BLESSINGS FROM THE VICARAGE

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Gospel of John Chapter 1.

It's not often that I start my letter with a powerful and beautiful Bible passage, but the stunning photo on the front of this month’s magazine prompted me to link with it and reflect on these dark times (in more ways than one) that humanity as a whole is living through.

The pre-Christmas period called Advent can be hard enough with all the economic pressures of affording extra monthly expenses such as presents, trees, turkeys, etc., as well as coping with all the added time constraints - having to fit in social functions, school fayres and nativities, carol services and visiting the relatives… But even the run up to this year’s Advent has been fraught with anxiety, fear and despair

• Locally due to increased flu and covid cases, and economic stresses,

• Nationally due to the instability of government and concerns over another energy crisis,

• Globally with the crucifyingly appalling situation in the Holy Land as well as the continued wars in Ukraine, Yemen     and Syria.

Yes, these are indeed dark times. But, if John 1:1 – 5 holds true, which I believe it does as the Light of God is where we all come from; we have not only never been abandoned by God but also, there is always hope because God’s light overcomes darkness. (Look again at the Christmas tree on the front cover – how alive it looks in amidst the darkness.)

Where can God’s light be found, I ‘hear’ you asking?

Well, each of us is actually part of God’s light, although tragically some have tried their best to extinguish it and hence the anger and violence of this world. For those who choose to use a positive, kind opportunity to help alleviate people’s darkness, that’s a start. But, we can do more - we can choose to give ourselves over to a new way of being and thinking and behaving…individually and collectively…linked in with the gifts of the Holy Spirit (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) Galatians 5: 22.

Feargal Sharkey (from Derry in Northern Ireland) recently said on ‘Have I got news for you’, “For 25 years the people of Northern Ireland have been able to prosper, grow and blossom, and have discovered that this thing PEACE is a very delicate, beautiful little flower that needs nurturing, caressing and supporting. I do wish the people of Gaza and Israel can get to discover what 25 years of PEACE, prosperity, diplomacy and democracy looks like, and that those people also can blossom into a much brighter future for everyone involved.” He said this quietly and with maturity, wisdom, dignity and gravitas. His encouraging words were a light shining in the darkness for the world to hear and full of the gifts of the Spirit, and they were most unexpected and surprising given the context.

And that is the point…

God shines a light through humanity and creation in the most unexpected and surprising places – but most powerfully it all started quietly with a little babe in an outhouse in Bethlehem. God’s light came into living being and dwelt among us, to shine a light for our path… Let us take the path to peace, love and freedom this year…

Please do come and be filled with light and love at all the services this December and beyond. Let’s start to shine!

With love and prayers for peace,

Jane