1. Gifts received well and badly

Transcription

1 Here are 2 talk ideas that you may want to use as part of your special Christingle celebration. 1. Gifts received well and badly An Outline for a Christingle Service from the parish of Hope, Flintshire Either: A) Ask people how they hope others will respond when they give them a present (write / say "Thank you"; look pleased; use it; enjoy it; tell others how pleased they are). Or how they have been disappointed or hurt by how others have not accepted their presents well (No / grudging acknowledgement. Be rude: say they don't like it / have got one already / a better one; ignore it; neglect it; treat it roughly.) Or: B) Prepare sketches of people giving and receiving good presents well and badly, as above Are most presents alive or dead? Animal, vegetable or mineral? How can you tell when a live present hasn't been cared for properly? (It dies) You are soon to be given a Christingle / when you came in you were given the materials and shown how to make a Christingle. It's a funny-looking thing, if you haven't seen one before - it might be a type of spacecraft. For how many of you is this your first Christingle service? It's actually an object with a meaning, and each part has a meaning. I'm not going to tell you what each part means but I'll help you to tell me!

2 An orange - the world It's the right shape but what colours does the world appear from space? (white and blue) What colour will one of these become if you leave it around too long? (white, blue, red etc.) There is an important verse of the Bible about the world: "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3v16.) Why do you think that God gave the world the gift of his Son? What do you think that the world had not got that it needed the present, the presence of God's Son? (Being shown the way to live Understanding.) I wonder if the world accepted God's gift of his Son well or badly. Four sticks - the four points of the compass Any other suggestions what they might represent? 4 Seasons? (God loves all parts of the world, not just our part of it. There's no direction you can go beyond of his love.) Sweets and raisins on the sticks The fruits of the earth, not just fruit off trees but the food we eat, what we drink, and what comes out of the earth that we make things from and that keep us warm. Perhaps one reason that God sent his Son into the world was to teach us to share these fruits of the earth and not to hoard them for ourselves. The candle - the Light of the World What or who is the Light of the World? (Jesus.) Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." (John 8v12.) The silver foil - purity, holiness The foil reflects the light. Jesus said that anyone who has seen him has seen God. The red ribbon - The blood of Christ.

3 Does this refer to the blood in Jesus' veins when he was alive? (No, his shed blood) How did he come to shed his blood? (He was killed) Jesus was God's gift to the world, but if the people of the world put that gift to death, did they receive it well or badly? (Badly) How do you think that God felt when his gift was rejected and abused? (Angry / sad) Why do you think that people put Jesus, the Light of the World, to death? (St John tells us that people preferred darkness to light because their deeds were evil. They didn't want anyone else, least of all God, to see what they were doing, saying and even thinking. They wanted to live their own way rather than God's. They preferred to be self-centered rather than acknowledge God as their Father and Jesus as their Lord and Master.) I'll tell you an amazing thing about the love of God. Even after people had done such a terrible thing as putting his own Son to death, he didn't reject them. The same blood that they had shed out of envy and hatred became a sacrifice for the wrong-doing of everyone who would accept it. God took the consequences of our rebellion on himself in the person of his Son. That's what the Christingle is there to tell us.

4 2. Theology of the Glow Stick Courtesy of St Mary s Church, Kippington, Sevenoaks Do you see a lot of candles at this time of year? Light is often central at the moment, as the days are shorter. Light what do you think of when I say this? Light often symbolises celebration, romance, fun, safety, and 1 sometimes it is dangerous! Our reading from John 3 reminds us that in Jesus - Light has come into the world. Of course, today we do not really experience darkness don t really have this, unless there is an electricity cut. We even miss the stars? We take light and electricity, which provides nearly all our light, for granted. The Children s Society works with those in darkness children on the streets in dark places, not just lack of light, but lack of hope, safety, a future. It s hard for us to imagine preferring being out on a dark, cold, wet night to being with those who should be caring for you yet The Children s Society says that: Every day as many as 274 children in the UK find life so unbearable they would rather face the dangers of the streets than endure being at home a moment longer. That s about X times the number of children here today. In Jesus day light was not so permanent, or everywhere as we experience it the people worked in the hours of daylight. Light was an oil lamp oil in a container with a wick. This was not to make something fun or romantic, but as a very important part of everyday life otherwise they couldn t do anything in the darkness, which was absolutely dark, apart from the stars. So light, and fire were vital to their lives to be able to work, eat and feel safe. And on the first Christmas, Mary and Joseph would have travelled through the darkness to Bethlehem. The shepherds looking after their sheep near Bethlehem had the light of a fire for protection. Wise men travelled with the light of a star to guide.

5 The Christingles we will see soon are a reminder of the importance and the symbolism of light. They are part of our Christmas celebration. But Jesus is more than this special light at Christmas. Like the light and electricity we use and need every day God wants to be part of our everyday lives. And if he is then he can make all the difference. Jesus is not just for Christmas, not just for Sundays. As the light for our lives he can be an essential part of our lives every day, so that we can live life to the full, if we invite him to be our light. A lot of focus these days is on happiness and security, feeling good and yet the more we seek this, the more elusive it can become. Christingle is not just fun it s a sign of hope for the children The Children s Society helps, week in, week out. The money you have given/ we will give in the collection later, will make a difference to vulnerable children s lives. In the past we have used candles in the Christingles they are beautiful, attractive, cause a lot of anxiety and are blown out as soon as possible! This is not really a good picture of the light of Jesus. Glow sticks may be a better illustration not dangerous, we can relax and enjoy them. They will last not as long as the light of Christ does! They will go with the children back to their seats and their families, then out into the dark and then home with you, into your lives outside as we all journey home. The reading from John s gospel reminds us that God loved the world so much that he sent Jesus, to be the Saviour of the world and the Saviour of each one of us. And when Jesus came, he brought light light that was sometimes uncomfortable, because it showed things up, things that were wrong and evil. But his light also showed the way to live with and for God. In John 8 Jesus said: I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.

6 As we look towards Christmas and the New Year, with all its joys, and with all its uncertainties and worries, Jesus offers us his light, the light that will go with us wherever we go, however dark the path may seem, because God loves us so much.