Joyful Christmas

Christmas Eve

Have you noticed how Luke tells of the Nativity giving us stories that are filled with light & joy, of angels and the Holy Spirit...of Mary cared for by Elizabeth and then by Joseph and his family in Bethlehem.

joy

Shepherds & Angels

"...and suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God,

and saying

'Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace..."

Nativity : www.jesusmafa.com

"For most of us, there is only the unattended 

Moment, the moment in and out of time,

The wild thyme unseen...

Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply

That is is not heard at all, but you are the music

While the music lasts. These are only hints and guesses...

The hint half guessed, the gift half understood, is Incarnation. "

 T S Eliot : The Dry Salvages

Middle Eastern Nativity Carol

I have just watched and listened to this beautiful carol from the Advent Calendar on
 Embrace the Middle East website... 

click this link: http://www.embraceme.org/8-dec 

and listen to the Byzantine Nativity, whilst watching photos and ancient icons
from Egypt / Sinai / Bethlehem and Syria.

I found this very moving, especially after all the news from Syria
and after reading "Once Upon a Country " by Sari Nusseibeh