What's new?

So what is new about New Year - apart from a date on the calendar? Much remains the same - chores to be done, bills to be paid,appointments to be kept. But just as punctuation marks can lift a sentence liable to sag so a New Year can be the occasion for new resolves that can lift our living. We can determine that with God's help we will do better in the future than we have done in the past. We know that there is room for improvement and if we do some 'possibility thinking' we may not only make some good resolutions but keep thas as well.

Christmas at home?

The possibility of getting home for Christmas is relished by many but also impossible for others. But it should be remembered that the holy family were away from their home because of an edict by the Roman government. There were no home comforts for them but they were (and are) at the centre of spiritual gravity, where God's action was. Christmas is spiritually rather than geographically located. It is where there is true worship of the Son of God. In that sense we can take our Christmas with us and find its true meaning wherever we are.

Goodwill

With incessant news of violence arround the world it would be easy to get sceptical about the idea of peace and goodwill. But there are many signs that those qualities are sill alive among us. The other night I went door-to-door collecting for the Salvation Army's work for the disadvantaged while our band played carols in the street. In the soft evening light the sound of the band brought a sense of peace and the marvellous generosity of householders was evidence of great goodwill. I gave thanks that despite the darkness in the world the light of love is not extinguished and having a care for others is still to be found.

Scared of Christmas?

I once asked a group of recovering alcoholics how they felt about Christmas. They replied, 'Scared!. They felt that the season might threaten their hard-won sobriety. For some people feelings of loneliness are particularly acute at Christmas as they think of relatives they have lost. But the words, 'fear not' feature in the Christmas story (and in 365 places in the bible - enough for every day of the year!) We can take them to heart and find that there is enough love in the world to go around and we can tap into it through faith in the One whose coming is celebrated. Churches will be crowded with people needing to get the message loud and clear.Don't miss out.

Christmas is coming

'Christmas comes but once a year' and when it comes it brings - well, what does it bring? A lot of work, for one thing. Stores echo with the merry sound of cash registers. Some people deplore the 'commercialization of Christmas' but at least it provides jobs for people.And much of the activity is dedicated to getting goods as gifts for OTHERS.
Christmas brings shoals of greeting cards and contact with friends and relatives from whom we may receive no other word. That is good! For kids (and parents?) Santa brings joy. This is a time for family gatherings and they should be welcomed.So three cheers for the yuletide season!
Centuries ago there was a bill before the British parliament to ban Christmas but thankfully it is not on the statute book and so Christmas is something we can all enjoy.So lets all do just that!

A Christmas Prayer

'When my Christmas joy evaporates with the frustration of Christmas shopping and my holiday plans elaborate until I'm wrapped in the trappings and trapped in the wrappings, Lord untangle me; help me get the tinsel out of my hair, refresh me with a look at the gift of your Son.' (Anon.)

(Please look into my other blog under 'History is His story' WH)

Something to share?

It is said that if everyone cared enough and everyone shared enough everyone would have enough. Perhaps some of us are not as good at sharing as we should be. Blogging is a way of sharing thoughts. I have a blog under my name (Wesley Harris) and another under 'History is His story'. I don't always keep up to date with this sharing and a New Year resolution will be to do better. For fifteen years in retirement I have been sharing the story of Christianity with a couple of classes in a state school week by week. Now I fel it necessary to relinquish that role on account of age but I am so glad that others will be picking up the baton. Another unexpected opportunity of sharing in retirement has been through writing. I have just had my ninth book published and hope to go on sharing my experience of God through the written word.It is a paradox, but the more we share the richer we become. We don't give to get but it happens that the more we give the more we gain in many ways.

Birthdays

My wife and I both celebrate our 80th birthdays this week. Margaret is two days older than me and I have sometimes joked that I decided to marry the older woman. Then of course, I have needed to duck! But seriously, we are so grateful for the years we have been given. For us this is a time to look back and give thanks. It is also a time to look forward to the time we may yet enjoy and to the mystery which lies beyond. God is good and perhaps that is all we need to know. We are finding it necessary to drop some activities but feel sure that there will still be worthwhile things to do. After all, service is the rent we pay for our room on earth.

What is best?

I would rather aim at something great and fail than settle for mediocrity and succeed. The trouble with many people is that they are saddled with small ambitions and have limited visions. We should lift up our eyes and believe a better day is dawning.

