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Receiving a belated Christmas card and present in the post this morning made my day! You know who are are, and you know me well! I also appreciated the home made and thoughtful card. Thank you! My brief (in less than 140 characters) bio describes me as a Salvation Army Officer who likes computers, Radiohead and F1. The present reflects two of these interests: it’s a sports car shaped computer mouse! Funny thing is, I’m listening to Radiohead as I write this!

Today is Epiphany in the Christian calendar. There is an ancient custom in the Church (especially the Eastern Traditions) that at the Epiphany Eucharist, chalk is blessed for everyone in the parish. This chalk is then taken home, and used to inscribe the names of the three Kings over the doorway. This is a sign of the Christian faith lived in that home, and as a sign of God’s blessing. For 2011 the inscription is 20+C+M+B+11, as seen in the photo of the south door of Leicester Cathedral.

The inscription recalls the human nature taken by Jesus in the womb of Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit at his Incarnation. The letters have two meanings: they are the traditional names of the three Magi, Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar. They also abbreviate the Latin words, Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “May Christ bless this house.” The numbers recall the year of the inscription.

You make like to take up the tradition and make this inscription on (or near) your front door, as a witness to the world that all your comings and goings in the New Year will be in search of the Truth, Jesus, the Word made Flesh, who the Magi searched for by the light of the star. You’ll have to supply your own chalk though!

Note: Since posting this a number of people have asked me if I’ve chalked my front door, click here to see!

Following on from my last post about Doctor Who, I thought this would be a good image for the New Year! The line struck me at the time, and so I share it with you. Happy New Year!

It seems that Doctor Who has always been with me! Hardly surprising since I watched the first ever episode when I was nine! The Christmas specials are always a tasty treat, and this one didn’t disappoint! It was a wonderful retelling of the classic Charles Dickens story A Christmas Carol. Guest stars were Michael Gambon and Katherine Jenkins. The episode was perfectly realised, with an alien world looking Victorian, yet sufficiently different. The whole special remained true to the spirit of Christmas and Dickens, with some wonderful stylistic touches. It was crafted with love, well done!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome (or understood) it.

There was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:1-14 TNIV

It’s almost impossible to say something new about Christmas, and to speak of the true meaning of Christmas is something of a cliché. So I thought I’d go down a different avenue and allow two pieces of art speak to you, I hope you will find reflecting on them helpful. One is a piece of visual art, the other is a poem (set to music in the Salvation Army Song Book). I’ve always appreciated the artwork of Banksy, and the above piece was pointed out to me by my online friend Alex, @aldakila on Twitter. The poem is by Catherine Baird:

When Jesus looked o’er Galilee,
So blue and calm and fair,
Upon her bosom, could he see
A cross reflected there?

When sunrise dyed the lovely deeps,
And sparkled in his hair,
O did the light rays seem to say:
A crown of thorns he’ll wear?

When in the hush of eventide,
Cool waters touched his feet,
Was it a hymn of Calvary’s road
He heard the waves repeat?

But when the winds triumphantly
Swept from the open plain,
The Master surely heard the song:
The Lord shall live again!

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son. John 1:14 NLT

Have a very Happy Christmas as you celebrate the coming of Jesus as the Light of the World.

When I was searching for an image and found this one on Flickr, I knew immediately it was the one I wanted to use. I suppose just before Christmas is not the time you would think of for losing weight and getting fit, but I’ve lost 3 kg (three bags of sugar) in the last few weeks. I’m no longer in the slightly overweight category, and I want to press the advantage! I’m not planning on having an over-indulgent Christmas, and I’ve already started to get myself fit. The other day I bought an excellent book in a charity shop with all the stretching exercises you can think of, along with some specific sports ones (including cycling and running which are of interest to me). The book (by the way) is Stretching by Bob Anderson.

On the day Matt Cardle‘s (winner of the X Factor) cover of a Biffy Clyro song reaches number one in the UK charts, I thought it would be good to share the original with you.

I’ve been reminded this morning that Advent is a time in the Christian calendar in its own right. Yes, it’s traditionally a time of preparation for Christmas, but it mainly celebrates a Christ who came into this world, and who comes into the hearts and lives of those who will receive him. Christmas has become a monster in our society, with all its pressures and unrealistic expectations! In reality, Advent is a time when we should focus on repentance, humility and prayerful consideration of our inner life. Before the ministry of Jesus, John the Baptist reminded his hearers that they needed to prepare a way for the Lord, to make a level pathway, removing the boulders and filling in the potholes!  My Celtic Daily Prayer book points out that the boulders represent the things we’ve done that we shouldn’t have, and the potholes represent the things we should have done but didn’t! Let’s make sure we enter into the true meaning of Advent, so that Christmas Day will be all the more meaningful as a result!

The YouTube video I’ve embedded into this post is not specifically an Advent one. But, with a little imagination, you’ll see a connection with what I’ve been saying.