Posts tagged with “Hebrews”
Christmas poems
Posted at 7:37 PM
Given that I’ve been posting so much poetry recently (and following a challenge to write all my entries in verse) I decided I’d try to write my own Christmas poem. The first attempt wasn’t very good, but I thought the second and third would be worth posting. (Critique welcomed! I know they’re not perfect.)
One of the recurring themes about my Christmases is noticing how the incredible familiarity of the story (made so through nativity plays and twee carols) often masking the reality, which should be life-changing. The first poem is my attempt to convey this.
Again: the same old story, blandly told;
The shepherds, come to praise the new born King;
The wise men, with their frankincense and gold;
A children’s tale; a cute, pathetic thing.
Again we come to celebrate the birth
Of Christ – and yet, it leaves us cold.
For what’s an infant in our world of hurt?
How can a child heal wounds? Not one year old!
But God became a child, took on our flesh
And in his body takes away our sin.
The man who calls to people: “Come and rest!”
Is crowned the Lord of all, yet calls us kin!
Again, we bow the knee in awe and praise.
For God himself, as man, came down to save.
The second, a more traditional reflection on Hebrews 1:1-4 and Hebrews 2:5-18.
The Wisdom, the eternal Word of God,
Before whom one day every knee will bow,
The King of all creation, Jesse’s rod,
Who made the heavens above, the sea below,
And all between: yet man alone he blessed,
And chose on him his image to bestow -
What mystery! This God now takes our flesh;
Weak limitation – in our nature clothed;
Became our brother; spurning majesty
To live a perfect life as Adam’s race;
So then to break the chain of slavery
To sin and death, by dying in our place.
Now raised to glory, crowned, his victory won -
Him we proclaim: Christ, God’s incarnate Son.
A very happy Christmas to you all.
Moving
Posted at 11:49 PM
Tomorrow my parents move out of their house of ten years, and move to another part of Oxford to be closer to international students. These last three years I haven’t been here a huge amount, and have mentioned before that Bristol has felt more and more like home. It takes a move to realise that Oxford still feels like home too; both my parents moving house, but also moving away from Bristol. With Brighton on the horizon and Bristol no longer home, Oxford is the only place left, and even that is changing, as we move into the centre from the suburbs.
Changes are exciting; my parents are no longer with Friends International, their employers for my entire life, though they continue to work with international students in the UK, as well as developing international student ministry overseas. I’ve got an entire year to give to my own spiritual growth and that of others, in a new city, with new people. Yet change can also be unsettling. I know this year is going to be hard, because God loves me too much to give me an easy ride. He values my spiritual growth and godliness more than my comfort – and that’s how it should be, because ultimately godliness is where lasting joy is found – and so I’m expecting difficulties that force me to throw myself once again on his grace.
The day after tomorrow, I move to Brighton, and begin life as a Relay worker. I’ve just come back from eleven days in Shropshire with the other Relay workers, with all the CU leaders arriving half way through. Relay 1 (the first of three Relay conferences) was one of the best weeks I’ve had for a long time – revelling in God’s grace with other Relays, enjoying each others company, praising Jesus together.
Moving is hard because we like routine, and moving interrupts it. You don’t know exactly where the cafetiere is in the new kitchen, and the pre-coffee early morning haze is never the best time to start searching; you’re used to having a shower at a certain time, but new housemates are always there first; the shops are different, and don’t have your normal toothpaste. Stupid examples, but there are more serious ones too: your friends aren’t a couple of roads away any more; no-one knows you at church; you no longer have a large living room to which you can invite guests over. You might be in a different region, with a different accent, even a different culture – or indeed, a different country altogether.
Spending just over a week with the Relay workers was perhaps the best thing that could have happened before these moves. Remembering God’s grace gives us a confidence that God accepts us no matter what – so there’s no need to worry about impressing new people. Just be faithful. (We saw this in action on the conference, as within only a couple of days everyone was being completely real with each other, with no pretence.) The sense of community we had – sinners saved only by God’s grace, with complete equality before him – reminded me of God’s new community, one with no geographical ties. Our home is with Jesus. This house has been a temporary home – my house in Brighton too, and my parents’ new home as well. Our homes are gifts of God, for us to use in his service, being welcoming and hospitable. We have an eternal home that’s far greater, though, and spending time living with God’s people, enjoying him together, gives us a glimpse of what it’s like, because God is building a spiritual house, and it’s us (1 Peter 2:5).
So I miss my fellow Relay workers; I’m sad to leave this house; I’m not sure yet what Brighton has in store for me. That’s okay. God has prepared us a city (Hebrews 11:13-16). Praise him!