Christmas in Colindale

Here are some pictures from our Midnight Mass at St Matthias:

On the Feast of Stephen!

Today is the Feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. There is an account of his death in the Acts of the Apostles.

Yesterday we remembered God's gift to us of his Son. Today we are reminded that this gift demands a response from us. In St Stephen we see self-giving love answering God's call in the Word Made Flesh.

Give us grace, Lord, to practise what we worship.

Teach us to love our enemies

  as we keep the feast of Saint Stephen,

  who prayed even for the men who stoned him to death.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Christmas Sermon from Fr John

He came down to earth from heaven

Who is God and Lord of all,

And his shelter was a stable,

And his cradle was a stall;

With the poor and mean and lowly

Lived on earth our Saviour Holy

There has been much in the public realm recently concerning communication.

Lord justice Leveson enquiry has created a fierce debate with those on the side of the freedom of the press decrying any infringement on their rights to tell the world what they think the world wants to hear: and those on the side of people who's privacy has been invaded, usually at a time of heightened personal crisis or tragedy. It remains to be seen how far this debate will go in changing the nature of our society and the way in which we stay informed.

This month of December marked the 20th anniversary of the first txt message sent. Given  that I expect everyone of us in church has sent or received a txt message it  seems incredible that it they have only been around 20 years. Can you imagine your day without a txt, can you sustain your friendships and express your love and concern or simple delight in another person without txt? I expect for many of us it would seem inconceivable.  From the moment that first text was sent our world and society changed for ever.

And finally there was the tragic results if a hoax call, Mel Grieg and Michael Christian, the Australian DJ’s behind the hoax call to King Edward 7^th hospital  . A harmless bit of fun turning into shocking loss, a moment of foolishness having  far reaching  consequences.  For Nurse Jacintha Saldanha it was moment of communication that changed her life for ever and resulted in the terrible consequences of her suicide.

At the heart of the Christmas story is the desire of God to communicate, us his creation his sons and daughters. To send a message, to reach out, to create a story that still has the power to change peoples lives and the life of our world.

But God is no hack, or devious reporter determined to use any means necessary to get his story, his Good News,  into the public domain.

God choose to use a seemingly ordinary event, the birth of a child, to herald an event of world changing proportions.

God choose not to use the wonders of technology, the ability to instantly connect and convince, but the everyday and ordinary around us, dreams, stars and lowly shepherds.

God choose to intervene in human history, a decision that in some people's eyes is as foolish as a hoax call, but one that has far reaching implications, not for death but for life.

This month gave the world another first – the first Tweet by the Pope. Indeed I too have joined the tweeting community by following his example and sent my first tweet two weeks ago.

Some see texting as destructive to traditional forms of communication, and although it is a view that I have a great deal of sympathy with, there is some truth in the claim of those in favour that it is simply another form of communication which has become part of the fabric of our modern world.

Greg Burke, the senior media adviser to the Vatican, explained that the @Pontifex Twitter name was chosen because it means Pope and it also means 'bridge builder'.

Such bridge building through different avenues is part of the Christian tradition. The Christmas story celebrates  a God who communicates in diverse and creative ways –A drama which features the worlds of prophets, angelic visitations, and then supremely, God becoming a human being. “ He came down to earth from heave, Who is God and Lord of all”

It’s the way of building a bridge in a way that human beings can receive and understand. 

Indeed it is estimated that around 8 trillion txts are sent a year, I wonder how many of the worlds 7 billion humans will wish another person a happy Christmas today by sending a txt?

And that would be an interesting challenge, if you have not already risen to it this Christmas, when you have a moment why not send a message of no more than 140 characters – a tweet – to convey all the joy and hope and love that is revealed as we gaze anew on the child born of Mary.

I will finish as I began with words of another well known hymn which we will sing togthter at the end of our service, words that for me  powerfully convey the esense of what our celebration at Christmas is all about

Hail the heav’n-born Prince of Peace!

Hail, the Sun of Righteousness!

Light and life to all he brings

ris’n with healing in his wings;

mild he lays his glory by,

born that we no more may die,

born to raise us from the earth,

born to give us second birth.

And if you are interested that is 195 characters- I think?

Happy Christmas!

The words of my favourite carol say it all:

The great God of heaven is come down to earth,
his mother a Virgin and sinless his birth;
the Father eternal his Father alone:
he sleeps in a manger; he reigns on the throne:
Refrain:
Then let us adore him and praise his great love:
to save us poor sinners he came from above.

A Babe on the breast of a Maiden he lies,
yet sits with the Father on high in the skies;
before him their faces the Seraphim hide,
while Joseph stands waiting, unscared, by his side:

Lo! here is Emmanuel, here is the Child,
the Son that was promised to Mary so mild;
whose power and dominion shall ever increase,
the Prince that shall rule o'er a kingdom of peace:

The Wonderful Counselor, boundless in might,
the Father's own image, the beam of his light;
behold him now wearing the likeness of man,
weak, helpless and speechless, in measure a span:

O wonder of wonders, which none can unfold:
the Ancient of days is an hour or two old;
the Maker of all things is made of the earth,
man is worshiped by angels and God comes to birth:

The Word in the bliss of the Godhead remains,
yet in flesh comes to suffer the keenest of pains;
he is that he was and for ever shall be,
but becomes that he was not, for you and for me.

St Matthias, ready for Midnight Mass

Christmas Eve-the wonder starts

Some of our children their parents have attended our crib service.

A Prayer for Christmas Eve

Come, Lord Jesus, come soon.

In this time of your coming,

  support and console us who trust in your love.

You live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

  God for ever and ever.

Amen.

Christmas 'card'

I gave up sending Christmas cards a few years ago and so prepare video reflection card each year. Here's this years!

http://bit.ly/UOfJxz

With best wishes to you and your families (whatever shape they take!) for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Angharad