The birds of the air and the beasts of the field! (part2) Some of you may have been lucky enough to have spent some time in Scotland and got as far as Aviemore. On the road from Aviemore to the Cairngorm car park you will pass a quite unique farm. It is here that they have the only herd of reindeer in the UK. They were re-introduced into Scotland in 1952 by Mikel Utsi and his wife Dr. Ethel Lindgren It may seem a rather far-fetched idea to re-introduce reindeer but the species is native to the UK, as Mr Utsi found that “according to the Orkneyinga saga, red deer and reindeer were hunted together in Caithness by the Earls of Orkney about eight centuries ago.” Although the last record of wild British reindeer is from around 800 years ago and there has been much climate change since this, the unique sub-arctic qualities of the Cairngorms provide a perfect home for reindeer – in fact this is the only place left in the UK able to support such an animal. The owners of the farm in normal times hire out reindeer at Christmas and they go to many parts of the UK to provide a seasonal feel at major shopping malls and garden centres. I used to travel a lot to Scotland and went on many guided bird-watching tours. One of the guides was a local man Jonny Pott who was a treasure trove of information about the traditions of the area as well as being a first class naturalist. He told me once that he had been, for several years, the herder of the reindeer on the slopes of the Cairngorm. Jonny could certainly run like a deer! I read with dismay this year that Jonny had passed away and many, many people who had been out with him on these trips wrote in to say how sad they were to hear of the death of a fine Scottish Highland gentleman. This thought I can only echo myself – rest in peace Jonny. In our Christmas time we always think of Father Christmas (or St Nicholas) and his team of reindeer hurtling through the air and delivering the presents all-round the globe. St. Nicholas was an early Christian and his reputation evolved among the faithful, as was common for early Christian saints, and his legendary habit of secret gift-giving gave rise to the traditional model of Santa Claus ("Saint Nick") through Sinterklaas. As pagans converted to Christianity during the Middle Ages, winter festivals and traditions, as well as popular pagan beliefs, often mingled with Christian celebrations of Christmas. In Norse and Germanic mythology, Thor is the God of Thunder and soars through the sky in a chariot pulled by two magical goats. Thor was highly revered and was arguably the most popular of Norse gods in ancient times. Images and stories of Thor soaring the skies in his sleigh pulled by two large, horned goats may have influenced the creation of Santa's sleigh and flying, antlered reindeer by those in the west familiar with Dutch or Germanic mythology. The names of the eight reindeer were first documented in Clement Clarke Moore's 1823 Poem, "A Visit from Saint Nicholas" (also known as "The Night before Christmas" from its first line). <table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="400"> <tbody><tr> <td width="400"> 'Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro' the house Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; The children were nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of sugar plums danc'd in their heads, And Mama in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap, Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap — When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash, Tore open the shutters, and threw up the sash. The moon on the breast of the new fallen snow, Gave the luster of mid-day to objects below; When, what to my wondering eyes should appear, But a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer, With a little old driver, so lively and quick, I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick. More rapid than eagles his coursers they came, And he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name: "Now! Dasher, now! Dancer, now! Prancer and Vixen, "On! Comet, on! Cupid, on! Donder and Blitzen; "To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! "Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!" As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly, When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky; So up to the house-top the coursers they flew, With the sleigh full of toys — and St. Nicholas too: And then in a twinkling, I heard on the roof The prancing and pawing of each little hoof. As I drew in my head, and was turning around, Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound: He was dress'd all in fur, from his head to his foot, And his clothes were all tarnish'd with ashes and soot; A bundle of toys was flung on his back, And he look'd like a peddler just opening his pack: His eyes — how they twinkled! His dimples: how merry, His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry; His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath. He had a broad face, and a little round belly That shook when he laugh'd, like a bowl full of jelly: He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf, And I laugh'd when I saw him in spite of myself; A wink of his eye and a twist of his head Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, And fill'd all the stockings; then turn'd with a jerk, And laying his finger aside of his nose And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose. He sprung to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle, And away they all flew, like the down of a thistle: But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight — Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night. </td> </tr> </tbody></table> What more can I say - God bless you all and have a very Happy Christmas. Don Peacock
