It strikes me that a number of the things that I’ve been thinking about this advent have been birthed in thought as I walk our dog along the beach. And today’s thought is no exception to that. You see, for the past month or so my most frequently sung song as I’ve walked along the beach (yes, I know it’s sad that I have a most frequently sung song) has been Good King Wenceslas, and in particular the verse that goes something like: “In his master’s steps he trod, where the snow lay dented. Heat was in the very sod, that the saint had printed…”
This may (!) seem somewhat unusual, so let me explain: there is a section on Ayr beach, as you get down towards the harbour, where the sand gets very soft. In fact it is so soft that when you reach this particular part you actually start to sink into it – not to the extent that it is dangerous, but just that you leave quite deep footprints. And on days when it’s particularly soft I started to walk back the way, and I realised something that had never really struck me before: that it really is easier to walk in the prints that have already been made than it is to set out on a new trail. And I realised what a great thing it was for the page boy of Good King Wenceslas to be able to walk in his master’s pre-trod steps; and I started singing the carol, and haven’t really stopped since!
And the thing that this has reminded me of is the importance of interdependence: in other words, the importance of having people around us to support us and help us and who can rely on us for that same support. Now, of course, as we approach Christmas we will all be reminded of the fact that in the Word becoming flesh we have been given the ultimate support, and in the sending of the Holy Spirit we have a constant help in all circumstances. But what I’ve been reminded of as I’ve walked on the beach and journeyed back in my own footsteps or those that another walker has left, is of the importance of journeying with other people and of breaking free of the social clamouring for independence and realising that made in the image of the God of community – Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that it is not independence that we should aim for, but interdependence.
And as we approach Christmas and as I reflect on the church into which the Bethlehem Baby has made it possible for us to be a part, the importance of interdependence, on relying on one another and recognising what we can all give to the communities in which God has placed us, seems particularly apt.
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