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Published on Leave a comment on Another Tweet Silo

Muhammed. Darwin. Jesus. Mao. The State. The Free Market. Each can produce extremists, right? So think: whose radicals harm? Whose help?

If the West can't see IS as theological maybe it's cos their eg of religion (the western church) is so untheological.

Part of why the west only deals in political/cultural/psychological motivations is cos the western church has only dealt in those.

Sometimes debates about atonement sound like a skirmish at the temple over which sacrifice is more important. All the while Aaron's ignored

In the Sumerian myths, humanity was created in order to feed the gods. In the Bible, God makes Himself food for us (John 6:51)

Recently I was in a service where we repeatedly sang to God "Consume me." I'm glad for a worship tradition centred on consuming Him.

Jesus said "You must be born again." He didn't say you must know when it happened. And He definitely didn't point u to your own experiences

The two lies Twitter whispers: 1. Send that snarky comment now, you won't regret it. 2. Send that deep thought later, you will remember it.

Repentance and faith are not two hurdles to jump, more like two sides of the same coin. And that coin - Christ Himself - is given to us.

There really is no "salvation" in the Quran. There are only the "successful" and the "losers".

"The Father is never without the Son, for it is impossible that glory should be without radiance or the lamp without brightness." -Nyssa

Sin disqualifies you from praying like sickness disqualifies you from the doctor. (Mark2:17) We come to Christ *in* our need.

1 Proclaim the gospel as subversive of "religion"
2 Wait 5 secs til someone quotes Jam1:27; 1Tim5:4
3 READ those verses
(No-one ever does 3)

Nothing subverts "religion" like James 1:27 and 1 Timothy 5:4. They say: "Wanna see our "religion"? Check out our orphan care."

So essentially the only 2 references to religion in the whole Bible are utterly subversive of the idea of "religion" as commonly understood.

Dear Christmas Preacher, ur right "Jesus didn't stay in the manger." But the point is not that "He grew up" it's that "He descended further"

Christmas preaching - maybe even more than Easter preaching - sorts out theologians of glory from theologians of the cross.

You have come into a sizeable inheritance. -- The New Testament

The Quran could have done with a strong editor. And maybe a narrative arc. In fact just a narrative would have helped.

Learn from history's central figure, hear the world's bestseller, see humanity's largest sociological movement, pray, drink tea. #trychurch

Jesus: the eternal RADIANCE of the ever-shining Glory; The eternal WORD of the ever-speaking Father; The eternal SON of the ever-living God. 

The love that God IS (1 John 4:8)...
is the love that came down at Christmas (v9)...
and is now ours through the cross (v10)

When John asks us to picture "God is love", he doesn't give us a heavenly group hug but a crib and a cross.

Knowingly or unknowingly, every proposer / opponent of bombing is standing on the Bible. Just War vs Pacifism is a deeply Christian debate.

Preach 4 decision=>communities of the strong whose zeal needs fortifying
OR
Offer Christ=>communities of the weak whose faith needs feeding

Atonement is extremely limited. It's in Christ alone. But in Him there's all the forgiveness in the world.

Most folks' reaction to a baby: "Who's a clever boy?" The wise men worshipped. So were they wise? Answering that Q is the heart of Christmas

You don't have to feel forgiven. At times all you can do is look to Jesus - guilty sinner that you are - and let Him be your righteousness.

You don't have to feel hopeful. At times all you can do is look to Jesus - in the midst of your despair - and let Him hope for you.

Church leaders are shepherds. "The professionals" are like vets. Vets can be life-savers. But shepherds always maintain their pastoral care.

Learn contentment where UR;
Accept it as a gift;
There's an evangelistic purpose;
Ultimately UR free
Love&do what u want;
Not long now
1Cor7

The virgin birth: because man cannot make a Messiah.

Virgin birth in atheism: a cosmos from nothing
Xity: Jesus from Mary
Life from non-life in atheism: abiogenesis
Xity: Jesus from the tomb

Christ is Pictured, Present and Promised in the OT. Eg Gen 22: Pictured in Isaac, Present as the Angel, Promised as the Seed

Another eg... Genesis 3 Present: The Voice of the LORD God walking... Pictured: The clothes of skin Promised: The Serpent crushing Seed.

Another eg... Exodus 3
PRESENT: The Angel of the LORD; The I AM
PICTURED: The burning (but not consumed) bush
PROMISED: v7ff

Christ in Isaiah 6
PRESENT: The appearing LORD (Jn12:41)
PICTURED: the fiery coals of atonement
PROMISED: the Holy Seed beyond exile.

