5th January 2025
Follow the Star
We have been following the star through Advent and Christmas and, as Epiphany approaches, with the Wise Men we find ourselves once again bowing in worship before the child Jesus, invited to offer our gifts, gifts fit for a king.
Meanwhile, I find myself wondering about the people who embarked on that long journey across the desert, a journey that may have taken up to two years. They travelled through the heat of the day and the cold of the night, compelled by something they may not have understood, following an unfamiliar star to an unknown destination.
And I find myself wondering about all those people - literally thousands of them - who have come through the doors of our two sites during the month of December. Some of them have known what they are coming for: a hot meal, friendship, a space for their child to play, to watch their child's Christmas service or show. Some have come because of an invitation issued by a friend or family member; they are following someone they trust. But what about those people who simply arrive, at a Carol Service, Midnight Communion or the Community Nativity. What has compelled them to come through our doors over Christmas? What impulse are they following? What have they found when they arrive? And what do they say when they arrive home?
Like so many of our Christmas visitors, we only hear of the wise men in Matthew 2. They arrive, worship, offer their gifts and then they depart for their own country by a different route, to avoid Herod. I wonder what they told their family and friends when they reached home? I wonder how their lives changed because of that encounter with Mary, Joseph and the child Jesus?
Year by year, we have the privilege during December to briefly touch the lives of many people we may not otherwise see, to share with them a glimpse of Jesus, the Saviour, God with Us. Like the wise men, these people have been on a journey, perhaps compelled by something (someone?) they do not know or understand - and like the wise men, their journey will continue long after the encounters of this Christmas have faded in our memory. And so we can rejoice in the privilege of touching hearts and lives at a particular moment on their journey of responding to God's call. And let's continue to pray for all those who have encountered the love of Jesus in some way through our worship, welcome and witness this Christmas time.
