NUDGINGS: a journey into the unknown

The season of Advent starts this coming Sunday, the beginning of the church year. I have decided to do something a little different and so for the next 4 weeks, I will be reflecting about a different verse in a well-known Advent hymn.  Each Sunday in Advent, a candle in the advent wreath is lit in our homes and during our worship services. The lighting of the candle is usually accompanied by readings and/or singing. Here is the first verse of  " A Candle is Burning ", with words by Sandra Dean and sung to the familiar tune of "Away in a Manger" .  " A candle is burning, a flame warm and bright, A candle of HOPE in November's dark night While angels sing blessings from heaven's starry sky, Our hearts we prepare now for Jesus is nigh " Or as Desmond Tutu said, "Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness." As the days in the northern hemisphere grow darker with the shortest day of the year o

I have commented to friends in the past, that when I put my hearing aids in each morning, the world comes alive! But on this particular morning, it didn't. Yes, the birds were chirping, the washing machine was running, all those noises I associate with morning were happening BUT they were dead with no depth and no resonance. I have worn hearing aids for more the 4 years now. Not long ago one of them stopped working and a new battery didn't help. Now before I go any further, I need to say that I operate perfectly well without either hearing aid, and would do even better if people didn't insist on mumbling! However, the extra dimension they add to the sounds in my world is well worth any inconvenience caused by wearing them.  This experience, of course, started me thinking .... thinking particularly about all the verses in the Bible that relate to hearing, such as: " They have ears, but do not hear; ”   (NRSV Psalm 155: 6[a]) "... As he said this,

We met for lunch, a group of ladies who hadn't seen each other for over 5 years. The noise of conversation filled the room. Had it really been that long? An onlooker would never know! We had been a close-knit community years ago and that feeling of community was still there. I meet a friend for coffee in the neighbourhood coffee shop and over that coffee we share our stories and what I experience is community.  A small group gets together weekly for learning and discussion or to play mah-jong, and bonds of community are created.  A sports team comes together from diverse places drawn by an individual love of the game and become a group that acts as one. These, and many more, are all communities that you and I have been part of, often at the same time, where we have both shared ourselves and received from others.  Our first and most basic experience of community is our families. It is a community we are born or adopted into, not one that we choose but our experience ther

  " Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month," in accordance with the Armistice, signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning. ("At the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 am.) World War I officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919.The day was specifically dedicated by King George V on 7 November 1919 as a day of remembrance for members of the armed forces who were killed during World War I. . . The first official Armistice Day was subsequently held on the grounds of Buckingham Palace on the morning of 11 November 1919. This would set the trend for a day of Remembrance for decades to come. "(Wikipedia) And so at the 11th hour, on the 11th day, of the 11th month, for the 95th time, in 2014, people will