Some Christians refuse to see OT theophanies as, specifically, christophanies *because of the trinity*. This confuses and concerns me >

< Trinity means we can be certain who the appearing LORD is (John1:18). He is the Only Son - as the fathers unanimously testified till Aug.>

<Beyond the Fathers let's heed Calvin, Owen & Edwards: LINK. Christ is THE Image of the invisible God

 

Culture wars: Luke 15 without the father.

We're all self-justifiers: living by law; judging others by that law. In this sense there are no licentious people, only brands of legalism.

Exhibit A: Twitter Outrage™

#BaptistChristmasSongs
Last Christmas, I gave Him my heart,
But the very next day, I gave it again.

Published on Leave a comment on Top Posts of 2015

I Gave My Life To Jesus - A video poem

"Stop giving your life to Jesus, He's the Giver delivered for you."

A Ton of Puns

100 of my least terrible one-liners.

Genesis 1 and Science

It's hard to think of a piece of literature more supportive of modern science. It affirms Laws Above, A World Out There and Minds Fit To Coordinate Both.

Preaching Judgement: Three Thoughts -

1) Our job is not to save God from the 'guilty' verdict;
2) We don't bring hell to the world, hell is here. We bring reality and then hope;
3) The quintessence of hell is not sin's recompense so much as mercy's refusal.

The Place of Apologetics In Our Proclamation

The summary of some lively discussions about apologetics and evangelism.

Quick Answers to Quick Questions

16 Twitter length answers to questions of faith (to prove that I do believe in answering questions!)

The Nature of God: Triune From The Beginning

In witness to Muslims, this is vital.

Cannonball feat. Given B - The Way Out Is The Way Down

Our Easter video including some stunning animation and an epic score from Josh Lucas and Guvna B.

Four Kinds of Christmas

Our multi-platform outreach this Christmas

Original Sin: What's Not To Like?

The doctrine of original sin is holistic, communal and authentic - everything our culture prizes.

Preaching Is Not Resourcing The Devout, It's Raising The Dead

The Sunday sermon is central to the church's missionary task. Here are some convictions that should revolutionise the way we approach it.

Little Child, For You

Why did we baptise our 6 week old daughter? Here are 21 reasons.

Selected Sermons:

Mission in Isaiah

Psalm 88: Can Despair Be Worship?

Shining, Sowing and Investing: The Nature of God's Outgoing Kingdom

David and Goliath: The Victory of your Champion

How Can God Forgive Paedophiles?

Promising Applicants or Little Children? To Whom Does the Kingdom Belong?

Various Other Creative Projects

BeLoved - our Valentines Day outreach

Jesus Our Risen Sun - a song especially for light parties.

A Poem For Trinity Sunday

3

Published on 3 Comments on Reading Between The Lines – Through The Bible in 366 Famous Phrases

In 2016 I'm going to be video blogging my way each day through the Bible, phrase by phrase. We will travel from Genesis to Revelation - from "In the beginning" to "Hallelujah", stopping off at each famous line along the way. Lines like "The writing's on the wall", "He gave up the ghost", and "They turned the world upside down."

Hopefully it will give you an overview of the Bible's big story but most of all I trust it will give you an enlarged picture of Jesus Christ: the origin, centre and goal of all Scripture.

In advance of these 366 posts, I've been doing some pilot episodes as a Christmas devotional. They're just shot on my phone at home and are a bit longer than the 6-7 minute episodes scheduled for the new year. But have a look...

In the new year we'll shoot them on proper cameras and the episodes will be shorter but you get the idea. If you want to join in on Reading Between The Lines, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or like our Facebook page. That will keep you up to date with each new devotional.

With prayers that this will bless, encourage and equip many,

Glen

1

Published on 1 Comment on Is the Allah of Islam the Father of Jesus?

The question is rarely phrased this way (largely because anyone who's read the Quran - Muslims especially - will tell you, Of course not. Allah emphatically denies it!). But people are again discussing the issue of whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God. So here are some thoughts I shared over at Between Two Worlds a few years ago on this post.

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? If you pay attention to what both religions are saying it turns out to be incredibly offensive to say Yes - given how insistent both religions are about their respective theological claims.

Here are some points in no particular order:

1) Let's let Allah define himself:

"He does not beget nor is he begotten." (Sura 112)

The Quran defines the god of Islam explicitly as not the God of the Bible. Let's respect Muslims enough to let them define who their god is. He is not the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We honour their faith by speaking of Allah as another god - that is how Allah defines himself. From our perspective we cannot speak of Allah as anything other than an idol - anything else fails to take Muslim faith on its own terms.

