Sharing some thoughts

The collegiate and Parish Church of St Mary, Swansea HAPPY NEW YEAR Isaiah 40:31 : But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. 60 years since the reconsecration of the church 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of the reconsecration of St Mary’s following the destruction during the Second World War. It’s rebuilding was a massive effort and must have been driven by a vision to see a building in the centre of the city standing as a witness to the glory and power of God. It must also have been inspired by a hope to reach out in love and hospitality to the community being served by the church.  Today that vision and inspiration must continue to encourage us to move forward as we seek to share the gospel in a city that is very different from even 60 years ago. As we begin a new year we have a good chance to reflect on the past, be thankful for the pres...

The comments of children sometimes are wonderful. We can all probably think of a funny story to do with something a child has said – a while ago I remember a 3 year old telling Helen that she looked a mess in the morning !! Something I would obviously have disagreed with………  There’s also the great children’s letters to God – I’m a bit sad perhaps but I never tire of hearing things like, ‘Dear God, Did you mean to make giraffes look like that, or was it an accident ?’ or ‘Dear God, I keep waiting for a nice summer day, but it hasn’t come – did you forget ?’ or just one more, ‘Dear God, Maybe Cain and Abel would not kill each other so much if they had their own rooms – it works for me and my brother.’ Children's words are often profound and today in the gospel reading we hear the only recorded words of Jesus as a child (Luke 2:41-52). As a 12 year old after his parents had visited Jerusalem for the Passover festival Jesus was lost in the convoy back home – panicking they returned...

If you listen to music at this time of year one of the songs you will hear played quite a lot is the Band Aid song ‘Do they know it’s Christmas’. And many of you will know the first line of that song, ‘It’s Christmas time and there’s no need to be afraid…’ Of course we know that for many people Christmas is a time of feeling afraid and it has, it seems, always been so – When Isaiah foretold the birth of Jesus he described Him as light coming into darkness, and perhaps most famously of all as the Angel appeared to Mary she was told ‘do not be afraid’ – after all she was a young unmarried virgin engaged to a carpenter who wasn’t the father of the baby and getting pregnant in those circumstances was reason for being stoned to death at the time… why should she worry !!! And then there is the angel who appeared to the shepherds and again offered the words, ‘Do not be afraid…’ I wonder how many of us on a dark mountain top wouldn’t be afraid if we heard an angel speaking to us !!! ...

Today is the last Sunday in Advent. We’re nearly at Christmas  –   most of the shopping has been done  and  most of the cards delivered, but  our readings today call us to spend a little more time in Advent,  a time to reflect again on what it’s all about.  In the Old Testament we heard from the prophet Micah (5:2-5a) with the incredible prophecy that it was in this little town of Bethlehem of  Ephrathah that the Saviour would be born. Much of the Book of Micah is a book about injustice and even judgement. It’s about people who claimed to believe in God but whose lives didn’t show any evidence of it making a difference.  From this small town  of Bethlehe m  God would reveal once again his incredible power with a child born to change the world. God didn’t need grand palaces, he didn’t need to use political power or wealth. He simply showed his love in offering a relationship.  So often it’s easy for us to be distrac...

from Helen Have you ever had that feeling of being away from home ? I remember someone looking after a dog for their friend. Their friend lived in Germany and as they looked after the dog they found him very badly behaved. They tried every type of command they could think of. ‘Sit’, ‘come here’, ‘behave’ nothing worked until they realised that the dog understood German not English !! Who would have thought it If I said to you, ‘home sweet …’ what would the next word be ? If I said, ‘Home is where the ……… is, ‘ what would be the missing word ? How about, ‘there’s nowhere like …..’. Home is a beautiful word, it is a word that conjures up lovely images. It may be a nice cuppa, it may be a family meal, it may be your bed, it may be your favourite armchair or settee. Home is an incredible word. I have noticed that sayings about home are generally very positive and the statement home is where the heart is probably sums up tha...

Oliver Wendell Holmes was a member of the United States Supreme Court for 30 years. At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained he may have chosen a different career but said: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers."  Now, I like advent a lot – it’s a chance to be really solemn before Christmas, a chance to suggest to people that they shouldn’t be partying and enjoying themselves so much, but should in fact be spending time thinking about their eternal destiny and how God is viewing their lives, it’s a chance perhaps to use some words from John the Baptist like we heard in the gospel reading (Luke 3:7-18) and call people a ‘brood of vipers’ !  I think some of these thoughts sometimes lead to accusations that I’m a bit of a Scrooge –  and these accusations often come from very close to home as well !!  However the readings and the meaning of the season of advent to an extent back me...