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No Kingdom No Baby
A remark on contemporary Christmas in England Today we have baby But no kingdom The baby is beautiful What baby is not? But the baby signs Nothing now The baby signs No gift, no hope, No kingdom Signs nothing Because for us Self-referencing consumers There is no screen Picking up and reflecting back The light…
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Tenting with Jesus
Name Jesus, Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’ (Matt.1.23). But how is God with us? A clue: God became flesh and pitched his tent among us (John 1.14). Tents remind us of holiday fun and festival togetherness, but it was not all sunshine for Jesus. He had ‘nowhere to lay his head’ (Luke 9.58). He tents ‘among us’ but…
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Shepherds of Israel
A Christmas meditation on Ezekiel 34 There are no shepherds For God’s people any more There are shepherds abiding in the fields Looking after their sheep by night But where are the shepherds of Israel? There are wheelers and dealers in a palace In Jerusalem, An upstart dynasty, dysfunctional family Tearing and devouring the people, …
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There Were Shepherds Staying In The Fields By Night
Through the night, shepherds watched over their sheep. In Psalm 23, the Lord is the shepherd, and human beings are “the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100.3). Human beings need shepherds, whatever names they go under: politicians, managers, influencers. Be moved with active compassion, as Jesus was when he saw people as sheep without a shepherd (Matt 9.36). Ezekiel saw…
While it is yet day
Haddon Willmer