Ipswich Unitarian Meeting House

Traditionally, Advent was a fast; a solemn time of reflection and spiritual preparation for the great festival of Christmas. It was a time to remember the suffering of Christ, and the suffering of the world lest, in celebrating Christmas, we forget who and what it is about. In Advent we light candles to defy, not only the darkness of the season in this northern hemisphere, but the darkness of a world where hope and peace are, all too often, hard to find. And against that darkness we affirm the divine Spirit in humanity, the fount of all that is loving, good and true, all that redeems humanity from the sink of meanness, selfishness, cruelty and evil into which it might otherwise disappear. Yes, the world today is beset with the consequences of human folly, consequences that might seem overwhelming, but this is nothing new, but somehow we never quite disappear down that sink because there is that within us and among us which shows us another way to go. This inner potential to turn humanity from inhumanity may always be there, but to become a force in the world it needs the affirmation of lives which make it manifest in the world. One such life was that of Jesus, who lived a life and proclaimed a gospel that exemplified with a direct simplicity the loving potential in ourselves, however deep we may have buried it.

In the passages with which Luke’s gospel introduces its account of the Nativity, we find the story of Zechariah as he speaks to his infant son, who grows up to be John the Baptist, and who, Zechariah predicts, will be the “Lord’s forerunner, to prepare his way” (Luke 1: 76). This will be a game-changer, not only for the Jewish people, but for humanity. As Zechariah declares, “for in the tender compassion of our God the dawn from heaven will break upon us, to shine on those who live in darkness, under the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace,” (Luke 1: 78-79).

But when, in Advent, we hear those words we are not expecting some magic trick that will set the world to rights for us. Rather we are remembering the coming of a man who, if truly heeded, shows us how, in living our lives, we can bring some healing to the world’s brokenness, not in some sweeping supernatural gesture, but step by step, encounter by encounter, situation by situation, in what William Wordsworth called those “little, nameless, unremembered, acts / Of kindness and of love.” (‘Tintern Abbey’, lines 34-35). The world is healed one human being at a time. We are healed by the love that others give us, we heal by giving love to others. That is what salvation is – restoring life where hopelessness, selfishness, bitterness and hatred have stifled, destroyed or twisted the human spirit. It is liberation to be truly and fully what we are called to be as children of God, or, if you prefer, as human beings living up to the best that we know – and have been shown by the great souls of our amazing, if wayward, species.

Christianity, when truly based on the simple teachings of Jesus, is the basis of loving community with the potential to bring peace and wholeness in a troubled and damaged world. It is not about religious hierarchies, judgemental doctrines, self-righteous posturing or the cruelty of threatened punishments in this world or the next. As the Ghost of Christmas Present tells Scrooge, “There are some upon this earth who claim to know us, who do their deeds of passion, pride, ill-will, hatred, envy, bigotry and selfishness in our name, who are as strange to us and all our kith and kin, as if they had never lived. Remember that.” (‘A Christmas Carol’, Stave Three). Nor is Christianity about theological conundrums, philosophical puzzles or rarified ‘spirituality’ (so-called). It is simple. It is human. It is loving.

As Charles Dickens wrote to his children: “Remember! – It is Christianity TO DO GOOD always –even to those who do evil to us. It is Christianity to love our neighbour as ourself, and to do to all people as we would have them do to us. It is Christianity to be gentle, merciful and forgiving, and to keep those qualities quiet in our own hearts, and never make a boast of them…or of our love of God, but always to show that we love him by humbly trying to do right in everything.” For Dickens, Christianity was about remembering “the life and lessons of…Jesus Christ” and trying “to act up to them.” Do that, he said, and “we may confidently hope that God will forgive us our sins and mistakes and enable us to live and die in peace.” (‘The Children’s New Testament’ / ‘The Life of Our Lord’). Not a bad summary, I think!

As we advance through Advent let us not be distracted by the fripperies of too much Christmas hype and instead seek the heart of the gospel of love that Jesus brought – and brings – to enlighten the world’s darkness.

Cliff Reed

CMR271124