Parish Link - December 2020

Imagine a place of perfect peace

Imagine a Place of Perfect Peace

Dear Friends

Imagine a place of perfect peace: an island in the ocean, where the sun always shines, and people live happily together - in harmony with one another and with God. Such a wonderful place!

Now imagine a ship, on its way to this island. The ship has a name: Rules and Regulations. You are on board this fine vessel. You can trust the Rules and Regulations to bring you to the island without any issues. But there is one problem: the crew and passengers, being humans, never fail to punch holes in the Rules and Regulations. In fact, they are so hopeless at sailing this good ship, that she is doomed to sink long before she reaches the island. Such a shame.

So, there is nothing for it but to swim. Each to their own, now! Swim as well as you can, using all your gifts and talents to keep afloat and stay on course: intellect, perseverance, meditation, good intentions, hard work – let's put everything into it. One day we will get to the island of peace and loving harmony.

Or will we? Let’s be honest. We are exhausted. And even though we have made some progress, there is still an awful long way to go. Our world is getting colder and darker, and we are alone. Perhaps one day we may need to face the fact that we may never get there…

But look! There, on the horizon, a small light. It's growing stronger, slowly. It's approaching, from the direction of the island. What is it? It is the rescue party!

That's the story of Christmas in a nutshell. God himself, by divine initiative, reaches out to those who will never make it on their own. God comes down to the rescue us. Jesus - whose name means 'rescuer' – is born. God among us, the light of the world, brings us God's peace.

With every Christmas blessing,

Rev Johannes Nobel