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Polmont Old Advent Logo © Iain Morrison


Polmont Old Advent Logo © Iain MorrisonAdvent 2:
VOICE 1: Today is the second Sunday in Advent, when we remember God's word in the Old Testament and His Prophets, who spoke out fearlessly against oppression and they proclaimed God's justice. Isaiah said these words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me, he has sent me to proclaim good news to the poor, to proclaim release for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to let the broken victims go free."

VOICE 2: Because of their courage and conviction we are even more confident of the message proclaimed by the Prophets. We do well to pay attention to it, because it is like a lamp shining in a dark place until the Day dawns and the light of the morning star shines in your hearts.

VOICE 3: We light the second candle because God's word shines on in the darkness and the darkness has not extinguished it. We light the candle for the Prophets who fanned the flame for justice, and who pointed the way to the wonder of God's Love, the Light of the World, the Morning Star, Jesus Christ. In the New Testament, God has shown us the wonder of His love for us in Jesus, So that through the written word, and the spoken word we may behold the Living Word.

Prayer:
Loving God our Father we thank You for Your eternal Love to us. On this second Sunday in Advent, as we light the second candle, we are reminded of the Old Testament prophets who pointed to the coming of Your Son. We give thanks for their faithfulness in pointing the way especially in difficult times, and as we are living in difficult times, we ask for the help of Your Holy Spirit that we might follow in the footsteps of the Prophets and be faithful in living and loving and showing the world of Your love shining in and through us for Jesus sake. Amen.

Reading for the second Sunday in Advent:

Isaiah Ch 40 V 9 to 11:
Polmont Old Good Shepherd icon picture © Iain MorrisonYou who bring good tidings to Zion, go up on a high mountain. You who bring good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up your voice with a shout, lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the towns of Judah, "Here is your God!"

See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him.

He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Some thoughts for the Second Sunday in Advent:

The prophets talked about God by using different images, in one hand God is described as coming in Power, but a few lines later he is described as shepherd gathering and caring for the lambs. The first image seems to have taken precedence over the second. And so when the child was born in Bethlehem many of them missed Him.

THEY MISSED HIM!
The Old testament prophets and people were looking for a lion, but He came as a lamb, and they missed Him!

They were looking for a warrior, He came as a Peacemaker, and they missed Him!

They were looking for a King, He came as a servant, and they missed Him. They were looking for libetaion from Rome, He submitted to the Roman State, and they missed Him.

They were looking for someone to fit their idea and descriptio, He was the mould breaker, and the missed him!

Who are you looking for this Christmas?

Will you miss Him?

The contrasts of Christmas:

The way we observe Christmas these days is a far cry from the tranquil manger scene that welcomed Jesus into the world some 2000 years ago.

Consider the contrasts of:
Purple Cross Icon The Solitude of the manger as against today’s Christmas rush!

Purple Cross Icon God’s mercy in sending His Son versus the rudeness and selfishness of holiday shoppers!

Purple Cross IconThe free gift of salvation in contrast to the forced giving of commercialization!

Purple Cross IconThe adoration of the newborn King, as against commitments that distract us from Worship!

Purple Cross Icon The joyful anticipation of the shepherds in contrast to the stress and rush of preparing for the Christmas holidays.

Unfortunately, this holy season has become something of a gift buying marathon. Some people go into debt to buy costly gifts they can't afford and their families don't need. The result is debt, stress, and worry.

We need to move away from the materialism of December and shift our emphasis from the shopping trolley back to the manger as the reason for the season. Christmas isn't the time to throw caution to the wind and allow a well-meaning, generous spirit to dictate spending. Instead, it's the time to honour the One whose birthday we're celebrating and be good financial stewards of all he has entrusted to us.

Something to do today

Click here to listen to and see the Christmas story in art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art - beautifully done! Opens in a new window.

Watch the story of the Birth of Jesus



Today we are going to learn about the Yule Log:
Polmont Old Old picture of a yule log being dragged home icon picture © Iain MorrisonBurning a Yule log is probably the oldest Christmas tradition. It started even before the first Christmas. Celebrating Yule means no work as long as the special log burns. Once the log was burning family, friends and neighbours would gather for songs and stories, dances and romances, feasts and fun.

At first, burning a Yule log was a celebration of the winter solstice. In Scandinavia, Yule ran from several weeks before the winter solstice to a couple weeks after. This was the darkest time of year, and the people celebrated because days would start getting longer after the solstice. There was quite a bit of ritual and ceremony tied to the Yule log, for it marked the sun's rebirth from its southern reaches. The Yule log gets its name from the Scandinavian tradition, but the ritual burning of a special log during winter solstice took place as far west as Ireland, as far south as Greece, and as far north as Siberia. The word Yule means wheel, the wheel being an early symbol for the sun.

In the fourth century AD When Pope Julius I decided to celebrate Christmas around the Winter Solstice, the Yule log tradition continued, but the fire came to represent the light of the Saviour instead of the light of the Sun.

On or about Christmas eve, a big log was brought into a home or large hall. In the early days the Yule Log would have been a whole tree. Songs were sung and stories told. Children danced. Offerings of food and wine and decorations were placed upon it. Personal faults, mistakes and bad choices were burned in the flame so everyone's new year would start with a clean slate. The log was never allowed to burn completely, a bit was kept in the house to start next years log. The log brought good luck. Any pieces that were kept supposedly protected a house from fire, or lightning, or hail. Ashes of the log would be placed in wells to keep the water good. Ashes were also placed at the roots of fruit trees and vines to help them bear a good harvest.

The burning of the Yule log marked the beginning of Christmas celebrations. In Appalachia, as long as the log, or "backstick" burned you could celebrate. Often a very large "backstick" was chosen and soaked in a stream to ensure a nice long celebration.

Polmont Old Old picture of a French Chocoloate yule log icon picture © Iain MorrisonIn England the log was supposed to burn for the twelve days of Christmas, from Christmas eve on December 24th to Epiphany on January 6th. Some Yule logs were large enough that a team of horses were required to drag it to the castle or manor. Some English preferred a log from an ash tree. In the Slavic and other countries oak was the wood of choice. Almost everywhere, the fire was started with that bit of the last year's log, to symbolize continuity and the eternal light of heaven.

In some parts of France, a special carol was sung when the log was brought into the home. The carol prayed for health and fertility of mothers, nanny-goats, ewes, and an abundant harvest. Of course the French were probably the first to eat their yule logs. They started out burning them like everyone else, but when big open fireplaces began to disappear in France, they moved the tradition to the table by making a cake roll that looked like a Yule log, called a "Buche de Noel".

You have a choice. You can burn your yule log like the English. Or if you don't have a fireplace, you can eat it like the French. If you don't need anymore Christmas goodies around the house, you can light a special candle as they do in Denmark and Norway. Or you can use a decorated log as a center piece like the Italian "ceppo". However you mark your Yuletide, the spirit of the tradition requires gathering family and friends for a warm and cheery celebration.

Here is a Yule log to colour in - right click to download the picture and colour it in using your Paint Programme.

Polmont Old Colour in Yule log to colour in © Iain Morrison