Christmas Wishes from DP Sally
You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. Luke 1:14.
Dear Fellow Members,
One of the many advantages of living in the countryside is that there is less light pollution than in towns and cities. On the frosty nights which we might expect to see over the next few months our eyes are drawn upwards. The stars add beauty and interest to the wintry sky. They help to create the atmosphere we associate with the Christmas season. What we are looking at as we gaze upwards is light that has travelled a great distance. Some of it comes from the very beginning of the Universe, 13.7 billion years ago. As we look upwards, we are also looking backwards in time. We are reviewing our own past and the whole of human history in the blink of an eye.
When God promised Abraham in Genesis 22:17 that he would make his offspring into a great and numerous people, he said, “I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore”. Scientists have calculated that there are more stars in the Universe than sand on the seashore.
At Christmas time we think of one star in particular – the star which led the Magi to Bethlehem. The star of Bethlehem has attracted many theories. Some people thought it was Halley’s Comet, others have proposed that it was the conjunction of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. As people of faith, we understand the star as essentially God’s way of drawing the attention of the whole world to a unique birth. In the Mothers’ Union, we belong to an organisation which inspires members from both the Northern and Southern hemispheres who enjoy different views of the night sky but share the same vision of God’s purposes. We are worldwide, but rooted in our own communities, where we try to “shine like stars in the world” (Philippians 2: 15). When the wise men came to the stable, they fell down and worshipped the infant, Jesus. The wise men gave the baby gifts. May we this Christmastide, in the words of the carol by Christina Rosetti, give him our hearts.
May the joy of Christmas be with you today and always.
With my love,
Sally x
