Follow the Star – Stephen Thorp

Can we afford to celebrate Christmas?

The greatest gift of all: The birth of Jesus Christ

I’m writing this letter the day before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Chancellor Jeremy Hunt reveal their Autumn Statement, and many people are wondering about how they will be affected by their policies. The three wise men may have been able to afford their extravagant gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, but for many the ‘cost of living’ crisis currently fuelled by higher energy prices, high inflation and fewer resources has meant that Christmas is rapidly losing its sparkle. A recent survey suggests that 42% of people are worried about how they will pay for Christmas this year compared to previous years and the media is full of sad stories and advice on how people can make ends meet. Martin Lewis, the Money Savings Expert states that most people start from the wrong place; “They have a perfect Christmas pictured in their mind of everything that they want and exactly how it is going to be, and then they try and work out how they can do it. Please don’t do that. That’s likely to lead to debt and disappointment. Decide on how much you are going to spend on Christmas this year and stick to it.”

The Christian will be aware that although presents are nice, Christmas is not really about presents at all, but about a God who loved the world so much that he freely stepped out of the majesty of heaven, becoming as the ‘Son of God’ a man born in Bethlehem to poor parents. He did this, so that we ‘as poor as we are’ might get to know him in a deeper, better and more profound way, trusting that his love, (ultimately demonstrated for us by his death on the cross) might not only lead to our salvation and the forgiveness of our sins but offer us a better, brighter and more positive future, for as the Apostle Paul once said ‘for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich’ (2 Corinthians 8.9).

Yes, the wise men may have offered Jesus expensive gifts as part of their worship, but in truth Christmas is really all about God’s good gift in Christ to us – and so on his birthday, what might he want most of all? An expensive lavish present? Not at all! He simply wants to be your friend as you put your faith and trust in him.

It’s a gift that grows with the receiving, each day becoming more and more satisfying as we come to appreciate and learn just what God has done for us in the person of Christ.

It is my hope that you will all have a really lovely Christmas with your respective families and friends, but not allow the finances to get in the way of your celebrations, but simply rejoice in each other’s company as God in love and ‘in Christ’ rejoices in you.

May I on behalf of my family and all the parishes I represent wish you all a very happy Christmas and a worry free, peaceful new year.

What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb;
if I were a wise man I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him – give my heart.

From ‘In the bleak mid winter’ by Christina Rossetti

Christmas – A beacon of light and hope across the years

“None of us can slow the passage of time; and while we often focus on all that has changed in the intervening years, much remains unchanged, including the Gospel of Christ and his teachings.”

With such words, the Queen addressed the inaugural meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod, although due to ill health, her words were spoken by her youngest son Prince Edward. The Queen also acknowledged that for many 2021, had been ‘a time of anxiety, of grief, and of weariness’ as we continue to struggle with the coronavirus and its terrible effects upon individuals and society at large. “Yet the Gospel has brought hope (she declared) as it has done throughout the ages.” The Queen’s words carried a weight not only befitting her status as the Monarch, but of a woman who had also suffered grief during the year and was now contemplating her own mortality, and yet still – the Gospel has brought hope!

There are many occasions in the Gospel story when Jesus also contemplated his own human mortality and spoke to his disciples about it; “I am with you for only a short time” he had said “before I must go and return to the Father” (John 7.33ff), meaning by his forthcoming death upon the cross. But what hope can there be in death? Well, usually not much – but the death of Christ was different, because his very purpose was not just to live but to die for the ‘sins of the world’, bearing within his own body all the terrible consequences of our broken and fallen world caused by our sin and general inability to live as God would wish – that waywardness which not only spoils our relationships between ourselves but with God himself. A waywardness that even knocks the natural order out of balance. However, his death is not so much a sign of God angers towards the human race, but of his great love and compassion for it, for at Christmas, Christians celebrate the fact that God did not remain aloof, distant or uncaring, but in the person of Jesus, stepped into this world of ours as a small baby, that he might live and die for us, so that ultimately we might escape that dreadful ending and be forgiven. Yet the story does not stop there, because his death was not the end; three days later he rose again, and his resurrection (as witnessed by so many of his friends) was the proof that new life was possible for all who put their faith and trust in him, not just in this world but the next, just as he had promised. Therefore – we have hope! A hope that is reflected in the fact that Jesus described himself as being ‘the light of the world’. So, whatever your circumstance, whether it be joyful or sad, hold on to this hope – and light your candles, light up your Christmas trees, and plug in your candle arches as we celebrate our eternal Christmas hope together.

May God bless you all this Christmas and be with you throughout the new year.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8.12

Follow That Star!

We used to talk about the ‘stars of stage and screen’ but in today’s celebrity culture the definition of who is ‘a star’ and what makes ‘a star’ has broadened to cover almost every type of entertainment and eventuality – because the traditional categories of Pop Star, Rock Star and Film Star have been joined by Social Media and Reality TV stars (and more besides), all trying to capture our attention and their fleeting five minutes of fame and fortune – especially around Christmas. In fact, it could be argued that we have so many celebrity ‘stars’ that the term has somewhat lost its impact. But Christmas provides us with an opportunity to step outside of the noisy razzmatazz of the entertainment industry and focus once again upon the true meaning of Christmas and upon someone whose significance and stardom never fades – and that is of course Jesus of Nazareth whose birth we celebrate and who Christians believe is the incarnate ‘Son of God’; ‘the eternal word made flesh’; ‘the Saviour of the World’.

At first glance, the casual observer wouldn’t have thought that his birth was anything remarkable, a simple child born into poverty with two loving but very humble parents, but for those with the eyes to see, his birth was not only remarkable, but completely astonishing and highly significant as demonstrated by the train of visitors who came to see him; first shepherds and then ‘kings’ or more accurately Magi, ‘wise men from the East’ who had been drawn to his birth place by the appearance of a STAR!

Now perhaps we are so familiar with the nativity story that we tend to think we know it, and so it is only too easy to overlook the significance of these special visitors. Ever since the time of King David, Israel’s Kings thought of themselves to be like ‘shepherds’ as he was and so the appearance of the Shepherds at the manger was highly symbolic of his royal pedigree. Likewise the appearance of a star was deemed to be the fulfilment of ancient prophecy heralding God’s anointed; ‘a star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel’ (Numbers 24.17). Strangely, even in Roman Culture a star signified divine status as demonstrated by the fact that when a ‘wandering star’ appeared after the death of Julius Caesar it was believed to signify his deification – a star symbol thus being engraved upon imperial coins. So what with the anointing of Jewish thought and the divine ruler from Roman thought, there is a double significance here!

But this is not the end of the story because later Jesus would describe himself as ‘the bright Morning Star’ of Revelation 22.16. His Kingdom and his stardom never ends!

So this Christmas, may I encourage you to reflect once again upon the Christmas story and to ‘follow the star’ as you consider just who Jesus is and embrace the eternal nature of God’s love and peace for you and your family this Christmas.

May I wish you all a very Happy Christmas.

#followthestar

“I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony …. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.” Revelation 22.16