2) Can anyone really imagine the prophets addressing the Edomites, Philistines etc saying 'Yahweh is very much like Baal/Molech/Asherah'? Never!

The question for the nations is not 'Do you believe in God?' But 'What god do you believe in?' Whether you're evangelizing in north Africa or north America "God" cannot be assumed.  In fact "God" is the least obvious word in our evangelistic encounters.  How on earth do we get to a position where people make it the point of commonality!

.

At this point a commenter replied that the 'Baal' analogies do not work because Allah is thought to be 'the transcendent Creator' and not simply a power within the world.  He claimed that a Muslim convert would have to repent of many beliefs but not his belief in 'God as infinite transcendent Creator.'

To this I replied...

3) We don't say "Baal is called 'Lord' and receives worship therefore no convert from Baalism needs to repent of their notions of Lorship or worship."  Of course they will have to repent of all of this.  So then why would anyone claim that a belief in the 'infinite transcendent Creator' is of a different order?  Fundamentally I see this as committing two errors.  It is to say...

A) 'Transcendent Creator' is more foundational to God's being than His triunity.

B) The Muslim means roughly the same as the Christian when speaking of the 'Transcendent Creator'

I strongly disagree with both.

A) i) If God is transcendent Creator you've made Him dependent on creation.

A) ii) It is a position that leads to Arianism. Athanasius complained that Arius' error was to conceive of God as Unoriginate and then to consider trinity. On this trajectory he could never affirm the homo-ousios of One whose being was 'ek tes ousia tw patri' (out of the being of the Father). Similarly if your conversation with a Muslim begins with some 'bedrock' notion of transcendence before introducing them to Jesus it will necessarily mean introducing them to one who is less than the transcendent one. You'll have shot yourself in the foot from the very beginning. Let's not define Jesus out of full deity before we've even begun. We therefore must not begin on the Arian trajectory of affirming transcendent Creator first - Jesus will not come out very well from such a starting point!

B) Only the God who exists as Himself in relations of otherness can actually have a relationship with creation in which we can know Him as transcendent. 'Transcendent Creator' is dependent on trinity (not the other way around). The Muslim account of transcendence is completely confused (as is every unitarian account). Allah is a prisoner of his 'transcendence' - by definition cut off from any relationship with it (whether transcendent or immanent).

'Transcendent Creator' is neither the foundational nor a shared understanding of the living God. And it's not desirable that it should be.

.

At this point my interlocutor (rightly) suspected I was denying the possiblity of true philosophical reflection on divinity apart from Christian revelation.  He claimed I was being overly Barthian. I replied with these points...

4) In terms of theological method, "Christ alone" is not a Barthian novelty!  It's difficult to think of a more crucial verse in the history of the church for theological method than Matthew 11:27: "No-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him."

To this let's add John 1:18; 14:6 and Colossians 1:15. To this let's add the continual Scriptural witness that we are blind, dead, enemies of God unable to know Him apart from His Word to us.  (e.g. Ps 14:2; 2 Cor 4:4; Col 1:21).  These plain and central truths cannot be evaded by crying 'Barthian'!

5) Nicea's "The Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth" was a deliberate and crucial choice of order. Triunity precedes creation. Of course it does - unless we want to define God as dependent upon creation.

6) Even Jews who have the Scriptures do not know the Father if they reject the Son. (cf ALL OF JOHN'S GOSPEL!)

7) To go over a previous point - there are tremendous Arian dangers of considering 'Creator' more foundational than trinity. Once you have assured your Muslim friend that she really does know God and that the God she knows is definitionally the infinite, transcendent Creator, do you really think you've helped her towards faith in Jesus of Nazareth? Have you not just given her every reason to reject divine honours (thus defined) being attributed to Christ. Won't she simply thank you for confirming her own doctrine of God which by definition precludes Jesus from being anything more than a prophet??

Athanasius rightly said 'the only system of thought into which Jesus Christ will fit is the one in which He is the starting point.'

The Rock upon which we build is nothing and no-one else but Christ.  Let's be clearer on this whether we're evangelizing Muslims or our friends in the pub.  They do not know God and besides - why would we want to confirm for them a sterile, non-relational doctrine of God in the first place?  Let's tell them, 'The god you had thought existed was not God - let me tell you about the living God who is unlike anything you've imagined.  His name is Jesus. Here is a God you can truly believe in!'

