FAMILY GIFT SERVICE REFLECTION read at Lenzie Old on the 8th Dec 2019

 There’s Elfingrove,
Christmas markets,
Botanical illuminations,
Forests lit up in silver and gold……

There’s breakfast with Santa,
Lunch with the reindeers,
Christmas dinners and parties,
and celebrations galore……

And in George Square,
amidst the smell of fried onions,
and hot doughnuts,
amidst the jostle of crowds,
The bright lights of the wheel,
There lies in a dark, quiet corner,
the humble reason for it all……

A simple, human story,
A young mother frightened and anxious,
A father nervous and unsure,
No room at the inn,
A baby born amidst straw…………

Sometimes in all the busyness and activity of Advent,
We forget why we do what we do,
For this baby changed the world,
Not in an aggressive, powerful, forceful way,
But in a gentle, unassuming, hidden way,
30 years as Joseph’s son,
3 years as son of God,
God enfleshed,
Glory revealed,
Love translucent,
For all to see……

Sometimes we allow ourselves to despair and feel saddened,
That people appear to have forgotten,
The wonder of this humble story,
But subconsciously it continues to be re-enacted,
Through the sparkle of fairy lights,
The joy of Christmas events,
The meals shared around the table……

For the baby born in a stable,
holds an eternal truth,
which time is unable to dim,
Bringing divine love,
Hope and peace,
And heralding a new day…….
And in George Square,
Its truth sits quietly,

Unobtrusively,
Reverently,
Waiting for those to seek….
For when he grew,
Jesus told us,
That those who seek,
will find……….

And so there’s Elfingrove,
Christmas markets,
Botanical illuminations,
Forests lit up in silver and gold……

There’s breakfast with Santa,
Lunch with the reindeers,
Christmas dinners and parties,
and celebrations galore……

But as we have heard the children say to us this morning,
As they taught us the Christmas story told through the alphabet,
The Christ child is everywhere,
There is no letter which cannot hold his truth,
No person through which his goodness cannot be revealed,
No situation where his light cannot overcome the darkness,
No event where his Spirit is not present,
For even in the festivities of George Square,
He is there,
He is everywhere,
And he will be,
Forevermore………
AMEN

‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The First and the Last,
The Beginning and the End.’ Revelations Ch22, v13.