Page 19 - Herald December 2023

DECEMBER 2023
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE CHURCHES
THE NEW COUNTESTHORPE HERALD 19
PRINCE OF PEACE
which are
Oh, won’t you hold my hand?
Cause I don’t wanna walk
on my own anymore
Won’t you understand?
Cause I don’t wanna walk alone.
We just have to reach out to Jesus, the God who knows what it is like to live our human life and we will find He is there, ready to hold our hand and walk with us whatever we are facing and bring us his peace.
When we think of the peace that Jesus brings to the nations that is harder to define. We catch glimpses of it, through the actions and giving of individuals, through the work organisations are doing in bringing humanitarian aid to those in need, in the protests people make against situations they find unjust and in the steps different governments are trying to make in bringing peace. The Bible promises that there will be a time when all trials and difficulties will end and that time will be when Jesus comes again, not this time as a baby but as the Prince of Peace, not this time in a backwater town in a smelly stable but then the whole world will know and experience the peace that only Jesus can offer.
In the meantime, we continue to hope, work and pray for peace and, as we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace, I hope you, those you love, those caught up in war and the whole of creation will experience more of the peace that Jesus offers, both at this Christmas time and into the New Year.
With very best wishes,
Deacon Sharon
Countesthorpe Methodist Church
O little town of Bethlehem, How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep,
the silent stars go by.
As we enter Advent and look towards Christmas, we are all too aware that this just isn’t the case at the moment in that part of the world. Bethlehem and the surrounding areas are anything but quiet and peaceful and, without getting into the political discussion each time we hear the news or pick up a newspaper, we see stories of innocent men, women and children caught up in this violence. December can be a busy time, with lots of good things to enjoy, but can also mean, as my family say, we can easily get “tired and irritable”. Children can become over-excited with all the good things to enjoy - Christmas plays, parties, visiting family, and this may not have the best effect on their behaviour! Too much to
do, too much to buy, cards to write, presents to wrap, too much food to prepare and eat - the lists go on. Or for some Christmas is a difficult time, those spending time alone, memories of Christmases of the past, loved ones no longer with us, pressure to be enjoying ourselves when life just feels difficult.
What are we celebrating at Christmas? We are celebrating the birth of Jesus, God’s son, born in a smelly, messy stable. One of the names given to Jesus was Prince of Peace. And it seems to me that we need that more
than ever at the moment.
What did it mean for Jesus to be the Prince of Prince? Well, if one carol writer is to be believed, he was a very peaceful baby, one who didn’t cry at all! As he grew up according to another hymn writer, he became gentle Jesus, meek and mild, but is this what Jesus was like? I really don’t think so. He was a normal, healthy baby who would have cried when he was hungry or needed attention and, from other parts of the Bible, we read that Jesus did get angry when he saw that people weren’t being treated fairly. So, what does it mean when we say Jesus is the Prince of Peace?
The peace that Jesus offers is both for us as individuals and for the nations. As well as the Christmas adverts on TV, at the moment there are the holiday company ads and one company uses the song, Hold my Hand by Jess Glynn. The words of
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