So today it is evening before I get round to writing - not because I have been slaving away all day (though I have achieved quite a lot of stuff) but becuase it has been a largely unremarkable day.

Today's PAYG was based on one of Luke's more bewildering parables...

As they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. So he said, ‘A nobleman went to a distant country to get royal power for himself and then return. He summoned ten of his slaves, and gave them ten pounds, and said to them, “Do business with these until I come back.” But the citizens of his country hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, “We do not want this man to rule over us.” When he returned, having received royal power, he ordered these slaves, to whom he had given the money, to be summoned so that he might find out what they had gained by trading. The first came forward and said, “Lord, your pound has made ten more pounds.” He said to him, “Well done, good slave! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small thing, take charge of ten cities.” Then the second came, saying, “Lord, your pound has made five pounds.” He said to him, “And you, rule over five cities.” Then the other came, saying, “Lord, here is your pound. I wrapped it up in a piece of cloth, for I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man; you take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” He said to him, “I will judge you by your own words, you wicked slave! You knew, did you, that I was a harsh man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? Why then did you not put my money into the bank? Then when I returned, I could have collected it with interest.” He said to the bystanders, “Take the pound from him and give it to the one who has ten pounds.” (And they said to him, “Lord, he has ten pounds!”) “I tell you, to all those who have, more will be given; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and slaughter them in my presence.”’ Luke 19:11-27

Sitting immediately after the story of Zaccheus and before that of Palm Sunday it is not an easy read.  Add to this that PAYG was using a Taize chant about God's Kingdom being one of justice and peace and the gruesome ending is all the more stark.  This is a complicated story and the more I read it the less I understand it.  I'm not going to try to explain it (all my commentaries are at church afterall, and I eschew the twee/trite stuff I can find online!) instead I simply invite you to share the bewilderment that comes from this odd story of an unpopular and evidently unkind king who ends up killing those who oppose him, and how that fits with Jesus as 'Prince of Peace' who goes to Jerusalem and certain death...

... well maybe... starting work on Advent 1, circulating stuff for midweek reflections, searching the web for things for Christmas Eve (Christmas Day I haven't even begun to contemplate yet)... I have odd flutters of excitement, moments of frustration and generally a sense that I should be taking the chance to draw breath before it all gets going.

Last night I spent a happy hour wandering around the centre of Glasgow looking at the lights and admiring the huge nativity scene.  Initially cold and crisp, the weather turned to rain then sleet before the sky cleared to reveal a beautiful full moon.  There is something quite magical about cold, dark nights, punctuated by twinkling lights, cheeks reddened and noses nipped by the frosty air, something that carries me back to other times and other places, with other people ... and yet remains entirely contiguous (continuous?) with the here and now.  For sure, it is all a long way from what we purport to be recalling, but it is a defiant hopefulness in what otherwise would be a dark and gloomy time of year.

I have yet to do any Christmas shopping (so far I have a stack of cards waiting to be written and a few ideas of things to buy!) but I do know what I will be using for my perosnal reflection in Advent, which feels positive, and maybe even the right way round.

The next few weeks will be pretty manic, and I will revel in every moment of them, not becuase I must, but because I may.  From cookies to crafts to carols to contemplation, Advent 2013 is filled with promise and I am looking forward to it.

I read this quotation today in a book I had to read and now need to review...

One can be an Evangelical in virtually any ecclesiastical setting, accept a state church, a hierarchical church government, infant baptism, and still be, apparently, an 'Evangelical'.  But not a Baptist. Baptists profess the acceptance of 'no creed except the Bible'.  When some Baptists attempt to impose a man=made creed upon the Baptist fellowship, does this effort stem from a Baptist , or from, let us say, a fundamentalist mentality?  Some Baptists have been Calvinists, others Arminians, fundamentalists, Liberals, tongue-speakers, faith-healers, evolutionists, non-evolutionists, premilleniumists, postmilleniumists, amilleniumists, ecumenists, non-ecumenists and so forth, but none of theses ideological factors made them Baptists.  A real Baptist is a believer who holds tenaciously, courageously and charibtably, to Baptist convictions.

Cited on p111 of T Watson Moyes Our Place Among the Churches, Scottish Baptist Ecumenical Relations in the Twentieth Century: from Principled Denominationalism to Evangelical Separateness.

Put in simple terms, it more or less equates to saying that what holds us together is the Declaration of Principle, which allows for very broad diversity.

I don't want to pre-empt my book review, but this book combines some profound honesty with graciousness.  It is not a happy tale, but one that friends south of Hadrians' Wall would benefit from knowing more about.

Well with all the cakes sold, most of the bringings bought and some generous donations in, I can announce that we raised £260 and a few pence for Elpis.  That was a great weekend's work.

We also have a huge stack of shoeboxes ready to go off with Operation Christmas Child to bring hope to children who would otherwise have a pretty bleak time.

And we had so many children present that I didn't have enough hyacinth bulbs to dole out one each, so they had to have one per family (parents probably relieved not to have to nurture too many plants!).  So one per family and two to the two people I think were the most senior present.

The church meeting that followed got through a lot of stuff in an hour, and we were all out of the building by about 2:30.

So now it's time to chill for a while!  Overall a good weekend's endeavours.

Thanks to the bakers and partakers we had a good morning and raised £100.81 for Elpis, which I am sure will be put to excellent use in supporting vulnerable young women.  If you missed out and are in our neck of the woods tomorrow morning, we will be selling bakes of all sorts after the service to top up the gift we are able to make to this charity.

We will also be gatherig in shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and holding a Church eeting- so a busy day ahead.