Author: Carol Purves

No Crying?

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‘The cattle are lowing, the Baby awakes, but little Lord Jesus, no crying He makes.’ author unknown.

The Baby has been born, the mother is exhausted from the journey and birth. The shepherds, whose visit was so unexpected have returned to the fields .The landlady, having done what she could to help, has returned to her other guests and bed. Joseph beyond tiredness with worry and amazement has sunk into deep slumber. Then it started.

The noisy cattle are making a racket and at first we hear just a whimper, then full-blown yelling. Maybe the straw was irritating the baby’s tender skin, maybe He was just being a baby. Sleep for Mary and Joseph was now impossible. I know the hymn says ‘the little Lord Jesus no crying He makes, but He was 100% human and human babies cry. He would grow up to graze His knees, play boisterous games with His friends and eventually be crucified.

We can sentimentalise the Christmas story but the stable was noisy, smelly and overcrowded with no room for visiting humans. The Son of God came down to our broken, weary world to eventually make it clean and holy because of His love for us.

We can only repeat the last verse of this carol,

‘Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask You to stay,

close by me for ever and love me, I pray.’

The Prophecy has Happened

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Christmas Day is over, Christ has been born to die for our sins and bad mistakes are forgiven (I know all mistakes are bad!) Now the future lies ahead of us. The New Year is less than a week away. What are we going to do with it. We will soon be making new year resolutions, in less than a month they will be broken.

Rather than broken resolutions what about making a God-directed list and finding out what He has on His list for us. Of course, the future is unknown to us, but we can pray for Him to guide our minds. We can pray into that situation which is now upsetting us most. What will He have us do about it? What revelations can He show to us. If we don’t ask Him, we won’t know.

What about our friends and family who are sick or even dying. We can ask God what He wants us to do about them, how and if we can comfort them. Should we be doing anything? We need to ask Him.

Then there are those friends and family who don’t yet know God as their Saviour. We have been praying for them for years. Is 2026 the year to give up? No, maybe God could reveal to us a different approach to those people in our prayers. May we have a future with a closer walk with God.

Christmas Day

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‘Trumpets sound and angels sing, listen to what they say. Man will live for every more because of Christmas Day,’ written by Jester Hairston. These are some of my favourite words of all the Christmas carols. We can live for ever and ever with our God, because He came to earth in the year nought AD and lived and died in our place to cover our sins. It doesn’t matter whether it was 25th December or 6th January as some have worked out. It doesn’t matter whether our country exchanges presents on this day, Christmas Eve or any other time. He came, that’s what matters.

In spite of our secular world, carols are still sing, the baby is worshiped as the Son of God, He is our Immanuel, God with us. While in some places Christianity is being squashed, it is springing up in other places, unexpected places. He is worshipped in cathedrals, massive arenas as well tiny village churches, kitchen tables and secretly.

Two thousand years hasn’t dimmed the message or lessened the significance in our lives. Our increasing years has not changed the message, troubles have not blunted it. The message ‘Good will to men on earth,’ and ‘Glory to God in the highest,’ is still is the message to us. Let us rejoice in it today.

The Eve of Christmas Eve

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Tomorrow Advent turns into Christmas; which is the eve of the eve of Jesus coming to earth. It had long been foretold, the prophets were expecting it but the people were not ready. It was the season when God broke into time from His timeless world. In many countries children will put up their stocking and the bells will ring.

As Christians we can be ready, the importance of our festivities can fade into the background and the wonder of Christmas itself burst into our souls. As the years go by some are ready, some are not. It will be the same with the second coming of God to earth. Some will be ready and waiting, some will not be ready until it is too late.

When we see the troubles and wars round the world, we can long for the day when Jesus will return. But no-one knows when that will be, soon or far into the distance. What we know is we have today, let us not waste that. Every day we have is a gift from God. It is a day for living, not only for waiting. I believe that expectant waiting should be an action-filled time.

Wise Men

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When it comes to the writers of carols, I think the wise men have a poor deal. I know chronologically they came after the birth, manger and shepherds, maybe even a few years afterwards, but even so they are important. The only ‘kings’ carol we sing regularly at this season is ‘We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we travel afar. (my childlike mind used to wonder what ‘orion tar’ was! A special kind of tar perhaps!). Being a lover of alliteration I love the first verse ‘field and fountain, moor and mountain.’ The wise men certainly travelled a long way.

