Author: Rev Pete Phillips

John Betjeman’s famous Christmas poem begins with advent and describes well our
own experiences today – indeed doesn’t that last line sound like a couple of places
perhaps up near Cookham (actually they are colours of water paints!).

The bells of waiting Advent ring,
The Tortoise stove is lit again
And lamp-oil light across the night
Has caught the streaks of winter rain
In many a stained-glass window sheen
From Crimson Lake to Hookers Green.

The preparations for Christmas are well under way with lights blazing in the streets,
shopping trips being made, mince pies on sale since August! Those poor people in
their vans delivering our online shopping must be worn out…and I wonder whether
all the cable-related roadworks will be finished in time? Of course, daily life goes on.
Amidst all the preparations, those of us who are in a job still have to work, those
retired must play golf (???), those who are poorly must fill in their e-consults, and the
kids have the nativity plays to rehearse!

But advent, the time to prepare for Christmas, hopefully also gives us time to
contemplate the meaning of the season. Many, by the sounds of the fireworks, have
already celebrated Diwali which reminds us of the triumph of light over the darkness,
the bringing in of the harvest and divine gifts to us as mortals. But Christmas isn’t
just about plenty of wonderful food, piles of presents and a few days off work.
Christmas is when Christians celebrate the birthday of Jesus – a man revered
across different religious traditions, a man who fought for the rights of the outside, of
the poor, of the meek. A man who challenged the authorities and wandered the
length and breadth of what we might call today Israel/Palestine with his group of
friends. A man who would show how much he loved us by dying on a cross on Good
Friday and rise again on Easter Day.

One of the amazing things about Jesus was how often he spent time with people
around the meal table. His enemies called him, rather unfairly, a glutton and a
drunkard (Matthew 1:19). He didn’t just have meals with his friends, but also with tax
collectors (do you know the story of Zacchaeus), with his friends (???) in the Jewish
leadership, at weddings and village celebrations. Indeed, his established the
traditions around church services as a time to eat bread and drink wine. He even
said that where two or three believers are gathered today, he is there among them.
Why not pop in over Christmas and have a chat about that with us?
Perhaps, as well, if you are facing a lonely Christmas, you might pray that Christ will
be known to you whatever Christmas brings. Many churches and many other places
around Maidenhead will be offering hospitality this Christmas. Hopefully, there is
space for all to celebrate and to remember that Jesus came to bring hope and joy
and peace to all humanity. As Betjeman finishes his poem:

And is it true? And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?

…And is it true? And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window’s hue,
A Baby in an ox’s stall ?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me ?

Merry Christmas

Pete Phillips, Minister at High St Methodist Church and St Marks Crescent Methodist
Church.

Do you remember that old Fawlty Towers episode when Basil tells everyone in the hotel not to mention the war because they have some German guests as residents? The problem is that none of them, Basil especially, can then get the war out of their heads. Comedy ensues. Ministers of churches are often told to be political but not party-political. So, it’s bad practice to support one party from the pulpit. Don’t mention the vote! But that’s not to say that the church and people of Christian faith and other faiths are not political. It could be argued that religion is, at its core, about caring for our neighbours and seeking to live in harmony both with them and with the world in which we live. Religion is about us reaching out beyond ourselves to make connections with others, to support those in need, to bring healing into our broken world.

Across that world, we have seen a gradual shift away from that concept with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, alongside China’s aggression in Hong Kong and the South China Sea, and the Houthi aggression in Yemen. War has made a come back – although did it ever disappear. The horrors which have followed on from Hamas’ atrocious attack on Israeli citizens last October have horrified the whole world. The tensions and disruptions caused by such wars ripple out across the world, causing economic deprivation and hardship and yet more political upheaval. Indeed, the shift in European politics a harder line against those in need, against the neighbour, against refugees, could all be seen as a defence mechanism in the face of war.

Religion is at its core about love for our neighbours, care for those in need, living in harmony with the world around us. Such concepts reach beyond political party designations and reach deeper into who we are as human beings. Perhaps it gives us a guide about who or what to vote for in our own general election. But it needs to act as a guide for how to be better humans, here in Maidenhead.

Revd Dr Peter Phillips

High St Methodist Church, Maidenhead

In her song “Feeling Good”, Nina Simone declares: “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new life, and I feel
good.” For many of us approaching the new year this year, we may not feel as optimistic.
Our world is riven by wars and international stress. As I write this, the Israel/Gaza war
continues – a war most likely precipitated by Irano-Russian training/support for the terrorist
organisation controlling Gaza, Hamas, as a way to deflect the global community from the
longer and now entrenched war in Ukraine. The horrors inflicted on the people of Israel on
October 7th will stain humanity for ever. Indeed the stains of war will stain humanity – war in
Ukraine, Yemen, Syria, Gaza, South Sudan, Somalia. The political tensions still in
Afghanistan, the South China Sea, now in South America too. We are at a difficult period in
the life of our modern civilisation. Difficult times, both on the world scene and at home with
homelessness, rough sleeping and waiting lists on the rise. Our own council faced with
massive debt as central government has sought to balance the books.

After all the pomp of Christmas, the angels, and shepherds, the wise men, Jesus and his
family found themselves on the road to Egypt, so Matthew’s Gospel tells us, fleeing the
wrath of the government. The saviour of the world seeking refuge in a foreign and
unfriendly place before returning north to Nazareth where he would grow up. Indeed, we
hear a good deal of Jesus walking the roads of Palestine, raising the dust, with his disciples
in train. It wasn’t a very settled life for him and eventually the Romans would kill him as a
rebel leader, a pretender from the North. Wars, refugees, rebellion. Part of the Christian
story and part of what Jesus came to bring to an end – the Prince of Peace.

There’s a poem by Minnie Haskins which lots of us will have read before – about putting our
hand into the hand of God to offer us a safe way into the future. God knows, we all need
some help and may God be there for all those who reach out to him in whatever
circumstances they find him this New Year.