Blog
At this time of year you might find yourself announcing that you too are not a fan of lists, and especially lists of New Year's Resolutions. You may even feel strongly enough to spray-paint it onto your front wall...
As you prepare for Christmas this year, may you be very conscious of the God who comes close to us in Jesus, the God who calls himself Emmanuel - God with us. And may you be encouraged by the reminder that the light of Christ shines in the darkness and the darkness will never put it out.
I came across an image recently of a woman sitting on a busy commuter train with her little boy on her lap. The Mom is reading a book and the boy is also reading - he’s got a children’s book and he’s completely engrossed in it. The caption on the photo says: “They asked her, ‘how did you persuade your child to read instead of playing with a device?’ She replied, ‘children don’t hear us, they imitate us’.”
This Sunday much of our focus is on our youth and children. In the 09h00 service our children are putting on a nativity play for us as they bring their term to an end and help us to prepare for the coming Christ.
For our family, this week has been full of familiar end of year rituals - school prize-giving ceremonies, carol services and the like. In the church, a similar set of familiar end of year routines are playing out - we are talking about nativity plays, confirmation services and lighting advent candles. The season of advent is upon us and it feels very familiar.
Scott Peck's book "The road less travelled" begins with the cheerful observation that "life is difficult". We know this to be true! Ronald Rolheiser (in his book Sacred Fire) offers a list of "commandments for mature living" that invite us to live differently in the face of life's challenges. I have found these really helpful (not straightforward, but helpful nonetheless).
Maya Angelou gets right to the point when she says "what you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain."
Our body language communicates so much about what we think about ourselves. I had a conversation recently with a woman whose job involves important work, but work which has a low status in our society, and her whole demeanour made it clear that she knows this. On this day though, something was different. I needed assistance with a problem beyond my ability or skill to solve and when I asked her for help, something changed in her. She drew herself up to her full height, thought intently about my problem and then confidently suggested a solution. It was a wonderful transformation to witness!
I recently heard someone say that reading is an opportunity to enter into conversation with the dead. That wasn't meant to sound as spooky as it might - the point is that books enable us to benefit from the wisdom of people who may have lived centuries ago. We get to enter into conversation with remarkable people all these years later - what a gift!
The church now has a WhatsApp number (081 885 4928). You can send messages to the office (we will only see them between 08h30 and 14h00 on weekdays) but hopefully this will be a more convenient way for you to stay in touch with us.