HOME FOR CHRISTMAS?
Daily reflections for Advent
Check back here every day from Dec 1
The Christmas story is full of themes that speak of “home”.
Mary and Joseph have nowhere to stay in Bethlehem; there is no room at the inn for their child to be born. The shepherds are caring for their sheep on the dark hillside, probably longing to be home with their families. The wise men are foreigners, coming from far away to search for the king.
All of them, though, find in Jesus a sense that they have come home, and that God has "come home" to them in a new way. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us", said John in his Gospel. In him we see God's presence and his love, right where we are, in the mess and muddle of a stable, the mess and muddle of the very disturbed political situation into which Jesus is born, in the mess and muddle of ordinary human lives like ours.
Throughout Advent there will be a daily post here with some sort of "home" related thought to ponder, sometimes with some music to listen to.
The postings will fall broadly into four groups, which we will move through as we journey to Christmas.
1. Home, sweet home? Reflecting on our experience of home.
2. Leaving home and coming home.
3. The kingdom of God - a home for all.
4. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
Check back here each day from Dec 1 for a new post. Ponder the questions alone, or talk about them with your family or friends. Leave a comment or thought if you would like to.
Here is this year's Sainsbury's advert - full of images of home and home-coming. There may be no suggestion that Christmas has anything to do with Jesus, but according to these snippets of what the film says are real people's Christmas celebrations, it certainly has plenty to do with love, joy and hope, and where those things are the Bible tells us that God is too.
What do you think of the picture of Christmas day in this advert?
What do you think of the picture of Christmas day in this advert?
No comments:
Post a Comment