Gifts

Well 2020 has been quite the year so far. As we journey through advent, typically a season of hope, its hard not to respond to the constant changes and restrictions in our lives with negative emotions and reactions.

It is only natural that many of us are angry, lonely, despondent and confused. We need to acknowledge these feelings and treat them with respect. But lets take a moment to realise that dwelling in these feelings will not change what is.

Let us take a moment to consider Hope, Joy, Kindness and Peace.

These four amazing gifts do not require us to battle with strangers in supermarkets nor spend more money than we have on internet sites. These four gifts might not be able to change what is, but they can change how we and others experience what is happening. By sharing these four gifts we can inspire and we can bring a sense of truth to others this Christmas.

Let us go to God in prayer;

Holy Spirit be with us now as we look towards Christmas and consider the future.

May our vision of what can be, always be framed by hope, joy, kindness and peace. May we always act to support others to envisage a future filled with love, wonder and awesome expectation. Each of us gathered now may need something different from Christmas this year, but what holds true is that we can never experience too much hope, joy, kindness or peace.

Through you Heavenly Parent, we have unlimited access to these gifts. These gifts do not exist externally of us, they are not dependent on any physical factor. At any moment we can simply choose to feel hope instead of dwelling in despair. We can choose to look for joy instead of focusing on sadness. We can choose to share peace with others rather than picking at divisions. Kindness requires nothing from the person we are interacting with.

These gifts live within us, they are a constant resource and we never need to worry about running out. These gifts are not like food nor money. Jesus, remind us that by sharing hope, joy, peace and kindness with others we never need to worry about not having enough ourselves. Jesus, remind us that the more we give out the more we experience back.

At Christmas we have the image of wrapping up a gift, tying up a gift with a ribbon. Conversely Lord, you call us to not wrap up others with our expectations of them, not tie up others by telling them who they should be, how they should act, how they must feel.

This Christmas you call us to set each other free, give the gift of true freedom, the freedom that comes when we share with one another unlimited and unconditional kindness, hope, peace and joy.

Amen!