So, if I were to sum today's reflection it'd be 'faith without deeds is dead'.

I could waffle on, but it's been a busy weekend, and it's not over yet, so I'l keep it short and sweet!

The prayer is this:

Gracious and compassionate one, may I live a life that reflects your love and generosity to all.  May I know your power moving through me so that your kingdom will come in the world which I live. Amen.

In my view, that was THE best Bible Study Christmas party ever, even though just an hour before it began it looked as if it might be an unmitigated disaster. After an overnight dusting of snow, treacherous roads and paths, and persistant sleety rain, two of our stalwarts wisely took the decision to stay home. Would anyone else come?  Yes!

In the end, nine Iranians and I were sat around my kitchen table, which was a glorious muddle of Bibles, colouring, sticking and mugs of tea!

We began by asking the children to tell us the Christmas story, which they did with aplomb.  This, on its own opened fascinating conversations about who the magi were, what on earth is myrrh, and much more.

Next we read the account in Luke, and I invited folk to comment on what was 'missing' or 'different' from the story we had shared... the bare mention of Joseph, the addition of the visit to Elizabeth, the lack of innkeeper or kings.  We pondered what Luke's aim was and why he told his story as he did.

Then it was on to Matthew and the same process... who or what were these magi, however many there were, and where did they come from? Herod as a puppet-king. Joseph dreaming about angels.

Briefly, as time ran out, we looked at the start of John, with its beautiful poetry, and noted that Mark simply plunges in with a fuilly grown Jesus being baptised by John.

After all that, we shared some yummy food, chatted more generally and covered all sorts of topics as diverse as premarital sex, university tuition fees, Brexit, how I was called by God to ministry, the Trinity and much, much more.

Some days ministry is just the best role on the planet - and this is one of them.

The end of last night's festive meal - which I think went well, and I certainly enjoyed myself.

Berries with edible glitter - or are they glitterberries?

We had a lovely time, fusing oodles of cultures and customs, so that we had Yorkshire puddings and turkey, skirly and mashed potatoes, a rutabaga torte and onion gravy, nut roast and cauliflower... and much more.  And, even though I love them, not brussels sprout in sight!

I loved that in terms of nationality and parentage we were so multinational, multi-ethnic and multi-age... the youngest was 15... the oldest, well, it it wisnae me! All young at heart, eachwith stories of our own family customs.

I think B summed it up best for me.  Handing over a bowl of delicious skirly (an Aberdonian delicacy) she said, 'for me, this is always Christmas'.  R told us that her family always begin Christmas Day by singing 'happy birthday' to Jesus. For others the things that 'make' Christmas are different, and equally important.

We started our meal yesterday with a toast in 'fake Buck's Fizz' and concluded it (because we kept forgetting to do so) by linking hands 'Auld Lang Syne' style to pull our crackers.  The jokes were, as ever, corny - but it wouldn't be Christmas without them... or glitter, or a table groaning under the weight of food...

Thank you so much to F, R, B, L and A for sharing a fun night in.

There is a verse in the hymn 'Amazing Grace' that had (rightly) fallen out of use until Christ Tomlin decided to reinstate it when he 'updated' the hymn...

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow

The sun forebear to shine

But God who kept me here below

Shall be for ever mine

This is bad physics, and bad theology!

For a start, snow does not dissolve, it melts.  Were it to be able to dissolve, it would have to be immersed in a solvent - and given that snow is water, and water is a solvent...

Secondly, the idea that earth (and, for that matter, heaven) are dispensible is not good theology, and inconsistent with the sweep of scripture.

But then, as the study guide reminds us, we have the puzzling words of 2 Peter 3: 10 - 18:

"The day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

 Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. So also our beloved brother Paul wrote to you according to the wisdom given to him,speaking of this as he does in all his letters. There are some things in them hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other scriptures. You therefore, beloved, since you are forewarned, beware that you are not carried away with the error of the lawless and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

As the writer of the study guide notes, this passage has the potential to foster a consumerist attitude to our plant, that it is going to be destroyed anyway, so why bother caring for it.  Au contraire! As followers of Jesus, and as part of God's creation, being 'ready' includes caring for this beautiful planet , which is within God's plans for redemption and re-creation.

The prayer:

Holy God, moment by moment make me more and more like you. Increase the holiness and godliness within me.

In a two-year-old tradition, the Clepto Kitties decorated their 'Catmus' tree and created a 'Kittivity' of their toy mice, birds, fish and other creatures.

Yes, it is pretty devoid of taste, but it is fun.  Here the lion lies down with the spider, the turkeys greet the new-born mouse-child, fish swim in a blanket sea, and a choir of angelic mice announce good news of peace o earth, and good will to all mousies, birdies, fishies, other animals and humans.

A little bit of sillyness is surely part of what this season is about - it doesn't come much more silly than a deity born in obscurity and almost killed before his story began.