One phrase often struck me when I was a young man. ‘They’re too heavenly minded to be of any earthly use’, it was said of various preachers and religious-minded people, and I understood precisely what was meant. The language used by Christians and others can sometimes come across as strange and obscure, almost incomprehensible to the average person on the street. If we’re lucky, they assume we mean well and do their best to understand us; more likely, they shake their head in confusion and leave us to our peculiar ways.
I was determined from the outset of my ministry to, as far as possible, avoid falling into that trap of spouting theological jargon, and in my preaching and subsequent writing I’ve always tried to relate faith to daily life. Nowhere more so than in my series of books, Heaven Touching Earth; Touched By His Hand; Touching Down; and Touching the Seasons – each of which builds on something I’d seen during the course of a day, and attempted to explore how it might relate to the Christian message. With the final book in the series, Touching the Seasons, that was particularly easy, as so much in everyday life is used as symbols at key times of the year: Advent, Christmas, Lent, Easter and the like. The book offers a hundred simple prayers rooted in everyday experience, the commonplace offering a springboard to personal devotion, and this week, until 29 November, Kevin Mayhew Ltd are offering 10 per cent off the recommended price of £7.99. That means a saving of 80 pence using the code THESEASONS10 when ordering the title from the company’s website. Just type the code into the relevant box at the online checkout between the dates given.
With Advent almost upon us, I’ve selected reflections this week from the first section of the book: ‘Advent and Christmas’. Other sections include Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Harvest, All Saints’ Day, Remembrance Day and many more.
Here’s the first of the sessions I’ll be posting this week from the book, to run alongside this promotion.
The frost
It lay thick on the ground,
holding the world in its icy grip –
soil rock hard,
leaves scorched,
buds nipped,
water turned to ice –
yet already new growth was stirring,
bulbs swelling,
snowdrops lifting their dainty heads,
and winter shrubs blossoming in joyful defiance.
Remind me, Lord,
that even in the darkest days of life
and the bleak chill of death,
you are there,
bringing new beginnings.
For your life-giving power,
beyond containment,
receive my praise.
Amen.