Sermons And Gubbins

There are so many carols I look forward to singing as we approach Christmas. In Advent, I love O Come, O Come Emmanuel , with its sense of longing and expectation, and during the Christmas period itself, I adore the poetry of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear , and the combination of music and lyrics of O Holy Night never fails to lift my mind toward heaven and the wonder of the incarnation. There’s one carol, though, that, if I never sung nor heard again, I would, much like its protagonist, not be shedding any tears. I hate, with a passion unbecoming to this season of goodwill, Away in a Manger . There. I’ve said it. I’m sorry if it’s your favourite carol. If it is, you might want to stop reading here so I don’t spoil it for you permanently. Close the internet window and write me off as a grumpy little man… A nativity scene, to give you a pause so you can close the page without reading the rest of the blog. Still with me? Great! Let me elaborate then! I do actually hav...

This sermon was preached on the morning of Sunday 13th December 2015; Advent 3, or Gaudete Sunday. The readings for the day were Zephaniah 3:14-20 , Isaiah 12:2-6 , Philippians 4:4-7 and Luke 3:7-18 . Christmas; it starts earlier every year, doesn’t it? Or at least it seems to. All of the big department stores have been playing ‘I Wish it Could be Christmas Every Day’, ‘Santa Baby’ and - let's face it - a handful of other Christmas songs on a loop since November, and the local Co-op has been selling Advent calendars and selection boxes since before they removed the Halloween sweets and masks from the shelves. It’s not just the shops though; I am friends with a colleague on Facebook who posted a photo of his neighbour’s house, all decked out in Christmas lights. No harm in that, now is there? Except he took the photo and posted it to Facebook on September 12th. There’s a part of me that wonders whether his neighbours did it purely to annoy him…! It’s still Advent, and ...