.

Published on Leave a comment on Reading Between The Lines: A New Vlog Series

In 2016 I'm going to be video blogging my way each day through the Bible, phrase by phrase. We will travel from Genesis to Revelation - from "In the beginning" to "Hallelujah", stopping off at each famous line along the way. Lines like "The writing's on the wall", "He gave up the ghost", and "They turned the world upside down."

Hopefully it will give you an overview of the Bible's big story but most of all I trust it will give you an enlarged picture of Jesus Christ: the origin, centre and goal of all Scripture.

In advance of these 366 posts, I've been doing some pilot episodes as a Christmas devotional. They're just shot on my phone at home and are a bit longer than the 6-7 minute episodes scheduled for the new year. But have a look...

In the new year we'll shoot them on proper cameras and the episodes will be shorter but you get the idea. If you want to join in on Reading Between The Lines, please subscribe to our YouTube channel and/or like our Facebook page. That will keep you up to date with each new devotional.

With prayers that this will bless, encourage and equip many,

Glen

Published on Leave a comment on Tweet Repository continued

Today we think of Christ's exclusivity as a barrier to evangelism. In the OT it was the heart of their joyful message: Who is like the LORD?

Terence McKenna: "Modern science is based on the principle: ‘Give us one free miracle, and we’ll explain the rest.’... This miracle is the appearance of all the mass and energy in the universe and all the laws that govern it in a single instant from nothing.

There is no-one like Jesus. Fact.

Perhaps the Bible does have an ontological argument for God, but with Jesus as the Subject. "None greater can be conceived" than *Him*

A God who incarnates is greater than a God who never meets us; a God who bleeds for the world is clearly greater than mere transcendence etc

Mark 10: For "little children" heaven's gates are as wide as Jesus' arms. For the self-sufficient they are as narrow as the eye of a needle.

God GIVES our life to us [Father]...
then God GIVES His life for us [Son]...
and then God GIVES His life in us [Spirit]

The Greeks believed in the immortality of the soul. Christians believe in the resurrection of the dead.

Many disputes about the Spirit (His Person, prominence, role and gifts) sounds scarily like Subordinationism vs Tritheism.

We are to be God-like (Eph5:1). According to context (Eph4:32) how does God-likeness look? It looks like lavish and undeserved forgiveness

God does not save you so He can love you. He loves you and therefore saved you. (Psalm 18:19) #LoveComesFirst

Some prayers confuse the Persons ("Father thank you for dying...") Worse, others ignore the Persons and speak of "God" in the 3rd person.

True prayer happens in the 2nd Person.

God's grace is God Himself. It is His overflowing life: the Father anointing the Son beyond measure.

A Christ-less God is as idolatrous as a Father-less Christ.

Last week and this week I had *long* convos with the same atheist after Alpha. Tonight it went Much better. The difference? We ate together

Human love comes into being thru that which is pleasing to it. God's love does not find, but creates, that which is pleasing to it. (Luther)

When engaging magicians and mediums why are Christians more likely to believe in 'contamination' than when we engage Muslims & materialists?

Jesus is Lord of all lords just as the cross is the throne of all thrones.

Jesus isn't just a Bigger Lord (as though the cross is just a Bigger throne). He conquers all Lords by serving beneath them.

As u see Jesus moving towards tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, SINNERS... hear Him say John5:19 "I only do what I see my Father doing."

The theology of the cross is "down and out". It reaches down to the depths then out to the ends of the earth.

The Arian Jesus relates to God like the moon to the sun. The Biblical Jesus relates to God like sunshine to the sun.

(Heb 1:3) The Son cannot empty Himself *of* divine glory. His divine glory *is* His self-emptying.

I don't need my daughter to change world. I just need her to know the One who already has

One man suffered&died for sin to redeem the cosmos: Christ
This only makes sense if one man suffered&died for sin to curse the cosmos: Adam

"The world was made so that Christ might be born" David Fergusson

Ecclesiastes: good&bad swallowed by grave
Job: Good suffers bad
Song: Good shares all w beloved
Prov: the wise life in union with the Good

Ecclesiastes: Life before Christ
Job: Christ the righteous servant suffers and is vindicated
Song: Union with Christ
Prov: Life in Christ

"Progressive revelation" in the Bible is fine so long as we're clear that revelation prrogresses *from* Christ not *to* Him.

Worry: talking to yourself about your problems
Prayer: talking to your Father about His promises

Romans 8 repeats "IN all these things..." IN our battles God is working to bring good, v28.

