Dear Friends,

 

As I write these words, the world is appalled by the tragic killing of the gentle and dedicated aid worker Margaret Hassan in Iraq, the city of Fallujah is devastated,  and in the occupied territories of the West Bank, tensions run high, following the death of Yasser Arafat. There is much unrest and violence in the news, of which we are only made aware of a fraction through the media. For many people, for many reasons, this has not been a good year.

 

Nevertheless, the countdown to Christmas has begun, and we brace ourselves

 for another round of shopping, spending, filling the freezer and writing the cards.… The parties, the Christmas lunches and dinners, the carols and mince pies will soon be upon us. The enforced seasonal jollity might seem like an escape from the dismal world scene – like switching the TV channel briefly to something a bit less depressing.  Pour yourself a glass of Christmas cheer, and forget the mess that the world is in!

 

As we go into the season of Advent, we are reminded that we need to prepare

for Christmas not only in practical ways, but in the spiritual sense.

Neither the world as it is, nor our lives as we so often live them, are in a fit state to receive the guest who comes at Christmas. An anonymous poem of the 16^th century describes all the elaborate preparations which would be made if royalty were to make a visit – and then contrasts these with the coming of the King of Heaven:

 

            ‘But at the coming of the King of Heaven

             all’s set at six and seven;

             we wallow in our sin,

             Christ cannot find a chamber at the inn.

             We entertain him always like a stranger,

             And, as at first, still lodge him in the manger,’

 

It was not to a perfect world that Jesus came in the first place: Bethlehem was, as it remains today, fraught with tension; children were slaughtered in a desperate bid from Herod to prevent this new-born ‘king’ presenting a threat to his power. Human nature was, and remains, capable of black deeds.

 

The Advent hope is not a temporary distraction from the dark side of human nature. It faces the darkness head-on, and promises that light will ‘shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death’. We all think of Lent as a penitential season, but in fact, these weeks leading up to Christmas are just as much times to confront the dark side of our lives, and allow the healing light of Christ to penetrate into the gloomy corners –  the repeated failings, the unforgiven quarrels, the lurking bitterness and regret, perhaps our dislike of ourselves, and lack of hope.

 

So, it’s time to get ready for Christmas – really to prepare, to prepare ourselves.

If we can bring ourselves to do this, then our Christmas celebrations, when they begin, will be more than a bit of seasonal jollity. They might actually make a difference to our lives – and to this dark world of ours.

 

With love,

Rosey