Radio Christmas Talk

Radio Christmas studio this morning

For me, one of the joys of currently living with fewer restrictions is the almost weekly opportunity, on my day off, of going into London and attending Great Sacred Music at St Martin in the Fields.  It’s a thirty-five minute sequence of hymns and anthems, sung by St Martins Voices, with introductions and reflections offered in between each one from The Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of this world famous church on the edge of Trafalgar Square.  It’s a precious well-spring and I’m immensely grateful for it.

Last week I had a little time to spare before Great Sacred Music began so I spent it in the National Gallery, turning left at the top of the stairs and heading to the Medieval section, full of church art.  These particular galleries contain numerous paintings, often from Italian churches, which have remained as inspiringly vibrant and colourful as when painted centuries ago.

Apart from the beauty of these images the thing that struck me most was their date.  Many came from the 14^th century.  This wasn’t an idyllic age, but one dominated by bubonic plaque, the Black Death.   I’m amazed that in a day and age when fear and anxiety hung heavy in the air, that artists could lift their horizons and paint with such hope.  It’s as if, in the face of death, they choose deliberately and purposefully to believe in hope.  I came away from the gallery thankful not simply for these stunning paintings but also for those who painted them with such insight.

A year ago yesterday the first vaccine was approved here in the UK.  In the midst of our despair came a great moment of hope and a different day began to dawn. 

Indeed, throughout recent months we have been surrounded by hope, expressed through the wonders of science, the provision of government, the companionship of people and the deep security which faith in God can bring.

In these early days of Advent, even with a dusting of snow over Amersham yesterday, we are invited once more, whatever the backdrop of our lives, to place our trust anew in the One who came as light and hope for our world.  For generations people of faith have learnt that no matter what our challenges, be it war or plague, God walks alongside us even on the bleakest of days and holds us.  We stand on the shoulders of giants, those who have gone before and kept trusting, kept believing and kept hoping.  Let’s not drop the baton now but once again place our hope in the One who once said: I am with you till the end of the age.

May God’s hope fill our lives, today and always.