Scripture: ‘The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom then shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom then shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)Reflection:‘If God is for us, who can be against us?’, asks Paul in the Letter to the Romans. To know that we can trust God, that He is the one who brings us light and saves us – that’s what salvation means – makes us fearless. Now we don’t need to rely on our own strength, our own cleverness and our own courage, or lack of it: The Lord himself is the one who lights the way, who supports and cares for us. This shouldn’t make us weak or irresponsible; quite the opposite. ‘The Lord is the strength of my life’ is quite some statement. Is He the strength of your life? Is He your light and salvation, in 2023 and beyond? If not, maybe you would like him to be? His invitation is always open, and you are always welcome. His door is open and the light is on. Just step into his love and warmth. Say ‘Yes’ to his invitation. It’s that easy. Revd Ylva
Scripture: ‘Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, in the days of Herod the King, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem asking ‘Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him’.’ (Matthew 2,1-2)Reflection:In his famous poem ‘Journey of the Magi’ TS.Eliot describes the hard, exhausting journey of the wise men, the Magi, to find the newborn ‘King of the Jews’. They find the baby, but not where they had expected, in a palace in Jerusalem, surrounded by wealth and pomp, but in a very ordinary home in the small town of Bethlehem. They return home knowing life can never be the same for them. All their assumptions and expectations have been overturned.In a much less known poem, ‘Epiphany’, James Harpur describes only the return journey of the travellers and their relief at being back in their comfort zone. Back with their own sort. Forget about the baby. Nothing to do with them.To catch a glimpse of the reality of God’s presence among us, is just the beginning. We are free to ignore it, dismiss it, forget about it. Or we can allow ourselves to be changed by it. We have a choice. Revd Rosemary
