Then maybe invite the interested questioners to something to follow it up. If there isn't anything you can invite them to, pester your minister. If you have no minister do it yourself.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2010/11_november/26/nativity2.shtml
And it goes without saying, please don't be in too much of a rush to tell others your interpretation but listen long and hard. Then maybe invite the interested questioners to something to follow it up. If there isn't anything you can invite them to, pester your minister. If you have no minister do it yourself.
Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Christmas
What do you feel about Christmas? We have attached so much to a couple of narratives in Luke and Matthew - shepherds, wise men, stables. Can you believe that the virginal conception of Jesus is anything but a myth written by the church to explain Jesus' sinlessness? Does it matter?
We know little about Jesus' birth which is substantiated from more than one source. We have no episodes in his early life apart from:
Birth in bethlehem
Visited by magi (perhaps age 2)
Teaching in the Temple (age 12)
Announced by John the Baptist and went off peaching (age 30)
Suppse Jesus, aged 30 -33, spoke so clearly (with authority) and acted so wisely, that people couldn't believe he was simply human. Suppose Jesus was everything it means to be human to such an extent that people assumed he must be divine. Suppose he did do some miracles of healing and exorcism? There is more evidence of the miracles than the birth.
I am phrasing this all in the shape of supposition out of respect for theological ancestors who would have been martyred for such blunt outrage.
Have decided to preach this Christmas based on Paul and John, who had no need to say anything about Jesus' birth but still ascribed divinity to him (John 1:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11).
It is a shame that the busy-ness of Christmas gets in the way of thinking. I like the food and the pressies though. Boxing Day is my favourite day of the year, not just because it is the Feast of Stephen but because of the space. I wanted to hack out a bit of space for reflection this week and the result is this. More, maybe later.
We know little about Jesus' birth which is substantiated from more than one source. We have no episodes in his early life apart from:
Birth in bethlehem
Visited by magi (perhaps age 2)
Teaching in the Temple (age 12)
Announced by John the Baptist and went off peaching (age 30)
Suppse Jesus, aged 30 -33, spoke so clearly (with authority) and acted so wisely, that people couldn't believe he was simply human. Suppose Jesus was everything it means to be human to such an extent that people assumed he must be divine. Suppose he did do some miracles of healing and exorcism? There is more evidence of the miracles than the birth.
I am phrasing this all in the shape of supposition out of respect for theological ancestors who would have been martyred for such blunt outrage.
Have decided to preach this Christmas based on Paul and John, who had no need to say anything about Jesus' birth but still ascribed divinity to him (John 1:1-14; Philippians 2:5-11).
It is a shame that the busy-ness of Christmas gets in the way of thinking. I like the food and the pressies though. Boxing Day is my favourite day of the year, not just because it is the Feast of Stephen but because of the space. I wanted to hack out a bit of space for reflection this week and the result is this. More, maybe later.
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