A Message from the Manse
A few weeks ago my wife and I spent a few days at Creiff Hydro in Perthshire (thanks to the Meikle Trust who subsidise the cost for Ministers and their families).
While we were there, we did a couple of things we have never done before – two things that were on both of our bucket lists. The first was Segways – motorized wheels that you stand on, with a central column to help with your balance – and you control them by leaning slightly in the direction you want to go. They were brilliant and I now know what I want for Christmas – in fact I think that all Parish Ministers should be issued with one so that they can go round visiting people – saving time and reducing the carbon footprint of using cars.
The other thing we did for the first time was horse riding – I don’t know if you have ever been on one – but let me tell you that John Wayne and all the other cowboys make it look easy – but it’s not – the horses all have minds of there own – they ignore where you tell them to go and just go where they want to.
And you use muscles that you have never used in that way before – and so it is painful. When we started riding we headed uphill and to do so you have to lean slightly forward to take the weight off the
back of the horse. It’s slightly uncomfortable but manageable and you get a chance to look around at the views from a raised vantage point, as it were.
The problem with riding uphill, is that when you reach the summit of the hill – you have to go downhill – and let me tell you – going downhill on the back of a horse is anything but comfortable.
You have to lean back and then hold on with your thighs as the horse seems to waddle excessively from side to side as it steps slowly down the hill.
By the time you reach the bottom of the hill, your thighs are aching and you’re wondering why you ever thought horse riding was a good idea.
But as you head back to the stables you find that you can now control where the horse is going – and taking encouragement in your new found riding ability, you relax and enjoy the trek.
On reaching the stables you dismount gingerly, aware of sore muscles that you didn’t know you had – but with a sense of achievement and even allowing for the pain, a feeling of joy.
Jesus rode on a donkey into Jerusalem – he received a hero’s welcome – but I wonder what emotions he was feeling at the time.
The Bible never mentions Jesus riding anywhere else, so it’s probably safe to assume that his muscles would have been used in ways they were not used to and therefore he probably was in quite a bit of discomfort.
It says in the Bible that as Jesus approached Jerusalem he wept – not because he was on a donkey and it was downhill but because he knew what was going to happen to him. He knew that the people would welcome him as a hero and then, just a few days later, the same people would cry out for his crucifixion.
After his triumphant entry through the city gates and as Jesus stepped down from the back of the donkey I wonder if he felt a sense of achievement, if he felt joy in seeing the people waving their palm branches – or was he saddened by what he could see in their hearts.
As Jesus watches us at his time – as we enter Advent and approach Christmas – is he joyful that we celebrate his birth.
Or is he sad that we celebrate all the trimmings – the decorations, the food, the parties, the presents.
The pain of horse riding or donkey riding is nothing compared to the pain that Jesus would bear on the cross.
But that pain he gladly bore because he loves us – how joyful he will be if we celebrate him this Christmas and not celebrate as the world does.
Rev Les Brunger
Uddingston Burnhead Parish Church
Church of Scotland
Pre-5 Praise Group
Pre 5 Praise continue to meet on a Tuesday morning (term time) between 10 and 11am. This year we have had fun around the stories of creation, Noah’s ark and the need for prayer. We recently had our Christmas party during which we had a visit from a gentleman in a red suit!
If you have or care for a child who is birth to 5 years of age, please come along and join us. You will be made very welcome. We return from the Christmas break on the 10th January.
God Bless You,
Carol Brunger
Bible Class
The Bible Class, (6 teenagers & 2 adults) meet on Sunday mornings during the church service. We spend some time having fun with quizzes, games etc. and then explore a passage from the Bible. This can take the form of a drama, film or even a debate.
We take a collection every week and have recently decided to distribute this to further God’s work in our community and beyond. The charities we chose were, St Andrew’s Hospice, the SPCA Cat & Dog Home, Waterside and Alzheimer’s Scotland.
Together, the Bible Class and YF recently visited Erskine Care Home. Unsure what to expect, we were in awe of the care our brave ex-service personnel receive and flabbergasted at how much money the charity have to raise every year to do so. On our return the Bible Class decided to organise a quiz sheet to raise some funds for them. Please can we ask you (if you haven’t already) to please support us in this? The sheets are available from any member of the Bible Class and only cost £1. Thank you for your support.
