Decadent Beauty
There are two kinds of this.

I have seen both.

The beauty of a mountain valley, full of the fragrances of summer.

Ripened fruit, blossoming flowers, apple juice, and homemade jams.

Sweaty men freshing themselves in a lake.

The bleats of shorn sheep fill the air along with the buzzing of insects.

The sky a plain canvas of blue, and the heat of the sun fills everything with warmth.
A group of young friends walk and laugh together.

Run and play together - their love for each other is unspoken but clearly present.

The full expressions of themselves, their personalities, their opinions, their thoughts, their passions.

Their identity's are secure and they feel free to be true to themselves with each other. God's dwelling with them - in the silent moments and in the hearty thrust of debate.

His spirit boils up inside theirs - bursting forth with randomly creative ideas and new visions of life to transform communities.

They receive a glimpse of heaven while God imprints his upon their hearts a determination to bring more of the celestial into the world.

Second kind comes from a powerful man.

His bedroom is kept in state in a old museum in Paris.

He believed he was a God and so he created his chambers to reflect this.

Everything is covered with gold and silk - the ultimate expression of human decadence.

Beautiful it is - but lonely it feels.

This Sunday we light our third symbolic sparkler and remember the meaning of Advent (the visit of Jesus).We wait and we marinate in:The remembrance of Israel’s yearning for the coming Messiah, to save, forgive and restore them.Our hope for the second coming of Jesus where everything will be restored.The realisation of our own need for Gods grace, through Jesus.
God, stir in our hearts excitement about the visit of your Son.

Jesus, thank you that as we wait, even waiting through pain, we are aware you are here.

Thank you that your promises are like honey... help us to pass on the sweetness.

Waiting. This word has real resonance for me at this time as I continue on in my journey of emotional healing. A journey that is not optional but essential in order to be able to fully connect with those around me and the world in which I live. As past memories surface reminding me of the wounds deep within - I ache so badly. So, so badly. I would do anything to numb the pain – but I wait. The journey of waiting is as necessary as the healing that I long for with all that I am.

Waiting brings a depth to my experience. My experience of myself, my experience of others and my experience of my God. The waiting is necessary but God knows how much I beg Him to take it away. He could. He’s a God of miracles as I’m told time and time again. And yet I wait. I continue waiting. While I wait I hear my God telling me to keep looking ahead and to hold on tightly. He warns me not to be afraid of the depths down there below, that He is with me.

‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me’ Ps23 v4.

Deep inside I know I’m on my way up from the underground. I’m on my way out, past all the pictures that remind me of so much that terrified me once a long time ago. ‘Hold on my child’, I hear Him say. I continue waiting. How much longer Lord? I don’t think I can take much more. This is too much. You said that you would not give me more than I can bear. I start feeling like I’ve been stolen away by the darkness and then I realise.....I’m still standing....waiting.

‘If I say, ‘surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me’, even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.’ Ps 139 v11-12. Inside I know my God knows me and my God hears my cry in the loneliness of the night. Yet I shouldn’t even know this with the wounds that I bear. My spirit just seems to know that my God is for me. Waiting is the journey I must make. Waiting means tears and vulnerability - when all I want to be is strong. Waiting means pain and more pain - when all I want is relief. Waiting means holding on even when you can’t see clearly and there is no obvious way of escape. Waiting implies there is hope and there is. Hope comes in the waiting. Waiting is the journey I must take.

‘Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’ 1 Cor 13v7.

I continue to wait.........

The passover meal is a beautiful ritual celebrated by Jewish families across the world. It is rich in remembering. The crux of the ritual comes when, using bitter herbs, they attempt to experience what it was like to be in slavery as their ancestors were. The bitter herbs are not only symbolic of painful times, but a physical aid for experiencing.
Remembering is crucial to our spiritual life. We are told frequently throughout scripture to remember. Remembering can be one of the highlights part of waiting.

Take something bitter, salt, vinegar,and put it in your mouth. Use this taste to evoke memories of bitter times in your life.

Reflect on a hardship, pain, a trialling period.
Try and think about how this pain has shaped you.
Remember the hand of God.
Celebrate that God is presence through all times, good and bad.

Vinegar

Vinegar has been made and used by people for thousands of years. Traces of it have been found in Egyptian urns from around 3000 BC.

In the

Bible , it is mentioned as something not very pleasant ( psalm 69:21, Prov 25:20).

Boaz allows Ruth to "dip her piece of bread in the vinegar" (Ruth 2:14).

While the Nazarites, on the other hand, were not allowed to drink either wine vinegar or malt vinegar.

Jesus was offered vinegar while on the cross according to the King James version of the Bible, yet actually it was sour wine or wine that was off. It was common for this to be given out by women of charity to comfort those dying on the cross.

Whatever it was - it tasted bitter.

Jesus knows the bitter taste.

Christmas points to Jesus

It points to his birth, his life, and the joy of heralding the new kingdom.
But is also envitably points to the cross.
The mention of ol' rugged,
the mention of the pain and suffering,
the mention of atonement for our darkest deeds.
In one sense it tarnishes the moment.
It casts a shadow across the gleeful celebrations.

It leaves a bitter taste.

Bitter like the wine he tasted in his last moments on the cross

But just like the sharp bite of a merlot - the first taste leads on to a fuller experience, a deeper satisfaction and a greater experience of life.

Give a gift of taste...

Today- pass a piece of fudge/ chocolate/ sweet wrapped in a promise from God to someone...

At Christmas- rather then giving an iphone why not bake a cake, create a dish or make Turkish delight for everyone you know...

For Life- Determine to leave a sweet taste in peoples mouths; build up don't pull down, bring out their goodness not their badness, promote their interests not your own interests...

"How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:108
Shall we take time to remember the words of God, savour their significance.
Okay, put some honey in your mouth. I mean, literally, do it. Maybe you don't have easy access to honey, maybe a bit of a candy cane, strawberry, a chocolate...
As you let it sit on your tongue, melting, dissolving, coating your mouth with sugar, reflect on some of Gods promises.
I will never leave you...
Nothing can separate you from my love...
Sift through your mind and choose one. Turn it over, look at it from different angles, like a prism in the sunlight.
Let Gods promise sit there, permeating your mind as the sweetness in your mouth permeates your taste buds.