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Christmas
It is, perhaps, not surprising that the human race has so carefully learned to note the passage of time. The idea of organised agriculture almost dictated it. Early groupings of people who banded together to sow, tend and reap their crops watched for the events - such as the perceived motions of stars, sun, moon and, in Egypt, the seasonal variations in the flow of the Nile. Now, with modern instruments and the scientifically tested observations they allow, we can measure immense distances and also use extremely small divisions of seconds to assist in the meticulous measurements needed in some of our activities and technology. Time and space, the theorists tell us, are different aspects of the same measurements in the mind boggling movements that can be detected in the, to us, infinitely small spaces inside atoms, as well as the immensities of the cosmos. Most of us have to accept that the scientifically literate are able to describe these things and the rest of us are left to believe them or not.
This is being written at the beginning of Advent and time passing before it appears will encompass the miracle that is Christmas and all that flows from it. There are, of course, people who simply do not bother themselves about Christmas. They take the holiday, enjoy the food, visit friends and relations, even listen to carol singers, but would never even dream of opening a Bible to read about the birth of Christ. Is it possible that Christmas has become too festive, too much a matter of food, festivities and flashing trees? It may be so for many but it can also be a time for quiet reflection. It might help us to look forward to a year of faith, hope and love, the love that Christ brought into the world and which is his greatest gift. It is not a matter of understanding but of accepting and cherishing the profound simplicity of the gift.
Bob Mclean
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