Boxing Day Candles Mill Grove

Christmas 2020

17.00 GMT, 26 December 2020 A The triptych is open with all three panels visible. The map of the world is surrounded by candles. These are usually placed by the younger members of the family. Some of the equipment for games is visible and there are hints of Russ Conway, who always accompanies Boxing Day games.

As we are not using music during the Zoom gatherings, here are the words of a song by Graham Kendrick that we often sing in the hall on Boxing Day by candlelight.

Like a candle flame Yet his light shall shine Flickering small in our darkness From our lives, Spirit blazing Uncreated light As we touch the flame Shines through infant eyes Of his holy fire

Stars and angels sing God is with us, alleluia Yet the earth sleeps in shadows Come to save us, alleluia Can this tiny spark Alleluia! Set a world on fire?

The Triptych 2020 features three responses to the coming of Jesus, God’s gift to the world

Panel One No Welcome at Bethlehem

Panel Two Great Joy at the Manger

Panel Three Gifts from the Heart

You will find the details of all three services on the Christmas page of the Mill Grove website

A2 On Christmas Eve during our communion service, we acknowledged that the lack of welcome to Jesus at Bethlehem was typical of the way He has been treated by so many over the centuries. Asking for forgiveness, we opened our hearts afresh to welcome Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. We also prayed for the extended family around the world, and all those who have found a welcome at Mill Grove since 1899. We lit candles on a map of the world while we remembered them.

On Christmas morning, as well as lighting the last candle on the Advent Wreath and opening a Christmas stocking, we saw how the experience and mega joy of the shepherds are an example of the experience of change or conversion experienced by so many of us who seek to follow and serve Jesus.

Tonight, we complete the picture by having in mind the gifts and actions of the Magi, the Wise Men from the East. Whatever light, star, or conjunction of stars led them to Jesus, they came out of devotion and worshipped him with precious gifts. This is the deepest kind of welcome that we can give to Jesus.

Thought for Boxing Day

Triptych Three: Gifts from the Heart

The wise men travelled the longest distance to find the child Jesus, and they offered the most expensive gifts. Those of us who identify with the ordinariness and earthiness of the shepherds, may think of the Magi as “Others”, from another civilization, and another level of society. And yet they have inspired followers of Jesus to see that what counts is not the distance you travel, your status, or the value of your gifts, but your attitude and what is going on in your heart. The whole of the Bible shows readers that the new way of living that God requires from us needs a change of heart. Without this we cannot live as individuals, families, or communities as God intended. You will find this running through the Jewish Scriptures, the Psalms, and the Law, but we see it most fully and plainly in the life and teaching of Jesus. He shows us by his actions and teaching God’s way of living: God’s way of doing things, the Kingdom of God. And when we begin to take in the truth that His sacrifice and love for us is the very heart of A3 God’s way of doing things, there can only be one response. It is to give Him our all. The last verse of Christina Rossetti’s carol, In the Bleak Midwinter puts it like this:

What can I give him, poor as I am? If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb. If I were a wise man, I would do my part. Yet what I can I give him, give him my heart.

Isaac Watts put it like this in a hymn that Charles Wesley considered one of the best of all time:

“Love so amazing, demands my soul, my life, my all”.

And that is what it means to be a Christian, a follower of Jesus: one who receives the infinitely costly love of God, and then responds by offering their life as a way of saying “Thank you”. Kneeling, worship, and prayer are all part of this. But it is in acts of practical kindness and justice that true worship is to be found. Ultimately, presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God is the only action that shows we understand the extent of God’s mercy, grace, and love in Christ. Receiving and welcoming Jesus leads from great joy, to ever greater devotion. This has little if anything to do with religion, and everything to do with love in action. We weren’t able to go to Tiptree URC as part of Our Day 2020, but Kay has never forgotten the words at the front of the church, “We love because He first loved us”. That’s it! Gifts of help, support, friendship, care … all from the heart, in response to God’s gift of Jesus right from His heart. Let’s put this in the words of a simple prayer we can say together.

All Loving Father, thank you that every good and perfect gift comes from you, the Father of lights. Thank you for the gift of life. Thank you for Creation. Thank you for the precious gift of Jesus. Help us to be overflowing with thankfulness for the blessings you have poured into our lives. By working in us, help us to praise you for the rest of our days not just with our lips but with our lives. Through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.

A4 And Now…

Normally at Mill Grove the carols by candlelight follow the pantomime and are followed in turn by games in the hall. The Russ Conway music is a reminder of the games! But this year the pantomime will follow the service. It will be released at 18.00 GMT. As there will not be a Boxing Day Supper this year, if you want to send thoughts, greetings, reactions and responses, then send them by email to [email protected]

We wish you a safe end to 2020, and the light, joy, and peace of Christ as we journey into the unknown of 2021.