Our meditation for tonight...
[with thanks to Jonny Baker, Doug Gaye and Jenny Brown for the inspiration, from Alternative Worship]
Bethlehem…
Micah 5:2
But you, Bethlehem, David's country, the runt of the litter. From you will come the leader who will shepherd-rule Israel. He'll be no upstart, no pretender. His family tree is ancient and distinguished.
Bethlehem... A city in waiting… a place whose story was glorious, but for now all that is past… Bethlehem lies waiting for a new future… a place once pulsating with the life blood of the greatest of all men, now dormant, insignificant, no longer a major player on the Worlds stage… Bethlehem lies waiting for a new future… In the heads of the people it is a place of history of momentous happenings, now it is a place of ordinariness, a place of business and daily existence… Bethlehem lies in waiting for a new future… like all of us they hope but do not expect, reality crushing dreams but still waiting… waiting becomes a habit… Bethlehem lies waiting for a new future… Never daring to give up the waiting… the past is too rich and the hope too deeply held to let go, but hope breeds frustration… how much longer must Bethlehem lie in waiting for a new future… so many have tried to murder the wait, to legislate against it, to destroy the link with the past, to control it out of existence… despite centuries of oppression… Bethlehem lies waiting for a new future… that future has been seeded, will they notice? Can Bethlehem embrace a new future? For the future has arrived!
John1
The Life-Light was the real thing:
Every person entering Life he brings into Light.
He was in the world, the world was there through him, and yet the world didn't even notice. He came to his own people, but they didn't want him.
But whoever did want him, who believed he was who he claimed and would do what he said, He made to be their true selves, their child-of-God selves.
The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.
As Sarah waited… for a son to fulfil God’s promise
As Moses waited… to lead Gods people to a new home
As Samuel waited… for the voice in the morning
As Elijah waited… for the word of God in the wilderness
As Israel waited… in the desert, hungry, thirsty, desperate, lost
As the faithful waited… for the promise of God to be fulfilled
As Mary waited… for her child, the child of God
As Bethlehem waited… to be restored to significance
As the wise men waited… for the sign, for the one
As John waited… for the moment, for the light
As the Christ waited… in Gods time for Gods purpose
As the apostles waited… in a locked room, in a state of fear
So we wait… for the peace of God… for a new future…
Audio track - Maggi Dawn – "I will wait"
In the darkness we wait, in the stillness we wait, in hope we wait, in expectation we wait… are we ready to receive the divine… to welcome the light into our darkness… for the light is already here… a pulsing LED indicating a state of standby, a flickering pilot light, a welcome seeping though a crack in the door, the light waits for our recognition to illuminate our lives, to ignite us in love to love… to give to us a new future.
Light a flame to show our readiness to embrace a new future.
: comments :