Patience, Peace and Presence

Patience…

Reminders… the patience of students waiting for the end of term… actors rehearsing their Christmas show, waiting for their performance… children waiting to see what Santa has brought them… ‘It’s only two sleeps to Christmas!’

The Christmas story… the patient wait of centuries for long awaited Messiah… Mary’s pregnancy – nine months of waiting and wondering… Joseph leaving his business to face an uncertain future, trusting…

Me… Waiting in supermarket queues… trying to understand friends and family who think differently from me… wondering why my God’s timing isn’t always the same as mine…

Peace…

Reminders… Constant war, murder, ‘peacelessness’ on the news… Friends in troubled families longing for peace… Last night knowing that preparations are complete – we can do no more.

The Christmas story… A young mother whose peace will have been shattered by the arrival of a baby… Jesus coming as the promised ‘Prince of Peace’… the angels’ message of peace to the shepherds…

Me… Hoping that today I’m not required to be too energetic… Seeing a sick friend in hospital, knowing his God’s peace… Remembering my Dad’s last sermon, telling of Jesus who promised, ‘My peace I give you’.

Presence…

Reminders… The standard question, ‘Who are you spending Christmas with?’… Remembering ‘absent friends’ who won’t be present… corny reminders ‘it’s not the presents but the presence that’s important…

The Christmas story… A young woman who has a new responsibility – a baby ‘presence’… Jesus, ‘the Word made flesh’, God’s presence with us… ‘God so loved the world that he gave…’, the presence that’s a present.

Me… Gratitude for friends and family, their presence with me this Christmas… praying that I shall be a kind, attentive, loving presence with them… remembering and appreciating my God’s presence with me.