The birds of the air and the beasts of the field! (part1) No doubt by now you have received Christmas cards, either in paper or electronic form, I am being that on many of them you will have seen pictures of robins and on a few some reindeers drawing Santa’s sleigh. The robin is a species of bird related closely to the true thrushes that I talked about last time and holds a very dear place in most people’ hearts. It is a bold little upright bird that seems to fix us with a bright twinkling black eye – as if to say what food have you got for me today? Many gardeners will have struck up a close relationship with their local robin in the spring and summer months and the birds are very bold and will approach closely to get any tasty morsel turned over by fork or spade. When I started bird-watching I was told that our robins are very tame compared with continental birds that appear to keep themselves tucked away in woodlands. My old gran, who had a lot of wonderful sayings (some of which I have not deciphered even up to today!) used to be somewhat afraid of robins. She said that if a robin got in the house it was a sign of a death to come. In my grandparents’ home there was no garden but just a paved yard leading on to outhouses and the cellar stairs. Even so a robin used to come round to see what it could get. I have pulled a few robin stories from the internet and pasted them in below. One fable suggests that when the baby Jesus was in his manger in the stable, the fire which had been lit to keep him warm started to blaze up very strongly. A brown robin noticing that Mary had been distracted by the inn-keeper’s wife, placed himself between the fire and the face of baby Jesus. The robin fluffed out its feathers to protect the baby, but in so-doing its breast was scorched by the fire. This redness was then passed onto future generations of robins. Another story suggests that a robin pulled a thorn from the crown of Christ whilst he was on the cross and that it was Christ’s blood that created the bird’s red breast. The robin is one of three British birds which have red in their plumage and have an association with resurrection, the other two are the swallow and goldfinch. The robin is commemorated on Glasgow's coat of arms as 'the bird that never flew'. It is said that St Surf of Kinross was befriended by a robin and when he prayed the robin would come and sit on his head or shoulder. Some of his disciples became jealous of the attention given to the robin and killed the bird but one of his followers, Kentigern, who became St Mungo founder of Glasgow Cathedral in the sixth century, prayed over the bird and restored it to life. (Thanks to SAGA magazine and Dave Chapman.) Don Peacock
CHRISTMAS AND THE KINGDOM This Christmas will be rather different for all of us, not only in our worship, but also in our family gatherings, as we try to survive until this nasty Covid 19 virus has gone away, or we all get the protection of a vaccination. We could however use this strange Christmas to think about its real message, which so often gets lost in the tinsel and festivity of a mid-winter feast. We all go a bit sloppy at the sight of a new-born baby, which is probably a natural instinct to help the survival of such vulnerable beings. When we see the the nativity scene today however, we know the outcome for that delicate baby, who was born in a stable and before long had become a refugee. He survived his childhood to become our salvation and to die for our sins. His message of peace and healing and promise of his kingdom for us all, was heard and tragically ignored or misunderstood, which led to his death on the cross. Statistically, the most Christian country in the world is the USA and yet it also has the greatest gap between the rich and the poor and also has the highest level of social disorder problems, such as drugs and crime. America also imprisons a huge number of people. Before you become smug, I have to tell you the UK is not too far behind. We live in a world of huge inequality between the rich countries and the rest (the majority), and within each country between rich and poor. We are very privileged to live in a democratic country, it is flawed perhaps, but at least we can tell our politicians what we think of their policies and their personal ethics. I would perhaps however recommend some caution when talking to those in power, whether it is your boss or a politician, as other's opinions are not always appreciated. Sometimes we have to use the tactics of the worldly, using a degree of flattery, which leaders always enjoy, before hitting home with our Christian viewpoint. The vast majority of the world either live in totalitarian states or very flawed democracies where to speak out, even with some flattery included, could still bring death or retribution upon families and whole communities. The test of a true democracy is usually whether its leaders accept satire and humour. I would suggest that President Xi Jinping of China, President Vladimir Putin and a large number