Snap out of it

Readings for Evensong of the 1st Sunday of Christmas  can be Isaiah 63:9-14, John 3:16-21
Sunday 29th December 2013

We have to snap out of it!
Most of us tell ourselves this some times
or get told it
from time to time.
I am not always convinced this is good advice!
Christmas is difficult enough
without having to deal with family conflict
death
and sickness.
Financial troubles, and any myriad of other things.
I don't think this is the Christmas message.
The prophet Isaiah reminds us (Is 63:9) "It was not a messenger or an angel, but God's presence that saved them.
In his love and pity God redeemed them, he lifted them (us) up all the days and carried us all the days of old"
This is not a brutal command  to 'snap out of it'
But an invitation
to relate to God.
It's a different dynamic
The solution to our woes
lies not in what we do
But in relating to God.

Lest we are fearful
Holy John, our patron saint, reminds us
that God is not out to get us!
He does not want to us to perish but to live

That God want us to live in light,
to understand what is going on,
and not in darkness
as though some how we are excluded
from God.

Maybe we should just snap out of it!

Thank goodness that God got there before we did!
And does not say "shape up or ship out!"
But, God says, I am prepared for you!
Believe!  Walk into the light already lit for you!
And live a new life

How?
This is of course the $64000 question.
I am inclined to think we make this harder than it needs to be.
We, of course, need to pay some attention
to what, and how,  God might be speaking to us.
What is God saying to us tonight?
About….our sadness, our grief, our troubles
Can we hear the Isaiah message……
…it is not magic tricks…angels or wizards
but my PRESENCE
Can we get into God's presence
…maybe by being in a holy place,
certainly by being quiet
It will be in the God-given opportunity
that comes when someone dies
and we talk more carefully
and intimately
about life
and meaning.
It is rather fleeting,
you need to treasure it.

And if we ask ourselves:
What, God, are you saying to me…. can we hear the still small voice?
The great (albeit difficult) thing about crisis, grief, trouble
…is that we are very exposed and open.
We are receptive.

The Psalmist says: "If today you hear his voice
do not harden your heart"
What IS God saying to my hard heart?

It is about life, rather than death.
About light rather than darkness
About truth rather than lies.

What IS God saying to me tonight?