IN our suffering we are more than conquerors v37 Not "after", not "above", not "instead of", not "besides"... "IN". Right here, right now...

At best Yom Kippur hit 'snooze' on sin. The cross hit 'dismiss' forever. Hebrews 9:9-14

We are hidden WITH Christ IN God(Col3:3). Christ originally is the One taking refuge in God (cf The Psalms). Now, in Him, His refuge is ours

I'm about as interested in 'the concept of God' as I am in marrying 'a carbon based life form.' It's *Jesus* who has won my heart.

It's so sad (and common) when hurting people say "It's too hard to be Christian right now." As though Jesus is a burden borne by the strong

Re-reading the Quran (nothing to do w recent events) I'm struck again: it's overwhelmingly adjectives not verbs that are connected to Allah

Compare the instruction of the Quran with the stories of the Bible. Or the Pillars and 99 Names with the Creeds. The God of Jesus *acts*

You can doubt Christ's Lordship by bemoaning your lack of health or wealth.
You can also doubt it by bemoaning your lack of cultural power.

Sometimes debates about atonement sound like a skirmish at the temple over which sacrifice is more important. All the while Aaron's ignored.

Muhammed. Darwin. Jesus. Mao. The State. The Free Market.
Each can produce extremists, right? So think: whose radicals harm? Whose help?

People are calling my festive poem "contrived" but I think you're gonna love my ode to a scary isthmus

Published on Leave a comment on Tweet Silo

Evangelists often slip in prayer and church as "the fine print" of the gospel offer. In fact communion with God and His people is the goal.

Loving sheep means bashing wolves.

All anger is righteous. It's just usually self-righteous.

Societies flourish under the rule of law.
Families depend on the rule of grace.

The law makes righteousness compulsory. The gospel makes it compelling.

This is why our OT theology must go beyond shadows & types. We must see how the OT already has a Christian doctrine of *God*

Trinity is not a problem to solve, it's the answer.

The Angel of the LORD is either mad, bad or God (e.g. Gen 16; 22; 48:16; Ex 3; Judges 2; 6; 13)

What a man is - alone, with an uncooperative sat nav, patchy reception and running 20 minutes late - that he is and no more.

Before Jesus baptises others, He has a baptism to undergo (Matt 3:11 -> 13-17). It's the same for us (Mark 10:39).

Such a 'baptism' means suffering in solidarity with others while knowing the Father's love, the Spirit's filling and Jesus' presence.

Baptism = an essential prerequisite for evangelism. I don't just mean conversion or an experience of the Spirit but knowing God in suffering

Quranic apologetics: U won't find a "Surah like it" (a comparable chapter of Scripture)
Biblical apologetics: U won't find a Saviour like HIM

"God is light" does not temper or qualify "God is love", it explains it. God's love blazes. God's love is a consuming fire.

Jesus does not offer 'full life' as opposed to 'mediocre life' (John 10:10).
He offers 'full life' as opposed to 'death' (John 5:24)

Life: don’t assume, presume or consume it.
Entomb it.
God will exhume it.

"And over all these virtues put on..."
...a cynical attitude?
...a witty persona?
...good looks?
...a know-it-all air?
No. "Love." (Col3:14)

The world will not flock to church 4 fun activities or cultural/philosophical analysis. The 1 thing they think we might know about is Jesus

For the Christian, "union with God" is not the finish line, it's the foundation.

Grief is hellish: "A darkness that is felt." "Weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth." An absence that becomes an all-consuming presence.

Other ancient near eastern cultures: The nations are terrible but we are the best.
OT Israel: The nations are terrible but we are the worst.

Abraham, the man of faith, fulfilled the law even apart from law (Gen26:5)
Moses, the man of law, failed 2 inherit cos he broke faith (Dt32)

We are seeds. Dying to live

Christmas / Easter / Pentecost,
Crib / Cross / Crown,
Flesh / Blood / Spirit,
Bread / Wine / Water,
Jesus is given to us body, soul & spirit

Trinity was never the "deification" of Jesus (as though we know what "divine" means apart from the Son). Trinity=the Christianization of God

4th Century: The Creed= Christ Alone applied to doctrine of God
16th Century: The Reformation= Christ Alone applied to doctrine of salvation

Trinitarian debates are really about securing "Christ alone." If Jesus is THE Word of God then He cannot be inferior cos He IS the Standard.

2) Whose name do we call on for salvation? / Who is the Saviour?