of world leaders would not allow any jokes at their expense, and I would imagine nobody who wanted to live until old age would not have made a joke about King Herod 2000 years ago. This puts a huge responsibility on our shoulders to make sure the message that Jesus proclaimed is enacted today, even if it is only in our community or country. We are not asked to be martyrs, but acts of kindness and Christian values can heap coals upon those who cannot accept the kingdom that was initiated by the birth of Jesus. At Christmas we recollect the birth of Jesus into a turbulent world and see him soon become a refugee from persecution. I wonder where Jesus would be born today? In a slum in Central America or India, or perhaps still in Bethlehem; a town still poverty stricken and riven by unresolvable politics. It is easy to look at the past and say, “It was different then”, but was it? Sometimes we think that the Bible only tells a story of how things were 2000 years ago, but if we really study our Bible and let the text seep into our consciousness, it could change us and the world. Jesus was a radical man who challenged the religious and political structures of the time to show people his kingdom of peace and justice. He had no armies, only his words, his healing and the power of God working through him. It was not hard for the enemies of justice and peace to kill his body, but they could not destroy his kingdom, and through his resurrection he reigns in glory. Christmas should awaken us again to the radical Jesus, not just the gentle Jesus in the manger. Let us pray that the real meaning of Christmas gets through to those who really need it, and your prayers of “Thy Kingdom Come” can really help. Fr. Terry
THE FREEDOM TO BE A SAINT Often, as I talk to my friends and to those I meet, I'm met with a common set of questions: • ”Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” • "Why does God allow injustice?” • "Would a truly all loving God condemn the wicked?” These questions are understandable, especially in our present situation. The answer is quite simple, Freedom, freedom is more than just an excuse for Mel Gibson to fight the British with questionable historical accuracy. It is Gods’ most generous gift to us, his willingness to take a ‘back seat’ as it where and allow us to choose his will and his order. This is echoed throughout the Bible; • When God lets Adam and Eve choose to disobey him, for better or worse. • When Moses said in Deuteronomy 30:15,"two ways are set before you, the way of life or the way of death." • When the apostle Peter choose to deny Christ three times to his own shame. Perhaps that is what Hell is, the permanent guarantee of human freedom? Only in a world where man can be punished, are we free to seek reward. Man can only be free to be a saint in a world where he is free to be viscous and cruel. Recent examples being during the Spanish civil war the church faced persecution on a horrible level by Communist and Socialist forces. Martyrs like the Venerable Florentino Asensio Barroso and Saint Inocencio paid the ultimate price to for their ministry, facing torture and death. In Nazi Germany Saint Maximilian Kolbe laid down his life for a man he had never meet. He was even offered the choice of life or martyrdom by Mary and chose to do what was right. He was later called the Patron Saint of ‘Our Difficult Century’ by Pope John Paul 11 Of course, martyrdom isn’t just a christen experience, A young Jehovah's Witness also paid for his decision not to renounce his faith. Rudolf Auschner was executed and in his farewell letter to his mother, he wrote: “Many brothers have walked this path, and so will I.” The power behind these Governments did not dismiss God, they challenged him because they knew he exists. We need to be reminded that, no hammer, sickle or swastika, no flag waving nationalist or money grabbing trust can take from you your freedom to walk with Christ. Those of you who know me will know how much I love the Russian people, I feel a strong spiritual connection to Russia. That's why I'm going to quote a favourite author of mine: "The day is coming where men will say there is no crime, there is no sin, there is no guilt. There is only hunger. And men will come to our feet and say make us slaves, just give us bread" - Dostoevsky in the brothers Karamazov. Today we have an apathetic young generation full of anxiety and with no sense of purpose. One that has tried freedom and left unfulfilled, and now scared of the virus, no longer sees its value. The fire of authoritarianism burns in them, I pray that one day that fire will burn as a Pentecostal light in people instead. As we as a community are faced with a decision on how to move forward I am reminded of a sermon given once by Fr. Terry at St Peter’s in Aston Flamville in which he said we must choose our procession, that of Judas, Pilate and the soldiers or that of Christ, Peter and the disciples. I leave you with a quote from a truly great man: "Free these people. that's the first thing that we have to solve in the world, then all our other problems will be solved and no other problem will be solved until we liberate them." - The Venerable Fulton Sheen. As our advent journey unfolds, let us consider our freedom, conscious that Christ who sets us free, willingly gave himself for us all, coming to us in human flesh, this Christ child, so vulnerable yet so powerfully. William Robinson