Three verses deal with the three gifts – ‘gold I bring to crown Him again.’ And ‘King for ever.’ Then frankincense ‘God on earth yet Priest on high.’ And finally myrrh. ‘Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying, sealed in a stone-cold tomb.’

The centre of the carol seems to be the star. ‘O star of wonder, star of light.’ But of all the written words connected with the kings the most memorable are Christiana Rossetti’s.

‘What can I give Him, poor as I am,

If I were a shepherd I would bring a lamb;

If I were a wise man, I would do my part;

Yet what I can I give Him, give my heart.’

Shepherds

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‘While shepherds watch their flocks by night.’ by Nathum Tate. This is the first line of another one of our much loved carols. The Son of God came to this world and was welcomed by shepherds. This gives me hope. I don’t mix with royalty, I am not known by important people. I don’t move in distinguished circles. I’m just a run of-the-mill person and so were the shepherds. These blessed shepherds, called by angels were the first to see Jesus. Although they were stunned by the whole thing, they can’t have guessed at the great significance of what was happening.

‘Fear not,’ the angel said – for mighty dread had seized their troubled minds’, no wonder the shepherds had troubled minds, seeing angels talking to them in the middle of their night shift. But the message was the same as was told so many times in the nativity story ‘Fear not.’ The whole story has many people frightened out of their lives as they are comforted by angels. The list includes Mary, Joseph and now the shepherds. Their message was clear go and find the baby who you will find in a manger bed. There can’t have been be many mangers with babies in them in Bethlehem on the night!

Bethlehem

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When I visited Bethlehem a few years ago, the protective wall round the city was being constructed. On entering the city our coach was stopped and examined. The same thing happened when we left. At one stage the car I was travelling in, driven by a known Christian driver, was pelted with stones. The town itself was full of cheap knick-knacks. The supposed place where Jesus was born had become a tourist attraction.

My visit saddened me. The Saviour of the World did not seem to be present. ‘On little town of Bethlehem, how still we see you lie.’ Not when I was there. There was the sound of distant gun-fire. Prophetic, I suppose.

But still ‘the silent stars go by,’ and the message is still ‘peace on earth.’ Still ‘praises sing to God our King.’ and ‘peace to men on earth,’ if they will listen. The state of the world does not change the message. The God of Peace wants to give us peace., ‘where meek souls will receive Him.’ It is up to each one of to say and sing ‘O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Immanuel.’

O Come All Ye Faithful

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This lovely Christmas Carol, thought to be have been written by John Francis Wade, is sometimes referred to by it’s Latin title – Adeste Fideles, though I imagine few of us could recite the rest of the carol in Latin. It is often sung at the beginning of Advent as it is an invitation to come, come and worship the King.

It is the faithful who are invited, those who believe in the uniqueness of His birth.(though I believe there is a version which says, ‘Come, all you unfaithful,’ for all are invited) We are invited to join in with the citizens of heaven above, those who have reached their destination and are waiting for us to join them. Yes, we mostly have to adjust the final verse from – ‘Born that happy morning’ unless we are singing on Christmas Day.

‘God of God, Light of Light, begotten, not created.’ God was never created, He just was, is and will be. In this carol every verse concludes with the words ‘O come, let us adore, Him, Christ the Lord.’ An invitation for us to worships once again. May the wonder of this time never fade from our minds or become ordinary. ‘Come and behold Him, born the King of Angels.’ And king of our lives as well.

Do Church

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Do we do church each Sunday or do we meet with the Lord? At this special season of Christmas do the words of scripture we hear so often year after year go over our heads in their familiarity? We’ve heard them so many times before, does the actual meaning of the words sink into our minds? We probably know the words off by heart, even if we use a different biblical version.

To be christened Joy could be a burden if we’re feeling sad. Joy by name, joy by nature won’t always be the case. My name Carol can also be a burden, I’m not noted for my lovely singing voice! But the names Jesus was given to proclaim His nature and calling – Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

We can say the right things at the Carol Service, even smile at the vicar’s wife but our hearts can remain untouched. It was Jesus Himself who told us that the outward appearances are not important, it is what is in the heart. It is our hearts that God sees and is interested in.

May the very core of our hearts be close to God. At Christmas He came to us, may we now come to Him.