Advent 4

Our Eucharist this morning was bubbling with suppressed excitement as we admitted 5 children to Holy Communion for the first time. I presided and FabVicar preached about Bethlehem the house of bread, and included mention of my beloved Lancelot Andrewes, who in 1615 connected the little town with the Eucharist

'the true Bread, the Bread of heaven, the Bread of life--and where that Bread is, there is Bethlehem for ever....the Church in this sense is very Bethlehem no less than the town itself. For that town itself never had the name rightly all the while there was but bread made there, bread..... Not till this Bread was born there Then, and never till then was it Bethlehem; and that is in the Church, as truly as ever in it. There shall ever be this day a Bethlehem to go to--a house wherein there is bread.'

He told the children to shine like stars pointing the way to Jesus ...and they were very shiney today. They've been a real joy to prepare, and when they brought up the elements at the Offertory, they did so with such solemn excitement that I nearly lost it completely.
Nat, Joseph, Rebecca, David, Simon - hold onto that joy and delight in God's gift of himself - and carry on shining.