Renew Your Mind

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.     An angel  of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.   But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid.  I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.   Today in the town of David a Saviour  has been born to you; he is the Messiah,  the Lord.   This will be a sign  to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”                                        Luke 2: 8-12 When the angels appeared to those Bethlehem shepherds, they were terrified. The promise of joy must have seemed unlikely, but the call of the angels spurred them into action and they hurried off to Bethlehem to find out more for themselves. Paul knew all about the seismic effects of God interrupting your life, turning upside down your plans and presenting you with news that seemed terrifying rather than exciting. And yet, j

At Christmas time, our homes are full of sparkling tinsel and lights, the music playing all around us is upbeat and joyful, and we wish each other good things- peace, joy and hope. But we know that January life requires more than a sprinkle of fairy dust and a naive wish that all will be OK. We only have to read the news to remember that we live in difficult and challenging times. As we look around at the communities we live in, and even to our own families, it is perhaps not a surprise that international relations reflect the same distrust, posturing, greed and violence that is simply a part of being human. To live well in this broken world, and to be people who can bring healing to it, we need to learn how to not let the challenges defeat us but to find resilience and strength of character. Paul writes about where this character is birthed: We boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.  Stand firm,  then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.                              Galatians 5:1 What does Paul mean by writing about freedom? We know that his decision to follow Christ seemed to lead to less freedom, not more. He had been a Roman citizen, able to travel freely around the Mediterranean world and welcome in synagogues and courts. Now, he was having to be smuggled out of cities by the back door, was arrested on charges of trouble making and ended his life in prison. On the surface, he appears to have forfeited his freedom. Paul knew that external circumstances are often outside of our control. We have no say over when and where we are born, what colour our skin is or what privileges we are entitled to. We cannot choose how others treat us, we often have no control over the ways in which our bodies fail us, our savings are lost, the workplace disappoints us. What we can control is how

Paul's personal journey to Jesus was not an easy one. Intellectually, emotionally and spiritually he had to let go of some of the ideas and beliefs that he had relied on, and learn new truths about God. As he writes his letters to fledging communities who are also learning what it means to follow Jesus, we hear him explaining again some of the lessons he had to learn- and was probably still in the process of learning. He had realised that God loved him as simply as a Father loves a child- not because he had been born into the right tribe, not because he had learned the lessons the Rabbis taught better than anyone else, not because he was good or clever or kept the rules. He writes to the Ephesians of this love- how it is the foundation of our life in Christ, how it gives us roots which anchor us in times of uncertainty, and nourish us to produce lives of fruitfulness. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with a

People of God: return! You are called to be God’ s own From the mountains announce the good news God comes in justice and peace, To all who follow His ways. You are God’s children. Lord, make us one in the peace of Christ Today and for ever. Amen Church of England Advent resources All week we have been considering God's call- the dramatic call of Paul on the road to Damascus, the obedience shown by Mary in answering God's call on her life, the patience of Simeon and Anna as they waited to hear and see God fulfill His promise to them.  Here in the prayer for this Advent Sunday we hear what that call may entail- we are called to be God's own. In one way that call speaks words of great encouragement to us- when we are lost and lonely, when we feel as if we don't belong, and Christmas is a difficult reminder of what we lack, then we hear that God calls us to be His own as words of homecoming, words of love,

The Christmas story tells of the extraordinary actions of God who loves His people so much that He was prepared to enter our human history- as a baby. John's gospel doesn't include any of the details we've become familiar with- the donkey, manger, shepherds or kings- but instead meditates on the perhaps unfamiliar truth of this incredible act of God becoming man: The Life-Light was the real thing:      Every person entering Life      he brings into Light. He was in the world,      the world was there through him,      and yet the world didn’t even notice. He came to his own people,      but they didn’t want him. But whoever did want him,      who believed he was who he claimed      and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves,      their child-of-God selves. These are the God-begotten,      not blood-begotten,      not flesh-begotten,      not sex-begotten. 14  The Word became flesh and blood,      and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory wi