Page 2 - Moravain Messenger December 2020
P. 2
Editorial
There is no way to say this kindly - Christmas has become, over the past years, an expensive illusory circus with no way to get off the treadmill or slow it down. I cannot be the only person who gets to the actual day exhausted, bad tempered and broke! It is only the days of calm after Christmas that makes it bearable. And that is a dreadful confession because there is so much pressure for the perfect family, the best presents, the wonderful meal, the best laid table, the best Christmas ever. And, of course for us in Churches, all pressure of special services and pastoral visiting to be done before 'the day'.
I hate the COVID-19 and what it is doing to us as a society and as individuals and families and the cost that it is extracting from us in so many ways, not least the smaller businesses in our economy and independent shops in our towns and cities. Because of COVID-19 this year we have to do Christmas differently. We can't have all our big services in Church, it may not be safe to put up all our decorations, there can't be any community style 'Switching on the Christmas Lights'. Pastoral visits and family gatherings may be severely restricted. And we cannot easily plan for what may or may not be in force over the Christmas break.
It will be a very different feel this Christmas. But will it be a worse Christmas? Of course it will for the shops who simply will not get the trade that they depend on at this time of year; for those who have to work in the health care sector
or in care homes; for those who are isolated and can't be with their families; for those who have lost their jobs and cannot afford the food and presents that they would love to give their families and of course it will be for those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 over the past year.
But for once it is a chance to focus on the heart of Christmas and reprogramme what we should be doing and expecting each year. Christmas is the annual celebration of the birth of God's son, God's gift to us and for us, wrapped up in the most difficult of circumstances. It is a gift of immense and eternal worth that costs us nothing. It is an expression of love from the God who loves us and whom we so often forget. It is the light of the world that can never be put out. Of course, it should be celebrated but that celebration should be a cause of joy and peace, not worry and stress. Wouldn't it be great if one of the unexpected effects of Covid was a rebalancing of the way we approach the holy celebration of this great festival of our faith?
We wish all our readers a blessed and peaceful Christmas and God's guidance in the coming new year.
From Lorraine, Lindsey and Sarah
Editorial Team of the Moravian Messenger
Sr Sarah Groves
Editorial Team
‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace
on earth to those on whom his favour rests.’(Luke 2:14) continued
To what extent does God play a role in our every-day life? As the angels point to God first, questions arise in my mind, 'Is he given the first place and the highest priority in our world?' 'Is everything centred around him?' If I'm honest, I have to say 'no', it's not everything centred around him. So much is centred around commerce, around business, around money and power, and clinging to power as long as possible. Our world would look different if everything was centred around God.
Even the pandemic which we experience in these weeks and months, and maybe even years, may have to do with God not being in the centre. Scientists tell us that it is quite likely that pandemics will become more frequent, because the living space of animals and plants is more and more compromised by the cutting down
of rain forests, building roads into wild areas and littering the oceans with plastic, to name just a few. If we intrude into habitats which are balanced within themselves, and therefore can easily cope with certain types of viruses, nature might fight back. Sir David Attenborough has called for the 're-wilding' of nature, as he calls it, allowing God's creation to stay in this delicate balance which enables life in all its fullness.
The angel's message has another part to it, 'A Saviour has been born to you; Christ, the Lord.' The first step for us is to recognise that we cannot save ourselves. We can do our best, and we can try to promote life to the best of our ability. But in the end, we are always in danger of working against our creator. He has seen that we are in a dire dilemma. He came in Jesus right among us and alongside
us, bringing comfort to everyone: those who are tired and burdened. And - in a second step - he brings new direction into our lives by saying, 'I am the way, work with me and alongside me, group yourselves around me, the living God, and peace will be with you, this Christmas and always.'
And as I come back from my walk around Ockbrook's fields, the star is still shining brightly. I realise that the angels' message has gone around the
world, into every corner: A saviour is born, Christ the Lord. Have peace and don't be afraid. Have a blessed Christmas!
Br Joachim Kreusel Ockbrook
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© Br Joachim Kreusel
© Sr Sarah Groves