Response-ability

Dostoyevsky wrote, "People are people and not the keys of a piano'.We may like to blame our genes or our circumstances for our problems but to be truly human we need to accept that we are response-able (and accountable)for the way in which we live. What the bible calls holiness has to do with living responsibly.
Some say they 'couldn't care less' but Jesus our best example could not have cared more.The Jewish prophet Micah said, "What does the Lord require of you? To act justly snd to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (6.8).

Ethics of a cash register

I was present at the Salvation Army premises in Bourke Street, Melbourne for a crowded meeting listening to a highly qualified panel discussing alcohol abuse. One speaker described the way in which weaknesses are exploited for financial gain by people with what he described as the 'ethics of a cash register'. The bible describes the love of money as the root of all evil and there is no doubt that for the sake of financial gain much evil is perpetuated. By the same token, rightly used money well used can achieve great good in the world. There is nothing wrong with money, just the way in which some people use it!

The eye of a storm

The effects of the world financial crisis are becoming increasingly apparent. They can be seen at the supermarket checkout where people are being obliged to cut their spending. They can be observed in the number of people obliged to turn to voluntary organizations for food parcels and other assistance. It is amazing that problems in the United States have had a 'knock-on' effect around the world. No nation lives to itself. For good or ill we are all bound together in the bundle of life on earth. What we do has a bearing on others and for nations and individuals that is part of the responsibility of being alive. The implications of that need to be worked out.

Grievances

It is said that instead of nursing grievances we should teach them to walk. There may be times when everybody is niggled by someone or something. Small concerns can fester and poison our whole system unless we overcome them with love.

Turning the clock back?

History buffs such as myself are sometimes accused of trying to turn the clock back. In fact, sometimes our desire is to wind it up. We may avoid the mistakes of the past if we look back and learn from history. The crass and crazy thing is that the follies of one generation are often repeated in the next.Howm dumb can we get>

Homelessness

LEARNING that people slept on the streets of London William Booth, the founder of The Salvation Army, told his son Bramwell,'Go and do something!'Booth junior asked, 'What can we do?'.And hearing about homelessness in these days we may well echo his question.
Thousands of people - young and old - sleep on the street in Australia ever night. What can we do about it? The Salvation Army Historical Society will be focussing on the problem at the Inala Auditorium, 220 Middleborough Road, Blackburn on Friday
22nd August at 7.30 pm. There will be DVD footage about what the Army has done for the homeless in the past and is doing today. Nationally-known speakers will report on the problem and there will be music by the Camberwell Band and the 'Hope Choir' - the Army's equivalent to the 'Choir of Hard Knocks'.
There will be no charge for admission but what can we do about the problem? We can take part in a collection for work among street people.The offering may be in cash or kind such as hand-knitted garments such as scarves or beanies or newly bought socks. All are welcome!

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Courage to care

My son's mother-in-law, Gus Kaminski, died this week.She was a person whose warm love seemed to embrace everyone. During World War 2, in her native Netherlands, she was involved in hiding many Jews who would otherwise have gone to the gas chambers. Her own life was on the line but she had the courage to care and was later honoured as a righteous gentile by the state of Israel. Her memory is honoured. Now I remind myself of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer shortly before he was hanged by the Nazis, 'With God every apparent end is only a more glorious new beginning'.

If all else fails...

I bought a new piece of computer equipment and despite being a little 'technophobic'was seeking to install it. Then in my frustration I decided that if all else failed I would read the maker's instructions.That helped a lot!

We sometimes make the same kind of mistake with regard to larger issues. We puzzle about the best course to take or the right decision to make then - eureka! - we realise that we should first read the instructions found in the bible and we discover that its ancient wisdom can be remarkably modern in its application to today's problems.

As a yound man I was contemplating marriage - a weighty decision for anyone! - when I referred to the words of Jesus in John 8.12 where he spoke about having 'the light of life'. I sought God's guidance and after more than fifty years am still married as a result of the wise decision I made.

But I could kick myself as I think of other issues about which I have foolishly fumbled instead of going first to 'the Makers' Instructions'.Still, I think I am learning at last!

It 'aint 'arf ''ot

A British comedy programme on T.V had the catch phrase, 'It 'aint 'arf 'ot, Mum'and it has been called to mind as our temperatures have risen into the forties.Sunlight can be life giving but it is possible to have too much of a good thing as warnings about global warming would emphasise. Sun stroke, skin cancer, dehydration and bush fires are part of Aussie life and, as we hide in our air conditioned premises, we may thank God for people who take the heat in order to help others, like fire fighters, for example.Their courage makes us realise that despite many ghastly things going on the world is not such a bad place after all. While we face the mystery of evil let us also take acount of the mystery of goodness and the God-like quality of self sacrifice.