3) Is Jehovah fundamentally "Father"? Without an eternal Son, He can't be, can He?

4) If the Father is a superior *being* to the Son (because He is "Head", 1Cor11:3), am I a superior being to my wife?

5) How could Jehovah be Father/Light/Speaker/Head without Christ His eternal Son/Radiance/Word/Body?

Having said all this, our JW's most striking question was this: "Why hasn't your church knocked on my door? Acts20:20" Great point!

- I can't forgive if they don't deserve it.
- You can Only forgive if they don't deserve it.

If Jesus isn't Lord I don't know who is. And neither does anyone else (John1:18; 14:6; Col1:15; 2Cor4:4).

You don't have a Jesus-shaped hole in your world. You have a Jesus-shaped world.

God's son redeemed from slavery into a whole new kingdom of life and hope - the story of Israel (Ex4:22); the story of the cosmos (Phil2)

Paul doesn't say "Let the one who boasts cut down on their boasting" he says "Let them boast in the Lord." The expulsive power of a new brag

If the narcissism of social media bothers you (and it should), the answer is not policing others or prohibiting yourself but proclaiming Him

Productive Christian living is not spinning plates or laying bricks. It's far more fruitful and far less busying. It's abiding in the Vine.

In 1Pet5:5-7 anxiety is linked to pride. We imagine our lives&futures are in our hands. We humble ourselves *by* casting our cares on God

"When you walk through the storm, hold your head up high, and don't be afraid of the dark... For you'll never walk alone." (Lev 26:12)

"I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better." Abraham Lincoln

In Christianity forgiving a sin is virtually the opposite of excusing a sin.

Does forgiveness pervert justice? No.
1 Forgiveness requires justice
2 Forgiveness rises above justice
3 Forgiveness re-establishes justice

"Yeah, yeah, sure. But this guy Jesus... What if *He's* actually God??" <--- #evangelism Not: "What if Jesus is GOD?" Instead: "What if JESUS is God?" The former assumes people already know God. The latter lets Jesus define Him

Published on Leave a comment on Four Kinds of Christmas

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WORDS:

“Every idiot who goes about with “Merry Christmas” on his lips should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart.” Ebenezer Scrooge.

SCROOGE

I like the darkness... at least it’s cheap,
I keep adjusted to the gloom, the creeping doom,
that soon consumes the earth in tombs,
I hum its tune. Assume its tone and make my home right here
in the only world we know.
This world of woe.
Let others throw their festive flings,
I think I’ll keep my five gold rings.

SHOPPER

Four Calling Birds, Three French Hens, Two Turtle Doves,
She loves the doves.
Yeah shove it on the card above.
...No never fear my dear, I’ll pay it all...
Next year.

For now we’ll drink to Christmas cheer!
And deck the halls with tinselled bling,
Forget what our tomorrows bring
We’ll raise a glass of festive sherry,
Eat and drink and be quite m...

SANTA

Merry Christmas everyone! And what's your wish for me, my son?

A hamper full of festive fun!
With snowdrops, rainbows, furry mittens;
unicorns and mewling kittens.

Santa's sleigh may bring them near, but were you good for me this year?

Why YES, I think. I didn’t sink as low as some I know...
although…
Hey, No!
Father Christmas, mind your own business!

The kids might believe but they are naive.
I know for certain, I see through the curtain.
But when you strip it all bare, what exactly is there?

See Scrooge looks darkness full in the face,
embracing the chill but he loses the will to hope

The Shopper copes better, throws off fetters,
wears garish sweaters, but becomes a debtor,
spending now but nothing later,
tending down into death’s crater.

Santa offers Christmas cheer,
the most wonderful time of the year,
but is it real?
At least Scrooge knew the deal with the dark.

In this stark world can we face facts like Scrooge?
Then paint it rouge like the Shopper?
Proper banter like Santa,
But below the Ho, Ho, Ho, can we know a truth beneath treacle?

Good news of great Joy for all people?

STABLE

Are we able to strip back to the stable,
This fable made flesh, our Maker enmeshed in the mess.
To bless us, possess us, and be heaven’s Yes to our race.
To embrace us in grace, evermore in our place.
Pledging flesh, blood and bone. To exchange a throne for a manger.
Endangering all to be present to you. To be God’s present to you.

If you’re Santa or Shopper, or any such thing.
If you’re shepherd, or Mary or Joseph or king.
For this the herald angels sing.

In Him the Light shines and all is forgiven.
To you this Christmas Child is given.

 

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