light, water and Christmas

The folk here meant a huge amount to Mum in the latter years of her life.

And so, as an expression of our gratitude to God for all that they have been we gifted a 'water feature' the the church. A fairly sizeable fountain with an integrated light.

Except they didn't send the light when they sent the rest! Which didn't exactly help.

But the light arrived today. And John, our kind of resident electrician, was quick to come round and fix the whole thing up. It looks terrific, especially in the dark.

And it somehow seemed most fitting that it should have been today the part arrived, with Christmas Day tomorrow.

The birth of Jesus. The one who is the water of life and the light of the world.

What better symbol of the heart of all Mum's living. And what better time to get it up and working than in the darkness of these winter days when everyone is full of celebration.

It's like, as folk go up to share an act of worship - it's like they're being reminded of the reason for it all. The Light has come into the world. And the sort of living water which alone can truly satisfy the soul is now dispensed by him.

I'm glad it was working today. Although I'm bound to say it made me miss Mum just that wee bit more than I'd expected that I would. And yet, it's maybe for that reason that I'm glad that it was there.

Like a beacon of hope. A message she was sending still, beyond her death. A message she'll be sending down who knows how many years to come.

The light of the world and the water of life. Jesus.

So I'm glad of the chance to celebrate with others here this Christmas Eve. And most of the day's been spent in trying to learn from God the message that he meant to speak to these three groups of worshippers who'd gather here - two tonight and one tomorrow morning.

The service at 6 is always fun. A short half hour for absolutely every age and stage! Some under one and one old lady who's soon to be a hundred and one. And pretty much everything in between!

For loads of folk this service is the one time in the year that they're at any sort of worship thing at all. So I'm keen that they hear what it's all about and why we're so enthused about the guy. But I'm keen as well that there is a real experience of God.

The joy and peace and warmth and love and goodness of our God. The brightness and the colour, the adventure and the fun. A sense of what they're maybe mainly missing in their lives. A taste of what they're deep down maybe longing for as well.

The light of the world and the water of life. I want to give them that. Always.