searching

One of the abiding memories I have of this time of the year as a youngster is the annual Christmas Eve trip to the cinema. Back in 1962 I went to see ‘In search of the Castaways’ starring Hayley Mills. We went to the Palace Cinema which was situated just south of the original swing bridge that seperated Kirkley from Lowestoft proper. Unfortunately both have long since gone – the bridge and the cinema, that is! I was just 13 and was made to promise my friends that I wouldn’t whistle or shout out when Hayley was on screen. As if I would! The story is of two children who go searching for their father after finding a message in a bottle – great stuff!

Most of us are searching. We think that there must be more to life than this. That has become the slogan of the Alpha Course – an invitation to explore faith. (If you would like to do just that then why not speak to us about it). People search in many different areas of life believing that there is more. We follow people, hunches, feelings and dreams. Everyone follows somebody and is looking for something. Even those who have given up believe that their lot should be better.

At the first Christmas everyone was searching. Mary, after her angelic visitation, went to her relative Elizabeth to see if the story told to her was true. Joseph had to wrestle with his dreams to find the way ahead. The authorities in Jerusalem, despite all the written documents at their disposal showing that the promised Messiah was going to come from Bethlehem, missed it by a good two years. The terrible fruit of their searching, trying to eradicate any threat to the throne of Herod, was the death of all infants under the age of two years.

The shepherds on the hillside probably had it the easiest. Theirs was the clearest instruction. In Luke ch2 v10-12 the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." They searched and found. They couldn’t really miss unless they couldn’t be bothered to go!

The wise men searched. Unlike the shepherds, the gifts they carried indicated wealth and priviledge. They followed a sign in the sky but they still ended up in Jerusalem first of all and their journey was much more complicated, much less straight forward and took much longer.

And then there is us, with all our questions, frustrations, misunderstandings, wild goose chases, disappointments, joys, pains and suffering in life. Why can’t it all be a little easier with a whole lot less struggle? But then of course, if faith came gift wrapped for us and on a plate we would stop looking and exploring and would never go deeper and further on and further in to the great love of God expressed in Jesus – would we?