Christmas Day 2014
Welcome
The
time came for her to deliver her child. And she gave birth to her firstborn son
and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was
no place for them in the inn.
597 O come all ye faithful [1,2,6,7]
Prayer and the
Lord’s Prayer
Reading: Luke 2:8-20
72 Away in a manger
Sharing Christmas
Greetings
Christmas message
One
word stands out for me this Christmas.
It’s
the word …
Neverthless.
My
dictionary describes it as an adverb that means ‘in spite of that’.
It’s
the very first word in chapter 9 of Isaiah – in the Authorised Version – what’s
gone on in chapters 7-8 is pretty hellish – there’s civil war, the threat of
invasion – words are difficult to find to describe how the people felt
Torn
apart
Divided
Shattered
Abandoned,
Alone
In
the darkness
Words
are difficult to find … yet one word stands out
Nevertheless
Nevertheless,
in spite of it all
Nevertheless,
there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress.
2 The people walking
in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
6 For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Nevertheless
In
the darkness
A
great light
In
the shadows
The
dawn breaks
A
child is born
A
son is given
Wonderful
Counsellor
Mighty
God
Everlasting
Father
Prince
of Peace
One
hundred years ago today the world was pretty hellish – Europe was torn apart,
divided shattered – people felt abandoned, alone, in the darkness.
Then
comes that moment.
That
word
Nevertheless
In
spite of all that
Something
happened
Cue
video clip of the Christmas Truce
One
of those things that has been to the fore in our minds this Christmas and even
more so this Christmas Day is the famed Christmas Truce of one hundred years
ago today.
When
Pittville school brought their Year 7’s to share a carol service I did as you
do and googled the Christmas truce in order to get a video clip to show them.
One
thing struck me quite forcibly about the video clip.
The
famed Chrsitmas truce complete with its football game happened in Ploegstrasse
in Belgium.
The
location meant something to me.
On
12th May 1915 my father was born.
On that day Private Reginald Cole was on sentry duty in Ploegstrasse –
he raised his head above the parapet.
All was clear. A second time he
raised his head above the parapet and he was shot by a sniper.
My
grandmother was cousin to Reginald Cole’s mother. And so decided to name my father Reginald
remembering the one who had died.
I
have birthday presents given to my father by Reginald Cole’s father – To Reggie
on his seventh birthday remembering another Reggie – it seems but yesterday.
Uncle
Ab was Abraham Cole, founder of Cheltenham’s The Famous.
There’s
something distinctive about the cemetery in Ploegstrasse where he is
buried. Both Germans and British soldiers are buried side
by side.
That
Christmas truce is in a sense a ‘nevertheless’ moment. In spite of that horror, that darkness there
was this special moment of peace.
And
yet … there’s more to Christmas than that.
There
was a fascinating interview on the Radio a couple of weeks ago.
It
was an interview with the Great Great Grandson of Kaiser Wilhelm II, Prince
Philip Kereel of Prussia, who was over here for a Carol service at Crystal
Palace to mark that Christmas Truce.
That
in itself was interesting because he was also the Great Great Great Great Grandson of Queen Victoria. Maybe a timely reminder of the way in which
the countries of Europe have been interlinked for centuries, not least in their
Royal Families.
To
set the scene for the interview they played a recording of Rifleman Graham
Williams who had been there at that first Christmas truce. He described the Germans singing Silent Night
… he then went on to say “we felt we had
to retaliate and so we replied with the First Nowell”
The
recording over, the interviewer then asked his first question:
“Do
German people remember the Christmas truce?”
“Not
much actually.
“I
wish it was - because it was such a special moment.”
Then
it was that the Kaiser’s Great Great Grandson, and Queen Victoria’s Great Great
Great Grandson took the interview in quite an unexpected direction. The interviewer didn’t have a chance to ask
another question!
“But
for me as a Lutheran Minister,” he went on to say, “one thing is even more important and that’s
the war took place before and it went on afterwards so it was just like you
said, a very short period of time.
“And
concerning Christmas it’s not about having a peaceful time with your family or
with your mates even among soldiers: but
it’s about the Prince of Peace coming to earth and letting him come into
people’s hearts: that’s what it would all start with and what could change
things.”
Prince
Philip Kereel of Prussia then went on to refer to the item of news that had
gone before this piece about the Christmas Truce.
It
had been about the Refugee Crisis that has swept across the Middle East and the
appeal the United Nations was making for the western countries to accept more
refugees – 30,000 in Germany and 90 in
the UK.
“You
just had the interview with Alastair Burt and he said the Refugee crisis would
stop right away if the Assad Regime would stop killing their own people.
“There
in this one person if he had peace in his heart then everything would
change. And that would have been the
same in 1914 as it is today so there is
a much bigger story than this Christmas Truce.”
With
that the interview came to an end. Time
was up. It was time for the sports news.
It
was a very, very powerful moment.
Think
of Christmas as an interlude – a ‘nevertheless’ moment in the middle of a
pretty grim world, a moment for celebration that passes, then what’s the point?
There’s
something much more in the message at the heart of Christmas.
Put
the Prince of Peace in our hearts not just for these few moments at Christmas
but the year round and discover the difference it can make.
Putting
the Prince of Peace in our hearts gives another dimension to life – a framework
that brings God’s presence deep into our hearts as a strength that can see us
through difficult times, through the times of the shadow beyond.
Putting
the Prince of Peace in our hearts gives us a framework for living our lives
that’s based on love for God and love for others. It’s a way of life that can make all the
difference in our homes, our work place, our world.
In
the New Year ‘Question’ is going to run – a six week course for those who have
questions to ask about faith, about putting the Prince of Peace into your
hearts.
It’s
what prompts us at Christmas to re-commit ourselves to the care of others – we
are also going to have a focus on offering care in bereavement after
Christmas.
And
it’s what prompts us to have a special Christmas collection for ongoing work
the year round – not just for Christmas.
This
year we are supporting Children’s Homes in Kerala State – a small initiative
one person had, Sister Mary, who had worked alongside Mother Teresa, a small
initiative that drew in another individual Robin Radley who had the inspiration
to set up a trust to support initially one, then two then three homes in the
Kerala countryside. A small initiative
that caught our Sue Cole’s imagination.
And for a dozen and more years Sue has been involved – has only just got
back.
Briefly,
Sue, give us an update on Chiks.
Drawing
on her skills as a vet, Sue has contributed immensely to the sustainability
project that saw the opening of a new cowshed while she was there – and its
names as Susan Farm.
Before
we take our Christmas collection we are going to sing the carol they sang in
that Christmas truce.
As
we sing these words, let’s seek to put the Prince of Peace into our hearts and
discover the difference that makes in the living of our lives.
95 Silent night, holy night
Our Christmas
Collection for CHIKS
Prayers of Concern
93 The first Nowell
Words of Blessing
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