This time of the year is  so dark. Many of us will be leaving for work or school in the dark and getting  home long after the winter sun has set. We have another two weeks of the nights  getting longer, until the winter solstice. After that, little by little, the  days get longer. At first we hardly notice, then all of a sudden it seems spring  is here and we are journeying towards summer and the longest day of the 
year.
 
Seasons are important.  They remind us of the rhythm of life. It doesn’t matter how cold or severe the  winter is, eventually
spring will come. I remember my mother sending flowers to  a family up the road who were going through a really terrible time. On the card  she wrote “If winter is here, can spring be far behind?” At the time, it struck  me as a bit cheesy, but it has stuck with me all these years and there is some  truth to it.
  
The tips of the spring  flowers are beginning to poke through the soil in the garden, new growth is  already happening below the surface as roots develop and reach out in search of  moisture and nutrients. 
 
In church too, we have  our seasons. They remind us of the different aspects of our faith journey. Some  traditions mark these seasons by liturgical colours (altar cloths, stoles and  other vestments) – for example, purple for Advent and Lent, to symbolise solemn  times of waiting and preparation; white and gold for celebrations such as  Christmas and Easter, red for Pentecost and Christ the King.  
 
At the moment, we are in  Advent. Each Sunday, we pierce the gloom of the winter’s night by lighting a  candle in the Advent wreath. It reminds us that even in the greatest darkness,  there is still light. 

In Advent, we wait for the greatest light of all to come.  Although we may have celebrated Christmas each year for many years, it is still  possible to ponder the miracle of God becoming human with fresh minds and open  hearts, just as we marvel at the new shoots making their way through the  soil. 
 
May you find lightness  in the darkness this Advent.
 
God  bless,

 Cecilia

Welcome to Advent – a  time of waiting and preparation. It is hard to focus on the still, small voice  inside ourselves, when there is so much rushing around and general busyness  going on around us.

This week I have been trying to buy a nativity set  for the church. As I have left this mission rather late, the choice available  has been somewhat limited. The sets that I have seen have been too small for our  needs, or aimed at children – all a bit too cutesy, or all a bit white. It is  curious that although our society has become more and more
diverse, Mary,  Joseph, Jesus and even the shepherds are still mainly portrayed as Caucasian  Europeans!

When I was a child, I used to go to a Saturday art class at  the local art gallery. One exhibition was a set of Japanese
prints, some of  which had a religious theme. To my complete shock, in these pictures Jesus and  his disciples were all clearly Japanese. As the girl chosen to play Mary because  of my long blonde hair and blue eyes, this was all just plain wrong. Jesus  looked English, didn’t everybody know that?

I once saw a life size  sculpture portraying Mary, Joseph and Jesus as they fled from Bethlehem to Egypt  (Matthew 2:13-14). The statue is full of interesting detail – the donkey  carrying Mary is chewing the corner of Joseph’s cloak, as he is leading the  donkey along. Jesus is sitting in his mother’s arms. Mary and Joseph have olive  skin and dark hair. Jesus’ face however is made a completely reflective  material. The sculptor wanted to show that Jesus belongs to every country and  race – Jesus is like all of us and is also unique.If we are made in the  image of God, then that is what we see when we look into this particular face of  Jesus. We see ourselves reflected back.

So many of the depictions we  will see of the birth of Jesus over the next few weeks will be stylised and  airbrushed. It is hard to really get a sense of the earthiness of the birth  pains, the baby’s first cry, and then the amazing visit of the
shepherds and  their story. Try and find an image that speaks to you, that helps you to focus  in on the true miracle of Christmas – Immanuel ,“God with us”.


God  bless,

Cecilia