Advent calendar 2020

Advent 4 - Wednesday 2 December 2020

It was a wild, snowy night as the farmer sat down by the fireside. Suddenly there was a loud thump as something hit window. Then another thump. He looked out but couldn't see anything.

Venturing outside, he saw a flock of wild geese in a field near the house. They had been caught in the snowstorm and couldn't go on. They were lost and stranded on his farm, with no food or shelter. Flapping their wings, they flew around the field in low circles, blindly and aimlessly. A couple of them had banged into his window. How could he help them?

The barn was place for them. It would be warm and safe. So he opened the barn doors, then watched and waited, hoping the geese would go inside. But they just fluttered around aimlessly and didn't seem to notice the place of safety
He tried to get their attention, but that just seemed to scare them, and they moved further away. He found some bread, broke it up, and made a trail of breadcrumbs leading to the barn. They still didn't catch on.

He got behind them and tried to shoo them toward the barn, but they only got more scared and scattered in every direction except the right one. Nothing he did could get them to go where they would be warm and safe.

"Why don't they follow me?" he shouted in frustration. "Can't they see this is the only place where they can survive the storm?" He thought for a moment and realised that they wouldn't follow a human. "If only I were a goose…………………”

Then an idea came to him. He went into barn, got one of his own geese, and carried it in his arms as he circled around behind the wild geese. Then he let it go. His goose flew through the flock and straight into the barn - and one by one the other geese followed it to safety.

Just now, many of us feel frightened, lost and confused, flapping about like lost geese. We wonder how we should celebrate Christmas this year. The good news is that God has given us one who is human like us, one who understands us, one we can share our fears with and one we can follow to safety.

Fred Coutts

Bible Reading

John 1:14
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

Prayer

Thank you, God, for coming in human form to journey with us towards and beyond Christmas.
Together we can endure the storms.
Together we can find a place of safety,  
and together we will celebrate perhaps the strangest Christmas we have ever known.

Blessing

Circle me, Lord.
Keep protection near
and danger afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep hope within.
Keep doubt without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
and darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within.
Keep evil out.
Amen

(David Adam)

Other days in the Advent Calendar