From: JohnFilsak <JohnFilsak@AOL.COM>

United Reformed Church

Bulwell, Nottingham, UK

Dear All,

Thanks for the ideas this week. Here is something sparked off, I think, by the "centring" thread. I wrote it while listening to Messiaen's "Des canyons aux etoiles" and this has also had its effect, I believe.

Grace and peace,

John

If you're not familiar with the story of the wise men who travelled from the east, following a star, to bring their gifts to the infant Jesus, I don't know where you've been all your lives. It's Matthew, of the Gospel writers, who tells us this particular story. It's his way of showing us his belief that the Good News of Jesus is something for all the world and all its peoples.

Earlier I suggested that it was perhaps Halley's comet which provided the sign in the sky that drew the attention of those wise men. I want also to say that to try to pin down some astronomical event, some physical light in the sky, while interesting and fun, is also a bit of a red herring. For the light which shines in the darkness is no Aldebaran or Hale-Bopp, which astronomers can categorise, but Christ, the Light of the world. That's one of the reasons we read John's Gospel this morning and not Matthew's. John talks about a Light which brings life and hope and a new relationship to God the Father; a light which makes God known.

As you know, I enjoy studying the night sky. One of the compensations of winter is the view of the heavens it gives. The sky is dark, and the winter constellations of Orion and the like, with Sirius, the brightest star in the sky, are ample reward for enduring cold and frosty days. (Although if it rains all the time, like at present, I just have to shrug and lump it with the rest of you.) We know that some of the stars are absolutely huge. Betelgeuse, for example, the red star in the top corner of Orion, is 500 times bigger than our own sun; it's as big as the orbit of Mars around our own sun. Yet even our most powerful telescopes cannot make it, or any other star, appear any more than a point of light. Them, even though their light has taken hundreds, thousands, or millions of years to get here across the unimaginable vastness of the universe.

I'd like you to imagine a typical star, just a point of light in the sky, but rays of light streaming out of it, extending into infinity. It's like our typical picture of a star, but the rays, instead of coming to a point, just go on and on. That's how we see the stars in our sky, we just pick up through our eyes or telescopes one of the rays of light which come from it. Yet that is sufficient to reveal its glory and tell us something of its size, distance and what it's made of. Perhaps the light of Christ is something like that. It's a point of light, seeming nearer or closer, according to our own particular viewpoint, but giving forth rays which reach us in sufficient measure that we can understand at least something of what we are looking at and of what we are supposed to do with the light we receive.

Unlike a real star, which shines from its point in time and space, the light of Jesus Christ shines upon us in three ways. It shines from the past, from 2,000 years ago, telling us about the birth of Jesus at Bethlehem, something of his life and teaching, and showing us a large amount of fact and interpretation of his death and resurrection. It also shines in the present, for we believe that our Lord is alive and at large in the world through his Holy Spirit; he challenges us to respond to his continuing call. And it shines from the future - his kingdom is coming, and we can get a foretaste of it as we love him and serve him today.

I guess we've all been thinking about the year that's past and identifying some of its significant events. As I have been doing that it has occurred to me that I might try to see them in the light of Christ - how it shines from the past, in the present and from the future. Now real events in the world will rarely fit easily into a preacher's tidy schemes, but I hope they do so sufficiently to enable us to see more clearly the light shining in the star.

In September the world, it seems, was immersed in shock and grief when Diana, Princess of Wales, died in tragic circumstances. It seemed that a light had been blown out, like a candle in the wind. Diana was not one who made a show of any kind of Christian belief, but we could see the light of Christ shining in her, in her compassion for outcasts and her work for charity, among other things. The reaction to her death showed that the light of spirituality has not been extinguished in people. That's something to which we in the churches have to respond, perhaps by making our lights burn more brightly.

In May we elected ourselves a new government in this country. Government comes from God and is called to reflect the light of the righteous reign of Christ. How does ours measure up? So far we've heard a lot of fine words, seen some changes in some policies, and some controversial proposals for benefit cuts. It's too early to judge yet. We must continue to pray and work for government in our nation and the world which responds to and reflects the light of Christ.

It's been a bad year for the United States, it seems to us over on this side of the water. They have turned down opportunities to reduce the scourge of land mines in the world and to protect the planet by agreeing to a sensible reduction in polluting emissions. Money and privilege speak louder than a concern for the world and the people which are Christ's through creation and redemption.

Bulwell Credit Union began in April and in December reached assets of five figures. It's a drop in the ocean, but will become increasingly influential and have an effect on the prosperity of local people. I have been involved because I see it as reflecting something of Jesus' concern for the total wellbeing of all people, particularly the poor. This is his example from the past, his calling in the present, and the vision he gives of a future perfect society with no sickness, sadness or poverty.

In our church this was our first year of giving to the Commitment for Life program gave getting on for £1,000, sufficiently near the top of the list for a church of our size to elicit great delight from the scheme's national organiser. I don't know about you, but I think the information coming to us from Silveira House, Zimbabwe, has made me feel a real part of what they are doing. I do know that our giving as part of the scheme will help turn the fortunes of more farmers there from poverty to profit as they put into practice what they learn at Silveira House. Again this is a response to how we perceive the light of Christ shining on us today. We want to make the world a brighter place and have the opportunity to do so. This is a very personal and incomplete list of things from last year, but I hope it serves to show how we might continue to see the light of Christ shining in our world.

Something else that strikes me about stars (if you get back into your minds the picture I described earlier), is that the rays are coming out in all directions. Somebody standing on the other side of the galaxy will receive a different ray of light from a star from the one we see, although they will see the same star. But if we were able to get closer to it, we would each see not only more of the light, but more of the same light. I wonder again if the light of Christ is similar. Because we all approach it from slightly different points of view, we have different perceptions of it, but each of those is genuine. To understand more fully we need to approach more closely (through our worship, our prayers, our service, etc); and that will also have the benefit of bringing us closer to each other.

None of us is a star, none of us is the Light. We can't shine in all directions at the same time. The best we can do is pursue and reflect some of the rays of the one true Light. Some of these might be rays shining on the world of politics. Some might be service in the church, others service in the world. Some service might be prayerful and spiritual, another piece might be practical (and spiritual). Each of us is different of us must follow the light we have seen, as a valid response to the shining of Christ, the Light of the World.

Let this be our resolve for the New Year, as God's Spirit gives us strength - to follow the star. Focus on the light. Get to grips with the light from the past - the Biblical teaching of and about Jesus. It still shines brightly today. Follow the star today - the living Christ who is present by his Spirit in all of life, throughout the world. Work with him in what he is doing. And follow the light that shines from the future - the eternal, perfect, heavenly light in which we shall live one day. No one knows what this year will bring - except that it will be filled with the light of Christ which the darkness can never extinguish. Keep focusing on that light and let the year be Christ's for you.