Unusual circumstances this year have led to two
problems with Christmas cards in our house, both caused by restricted
time. The first of these is that we only
started sending out cards two days ago.
With several hundred to go out, it’s has been a hard job. A few have had to go first class and we still
have some in a pile waiting for addresses to be checked. The second problem is finding somewhere to
put all the cards we have received (great to get letters with some too). So, they are still in an untidy pile.
One thing that annoys me is the habit
some people have of feeling they must
send a card back to everyone who has sent them one. Last Christmas Eve I dropped a few off by
hand quite late. I was amazed to get a
couple back the next morning! I fear
that I am unlikely to have reciprocated for every card received this year. But while some find the whole practise of
sending and receiving cards a chore, I do value the cards we receive. A few have been hand-made. I wonder at the amount of time this will have
taken. Others include cards that clearly
have been carefully chosen, such as one from a sister in law and one from our
former foster son (well, at 47 it no longer seems right to call him our foster son, but he’s still our boy!).
My late colleague, Monica, was more
gregarious than me and attracted an amazing number of good friends. Often there was no room to display all the
Christmas cards she received. I think
that she also sometimes packed them up and took them with her if she was away
over Christmas. She did something
wonderful with Christmas cards she received.
Monica was single, and during the holiday period, had some times on her
own. During these times, she
systematically went through the cards received, pausing over each one to say a
prayer, or to give thanks for the person or people who had sent them. I think that is an amazing expression of love
and appreciation for the greetings exchanged.
Maybe I’ll try to make some time when I
can do that this year – or as they come down (once I get them up!). How about you?
When I moved into the East Midlands
eleven years ago, I was amazed to find that in a town of around 20,000 people,
folk greeted strangers that they passed.
It seemed more friendly than down south.
But I was slightly disturbed by the greeting “Are you alright?” as it made me wonder if I looked ill. I’ve got used to it now. In case you do not know the standard reply,
is “I’m good, how are you?”. I guess it’s not much different from the
traditional, “How do you do?” which
does not expect and answer to the question, but does expect a “How do you do” in return.
When I first entered Christian ministry,
I was trained by a first-class mission secretary to begin letters with the
words “Greetings in the precious name of Jesus!” I still do that occasionally. I also love the greeting at church, “God is
good” to which the congregation should respond with “All the time”, and then
the process is reversed by the service leader.
I am informed that early Christians greeted one another with the word
“Maranatha”, which is Aramaic for “Come, O Lord”. This was especially precious during times of
persecution within the Roam Empire.
One American Conference speaker told of a
situation during a conference in the States where he had spoken about the
second coming, and informed his congregation of the Maranatha greeting. Early the following morning he went out for a
run and saw two women (he described them as blue rinse ladies) jogging towards
him. As they recognised who was
approaching them they quickly engaged in conversation together. Then, as the passed, they greeted him with
“Marijuana, brother” (pronounced marawana).
Well it was nearly right!
In the prison choir I lead on Tuesday
afternoons (it’s like my day off with some added value), I have a North Korean prisoner
and was glad that I had been taught how to greet him properly in his language,
including the bow. More recently, we
have had the addition of a Chinese Christian.
Not content with the basic “Nee How” greeting in Mandarin Chinese, I
have been learning how to greet him, and the folk at our local Chinese Takeaway
with more sophisticated expressions. I
love getting the appropriate response, which I presume signals that the smile
is not just one of bemusement at some mispronunciation or something worse!
I believe that Charles Finney, the 19th
Century revivalist, used to sometimes greet people with the words, “Do I meet you in revival?”. Another Christian leader would ask, “Do I meet you praying?” Both greetings carry a challenge.
By contrast, the Hebrew greeting, “Shalom” is a word of peace. But it carries deep meanings, also implying
that there is nothing of a negative nature between those exchanging this
greeting. It is essentially a form of
blessing.
At the opposite end of a meeting, there
are similar words of blessing in various languages. For example, “Goodbye” is a simplification of “God be with you”. “Adios”
in Spanish is basically meaning “Go with God”.
I hear many Christians say, “Goodbye,
and God bless you”, but not always to non-Christian contacts. Why not?
I don’t want to fret over whether it
should be happy Christmas or merry Christmas. Usually, whoever is using either
expression means the same. Merry is
probably better as it does not contain the implication of chance, whereas the
word happy does. It is possible to merry (a pleasant state of mind) without
alcohol!
So, I pray that you will have a merry
Christmas, brought about by the conscious enjoyment of God’s super abundant
blessing. I hope we will all greet the
New Year prayerfully and seek to pass its days in revival.
No prayer requests this time (even
though I could give you quite a few). Instead, why not take some time out over
the next few days to return thanks and praise to God, not just for the
occasional blessings that have come our way, but for whom God has been revealed
to be through scripture and our experience?
After all…., God is good…
(Did you respond?)
Barry
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