May I also take this opportunity to ask you to keep us in your prayers as we grow in the knowledge of God’s love for us.
God Bless
Carol & Liz
Christmas According To The Movies
How many Movie titles can you find in this Hollywood version of the birth of Jesus? Your answer with the movie titles listed should be handed to the Minister on or before the 15th of January – winner to be announced during the service on the 22nd. Answers can also be submitted online using the box at the end of the article.
A guy named Joe was engaged to Mary, the passion of his life. “It’s a wonderful life” he was often heard to say. Mary was expecting a very special child according to the angel. Gabriel had appeared to her one fine day, nearly scaring the living daylights out of her, but telling her that she was to name her special child Jesus, which means Saviour. “You must have a braveheart, Mary, for he will bring you both agony and ecstasy. Deliverance is the mission he will be entrusted with.”
A mission impossible, it seemed to Mary for his job was not only saving private Ryan but all creatures great and small – the long, the short and the tall – even the good, the bad and the ugly.
When Mary’s time was near, she and Joseph had to make a Journey to the centre of the earth – otherwise known as Bethlehem – for that is where they had to register as part of the Emperor’s census. The town was busy and every holiday inn was full – even heartbreak hotel. All they could find was a lowly stable.
“I would so liked to have had a room with a view” said Mary, the mummy to be.
“Well, this is as good as it gets” replied Joseph.
And so after a hard day’s night, a cry in the dark heralded the birth of the babe –a man for all seasons – the man who would be king.
Meanwhile, out on the hills, wuthering heights they called it, some shepherds were looking after their sheep. All was quiet on the western front for the big sleep had overtaken most of them.
However the dream team were suddenly roused from their slumbers by the sound of music. One after the other let out a shrek or a scream as the night sky was filled with heavenly creatures singing praises to God. No, it wasn’t Charlie’s angels – it was Gabriel’s Angels. Spellbound they listened to the wonderful news that a special baby had been born that night in Bethlehem – a Saviour who was to be Christ the Lord.
“Let’s go and find this miracle on 34th street in Bethlehem” they cried. And with great expectations, footloose, they were gone with the wind. And when they found Mary and Joseph and the baby, just as the angels had said, they went back to their sheep singing in the rain, despite the weather.
Far from the maddening crowd, in a land east of Eden, there were three wise men. They were wise in the sense that they were experts at studying the night sky and therefore in no need of the hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. Scanning the heavens they spotted something unusual.
“A star is born” said one.
“This signals the birth of a new king” said the second.
“We must go and worship him,” said the third man.
Coming from the east, their incredible journey took them first north by northwest, before their star trek finally took them to king Herod in Jerusalem.
Now Herod was a bit of a psycho. Surrounded by his men in black, news of a Jesus Christ superstar was not something he welcomed gladly. There was no way he would relinquish the power and the glory as king. As a man of pride and prejudice as well as a man of secrets and lies, he told the Magi falsely that he wanted to go and worship the baby too when they found him.
After this brief encounter the searchers set off again until the star eventually brought them to Bethlehem and to Mary and Joseph and the Christ child. Offering the Baby Jesus their gifts of gold and myrrh and frankincense, they knelt down to worship him. And what a nice picture it was of three men and a baby.
Warned in a dream that Herod was capable of all manner of evil under the sun and that he intended being terminator rather than worshipper, the wise men took the long way home by a different route.
And to avoid their clear and present danger, Mary and Joseph made their great escape to Egypt where they stayed bringing up baby until Herod died and it was safe to return to Nazareth.
And so Jesus grew up to fulfil his mission he was no accidental hero. His talk of God and the kingdom of heaven made a deep impact. He chose a few good men (and women) and showed himself as the miracle maker, reaching out to include the untouchables and the unforgiven. But it was following his resurrection after the long good Friday that he became King of kings and, not Lord of the rings but Lord of heaven and earth, promising us also the way from here to eternity.
Now that indeed is the greatest story ever told.
The Proclaimer is the magazine of
Uddingston Burnhead Parish Church, 92-94 Laburnum Road, Viewpark, Uddingston, Glasgow, G71 5DB.
Church Website: www.burnheadchurch.com
Scottish Charity No. SC010039
