Hi folks, we hope that you have a great Christmas… We aren’t meeting this Sunday night with it being Christmas Eve and people will want to do their own thing.
Our next gathering will be on the 7th January… We hope you have a blessed time, and be sure to look after those you love and care for and keep them close. These are difficult days.
I want to thank you for journeying with us in 2023. It is appreciated.
Our closing blog for this year is again based on an advent theme, and i’m grateful to Norren who has written it.
This week’s Bible passage tells of the momentous and life-changing event when an angel—with the name of Gabriel we’re told—visits a very young (16 year old?) girl called Mary. Mary’s path has been set. She is promised in marriage to a man called Joseph, who is a carpenter. So, two very ordinary people, but for whom the extra-ordinary is about to happen. The angel tells a ‘troubled’ (something of an understatement!) Mary that even though she was a virgin, she will have a sort of spiritual conception not involving a human and give birth to a son who will become a great man. He will be called the ‘Son of the Highest.’ The angel also tells Mary that her child will be the ‘Son of God.’
I can’t begin to imagine what Mary must have felt at this news, let alone that it was delivered by an angel! Mary lived in a very traditional, very patriarchal society where arranged marriages between families were the norm. Women deemed to be adulterers could be stoned to death. Certainly Mary would be ostracised if she didn’t marry Joseph. There would definitely be scandal if the news got out, and the marriage between Mary and Joseph likely cancelled.
And what do we make of the ‘Virgin birth?’ The gospel writer, generally accepted to be Luke, was a doctor who was also a companion of Paul, and travelled with him. Luke was also accredited with writing Acts which describes the beginnings of the early church. Importantly, Luke was writing about the events in his gospel not long after they happened, interviewing people who were actually there at the time. It is said that in order to write about the conception of Jesus in such detail, Luke must have interviewed Mary herself. Did Luke write about it because, as a doctor, he knew about human biology, though obviously in those times knowledge of that subject area was unsophisticated? Or did he write about it because he was privy to information given to him by those who were there, and he wanted;’ an exclusive.’ As a non-Jew and outsider he might also have been interested in conveying the story, as an independent witness.
The ‘Virgin Birth’ is barely mentioned in other parts of the bible, though. According to the gospel writer John, the important issue was that the ‘Word became flesh.’ So, the Incarnation—Jesus taking human form and living on Earth rather than the Virgin Birth—is what is often debated by biblical scholars. The prophecy in Isaiah 7:14 that a young woman should conceive and bear a son called Immanuel (God With Us) chimes well with what is written in Luke, but also in John.
So, I must admit to feeling rather daunted by all the ideas and theories contained in the bible passage from Luke. Was the Virgin Birth a miracle?’ Was it important? Or was the important thing that Jesus was both human and Godly?
At times in my life some unexpected things have happened and I’ve wondered whether maybe God was at work in particular situations. Some years ago I remember feeling stressed at work (Ofsted inspection!) and wondering how I would cope. I took myself off for a bike ride and experienced what I can only describe as a sense of calm, that everything would be all right. And it was. Not great but all right. I’m rubbish at praying. You probably guessed, but maybe prayers don’t have to be articulated for them to be answered in some way. Most recently I experienced unexpected healing for a family situation after my dad died. It’s an ongoing situation, as most things in life are, But I feel that God is in there somewhere, and I need to listen.
But what of unexpected events that are not benign? The current situation in Gaza is literally heartbreaking on both sides, and the Palestinian people seem to be taking part in some sort of real life Squid Game, trying to find somewhere safe to stay. As Christians, should we be speaking out? Do we have a right to?
Shortly after an IRA bomb exploded in Inniskillen in 1987, killing his daughter Marie, Gordon Wilson spoke to the BBC. I bear no ill will. I bear no grudge’ he said. She’s in heaven and we shall meet again. I will pray for these men tonight and every night.’ This event was unexpected, but what followed was also unexpected in an amazing way. Through Gordon Wilson and others, the leaders of the various Northern Ireland factions began to listen and reassess, and tentative peace negotiations took place.
When Bibaa Henry and her sister Nicole Smallman were murdered in a London park as they celebrated a birthday, their mother Mina (a Deacon in the Church of England) said, ‘There are priests who have lost children and walked away from faith. It’s not a testament to how strong your faith is, it’s about being able to hear beyond the evil of this world, about being able to dig deep when the bad times come’ Clearly she didn’t feel abandoned by God but I feel she had found the strength through Him to forgive.
So, do unexpected, sometimes unwelcome events floor you or restore you (though perhaps not at the time)?
Questions
1.How do you feel about the Virgin Birth, miracle, mystery or something that troubles you?
2.Has there been a time when you’ve felt God working in your life?
3.How do you feel when you watch conflict situations on the news, or have you stopped watching the news?
4.As we begin to celebrate this Advent season, how are you feeling?
Photo by Larry George II on Unsplash
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.