This is the last of the reflections on what the book terms 'the second coming of Christ,' which is the spiritual indwelling during our earthly lives.

The key idea is of 'abiding in God' (think John 15 vine imagery), of metaphorically staying put, of living life in all its fullness (John 10:10) of being and becoming.

I may be doing the writer a disservice, and it may be baptistic anti-creed leanings, but I was a tad disappointed in the choice of prayer for today as an extract from a creed.  Even so, the idea of  pausing to state what Christ is to me, to us, is a good one - so maybe I'll do that later!

The prayer as published...

I believe in... Jesus Christ, [God's] only Son, our Lord, who was conveived by the Holy Spirit , born of the Virgin Mary; suffered under Pontious Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried.  He descended into hell;  the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, is seated at the right hand of God the Father ALmioghty; from thence he hsall come to judge the living and the dead... Amen

Christmas puddings! More than enough for the community Christmas Day lunch as I think this is meant to serve something like 72 people!!

Advent is definitely a time of buying lots of extra food, of getting ready for the day when people might eat a day's worth of calories in one meal.

I'm never too good at guessing how much food to buy, always preferring to get too much than too little. What I do like is getting together with others - especially those who are on the margins - to celebrate and enjoy each other's company.

Later this week I will serve a full Christmas dinner to a group of young adults - we may even crack open a Christmas pudding!

Today we meet St Pelagius, with whom is associated a heresy that pretty much boils down to rejection of the doctrine of original sin (see here).  Apparently, for around 30 years before he was deeemed to have become a heretic, he was a well respected theologian living and teaching in Rome.  It's always interesting which 'sound bites' become the 'truth' we unthinkiningly accept.

Seemingly, the reason Celtic saints and theologians went to Rome was to address what they saw as unbibilical and ungodly... which of course puts them on a level with the Reformers throughout these islands, and in western Europe who came to prominence more than a thousand years later.

Most of my adult life, I have claimed to be a 'happy heretic' and I still do.  If 'orthodoxy' means unquestioningly accepting what has 'always' been, then it's not healthy.  I like Brian MacLaren's term 'generous orthodoxy' which, as I recall it, measures orthodoxy by what it does (what some might call orthopraxy), allows for new understanding to emerge and has 'wriggle room' within it.

I also think that 'outliers' (a kinder word than heretics) are important for the health of the Church.  In ecumenical circles, Baptists (or at least baptistic churches) offer an important corrective to a 'norm' of infant baptism.  Likewise, Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches provide a perpsective on sacramentalism that would otherwise be lost.

Occasionally people say that 'heretics' are simply those whose time has not yet come.  Maybe that's true, or at least partly true - I guess many of the OT prophets would have been deemed 'dodgy' back in the day, and as for Jesus, the Nazarene Rabbi...

All of this has little or nothing to do with what I was meant to focus on, according to the book, but there you go, as I say, I'm a happy heretic.

Here, anyway, is the prayer:

Loving God, as I endeavour to obey the commands of Christ, may your love flow through me.  Give me more of your Spirit so that I can become more like Christ.  Amen.

This afternoon at our Drop In, we used some pictures of nativity scenes to guide our thoughts.  We had a good conversation, and some folk chose a picture to take home with them - the photo is those left afterwards.

However, for me the more beautiful image was one I could not photograph, partly because the torrential rain and icy wind would have made it nigh on impossible, but more importantly because it would just have been exploitative and just plain wrong.

Imagine, if you can, a man and woman dressed inadequately for the weather - he in a short wind-cheater type jacket, she in a brightly coloured anorak, unzipped, and worn over a thin summer dress.  Now imagine that he allows her to take his arm - despite being someone who avoids all physical contact - and walks, slowly, so slowly, with her along the rain-soaked street en route to a cafe where they will seek shelter and warmth, enjoy a hot drink and wait for the weather to improve.

This is sacrficial love. 

And this is what I witnessed this afternoon as one of our Friends from the Drop In acted, without a second thought, to care for another of them.

As busy people rushed to pass them, barely glancing, en route to the warmth of their own homes, I found myself alert to the people that I hurtle past without a seoncd thought, just because I don't know them.

In my mind's eye, as I walked behind, alongside, and finally in front of them, they could have been Mary and Joseph.  When we finally reached their destination, I held open the door of the cafe, another friend handed back to the woman a bag she had been carrying for her, and we left them in the warm fug of chip fat and damp clothes. I walked on, a little more humble, a little more thoughtful.

Nativity scenes are always everso clean and tidy.  Today I was reminded by two vulnerable adults of the truth that it would have been 'anything but'.

Belated, and a bit of a cheat as it's a photo from today.  Mince pies are one of my favourite festive treats, so I bought a box to celebrate 21 years of call and 15 years since ordination.

Celebration is, at least in some senses, the telos - 'goal' or 'end' - of Advent, so why not have a little bit along the way?  On such as wet, windy December evening, it feels good to munch a mince pie alongside supping a hot mug of tea. I think there is something postively 'OK' about celebrating cosiness and comfort food!