Bits and bobs!!

It would appear that, even for a Bishop of the Church of England, free speech is no longer an option in our multi-cultural society!  Perhaps Pete Broadbent - whom I have had the pleasure of meeting on a couple of occasions - should have joined the group of Muslims who burned a wooden poppy, and shouted out abusive slogans during the 'Silence' on Nov.11th.  They appear to be a protected species - he is banned from public ministry!!

Of course, it may have to do with the seriousness of the 'crime'.  After all, he actually said (or typed!) what, I suspect, many of the British people think  I was certainly hoping that 'the' wedding would take place while I was away on holiday.  Now I shall have to arrange an extra wee break just to be able to ignore all of the hype of the day!  Okay - the prediction that the marriage would only last seven years may have been a bit silly - but is he not entitled to express a personal opinion?  It's interesting that the superior (in status!) bishop who has taken the step of 'suspending' him, is reported as being a friend of the current immediate heir to the throne!

Thinking of hype, you may have noticed that the Christmas season is upon us.  That time of the year when we celebrate the Incarnation - the coming of the Creator God into this world that He had created, in the Persona of the Son, as a helpless Infant.  Well, that's what I believe it should be.  That's why I wrote to a newspaper, some years ago, commending a particular city for having decided to do away with 'Christmas' and replace it with a totally secular 'Winterfest'.  I suggested that the 'world' could have its commercial, materialistic, consumerist mid-winter break with its central figure of 'Santa Claus' - and let those of us who endeavour, however imperfectly, to follow the Child of Bethlehem get on with celebrating His human birth (which, of course, did not take place on Dec.25th!!!).

He has been mentioned a lot in recent days - Santa, that is, not Jesus!  So far, every Christmas-related comment that I have heard, or read, has contained a reference to the bearded gentleman.  Yet his popularity is not, as some try to suggest, based on the historical Nikolaos of Myra; but on a figure from a fictional poem written in the early years of the 19th century, and then made popular by its use in advertisements for Coca-Cola in the 1930s - more than 100 years later.

Thank goodness for the Church, the Body of Christ, for keeping the Biblical Christmas untainted by human input!  Not!  I have yet to be connected with a congregation/fellowship, however strong it might claim to be on Biblical truth and doctrine, that has not perpetrated the centrality of Santa Claus by having 'him' (i.e. someone dressed in the appropriate clothing, and with a false beard) arriving at the children's party (and, sometimes, even a party for adults!) with his bag of gifts and goodies. And so we perpetrate a lie!  I find it sad that, even for many (most?!) children brought up within Christian families, and with a strong church background, Christmas centres as much, if not more, around Santa as around the Christ-child.

Perhaps, in the same way that some in the church are wakening up to the idea of having an alternative celebration - usually of light - at Hallowe'en, the time will soon come when, at the children's Christmas Party in the church, the singing will be of carols that praise the Lord Jesus; that gifts, if they be required, will be provided by an angelic figure - or, at least, by the Magi; that the real story will not be compromised with Bethlehem being, in effect, replaced by the North Pole!