Hero's

My Nana was my hero really, especially when it came to Christmas. We would almost always go to her house and she made the best puddings in the world…. (that was of course before Debbie’s puddings!) It was always wonderful to see Nana, I simply knew she loved me; she always kept the biggest piece of Fridge pudding for me. (Please contact me for recipe… it’ll seriously improve any Christmas!)

                We all have heroes, people we look up to or who we’d love to meet. The Jews 2000 years ago, and still today, were waiting for their “hero” their Messiah: the one who would come and rescue them.  Of course the problem that they had was that they weren’t quite sure what their hero would look like? Some said he’d be like Elijah one of the prophets, others said he would be a king like great king David. Others thought he would be a priest like Aaron. One who would bring forgiveness and restore their relationship with Yahweh (God.) I believe the sad thing is that they missed their hero when he came. He was too small to be a king, born in a stable: albeit in king David’s town. His words didn’t comfort them, he challenged them and didn’t pronounce judgement on their enemies. He was the wrong type of prophet. They even missed him when he split the veil in two and broke open the holy of holies as he offered the perfect sacrifice. They scoffed at the “Place of the Skull” this was no place for a proper priest; it was un-clean, outside the city walls.

                Our society still looks for heroes, mostly in the wrong places: celebrities, footballers, superstars. The truth is most of these are just ordinary people, often with a few extra hang ups! To find the real heroes we need to look smaller, closer to home. Advent and Christmas is a time when we are invited to open our eyes. We need to, it’s a dark time of year, but if we do we may just spot our hero living very close by. As we celebrate Jesus as Emmanuel, we rejoice that he is always near. I believe he lives in the Holy Spirit, who lives in some very ordinary people around us. So open your eyes to meet Jesus: He has the authority of a king, but he never bullies; he speaks words of truth and challenge like a prophet but he never flatters or destroys; he brings forgiveness and hope and his offerings are acts of love and kindness. Like a priest he brings us right back into the presence of God. When you meet people with those qualities, rejoice, your hero is close at hand.

                Come to think of it, if my Nana was my hero does that mean that we all can be heroes to someone?

Happy Christmas and a Peaceful new year

Stephen