Interesting photo gallery: @time ‘s person of the year covers 1927 - 2009 http://www.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1681791,00.html

I am lazar focused! PowerPoints and Christmas talks tackled left, right, & centre and housework is being whipped through. I am a machine!

Back home after a great St. Columba’s youth Christmas dinner. Cooked turkey etc for 25 - it was pretty tasty if I do say so myself!

Many thanks to Gav Diane Pamela Faye Eilidh Dan & Sue. It’s fantastic to have such a stunningly great group of leaders!!

1. Dirty Projectors (5)
2. The Hood Internet (3)
3. VV Brown (2)
4. The Dead Weather (1)
5. Shuttle (1)

Imported from Last.fm Tumblr by JoeLaz

Watch The Swell Season - Low Rising http://bit.ly/8vM6v8

Q: When exactly was Jesus born? A: Don’t really know. Fuller explanation here: http://tomw.tumblr.com/post/283302993/when-was-jesus-born

photos of the year ( from @time ) http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1946595_2010901,00.html

Interesting wee piece from the Mars Hill (Seattle) Blog

There is simply no clarity regarding the timing of Jesus’ birth.

The Scriptures do not speak directly to the issue, but the presence of flocks in the field has caused many to question the traditional December date of Christmas. This is because grazing in the field seemingly indicates a milder climate than that of winter, although there are reports of occasional breaks, for upwards of a few weeks, in the rainy winter season.

Commentator William Hendriksen raises an interesting point as well: “At this season of the year many roads in that region are impassable. No government would have forced people to travel then to the places where they must be registered” (New Testament Commentary: Luke, vol. 11, 150).

On the other hand, theologian Darrell Bock shows that while “some Jewish traditions argue for grazing in the period from April to November,” others note “that these restrictions are limited to sheep ‘in the wilderness’” (Luke 1:1-9:50, 226-227). Furthermore, a section of Talmudic literature (M. Šeqal. 7.4) “implies year-round grazing, because the Passover lambs graze in February, which has the harshest weather of the year. Thus, this reason for rejecting the tradition is not definitive” (Ibid., 227).

The traditional December 25 date of Jesus’ birth originated during the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine (A.D. 306–337). As Bock describes, the December 25 date

coincided with a pagan feast of Saturnalia, or the rising of the sun from darkness… . But the tradition for the date may go back even further, since it may be mentioned by Hippolytus (A.D. 165–235) in his Commentary on Daniel 4.23.3… . However, Hippolytus’s meaning is disputed, as it is unclear whether he is referring to the date of the birth or the date of the conception. If it is the latter, then a December date is presented, but the reference is unclear. Alongside the possible third-century testimony for a December date stands Clement of Alexandria’s testimony (ca. A.D. 200) for an April/May date (Ibid., 227).

Without a clear date for Jesus’ birth, it seems the early church simply seized the opportunity that the pagan feast of Saturnalia provided. The feast celebrated the return of the sun after weeks of ever-increasing darkness, which parallels the biblical metaphor of Jesus illuminating our dark world. Furthermore, Saturnalia included the sharing of gifts, which corresponds to the gifts given to Jesus by the Magi and the gift of salvation Jesus gives.

In the West, the date of December 25 was established by the time of Augustine. Unlike the Western Church, the Eastern Church observes Christmas on January 6, as the day that both Jesus was born and the Magi visited him.

Additionally, determining the year of Jesus’ birth with exact precision is incredibly complex. The two gospels that speak in greatest detail about Jesus’ birth (Matthew and Luke) are unclear on this point. Therefore, it seems most wise to say that it was 5 or 4 B.C., as those are the years nearly every evangelical scholar accepts after looking at all of the evidence.

In the end, the year and date of Jesus’ birth are apparently not a significant issue because God did not find them valued enough to clarify in Scripture, which simply says it happened “in the fullness of time.”

Mars Hill Blog: When Was Jesus Born?

Day off after a great weekend a v. sucuessful surprise party for @louiskinsey. soon off to pick mom up then sainsburys - w00t!

Jonny says:

St lukes church in walthamstow has has been looking for ways to get involved in the community rather than get the community involved in the church. one that came up was the start of a farmers market on sunday. the market was looking for a manager so tony took the role. so as a vicar he works at the farmers market every sunday instead of leading worship in the church building! it’s relational stuff… then every market has a stall for a community project. tony as manager said that st lukes church would take it. every week they brew teas and coffees all day and give them away and chat with people and stall holders. so instead of being in church on sunday they are in the market place with the community. they have then developed some postcards to let people know about st lukes but in three designs - one for church people, one for dechurched and one for unchurched with the following straplines:

churched - welcome to st lukes on the high street your local anglican church

dechurched - disillusioned with church? you’re not alone

unchurched - not interested in church? neither are we in the ways you are probably thinking about church

this is demanding for the church community - much more so than showing up for an hour on a sunday morning. the church meet for worship and fellowship on a weds night. it’s a small church - around a dozen older people and then two families (i think). they are selling the building and working to get a house in the area and invest the money to create income for a sustainable future of a community living out mission on the hight st.

Really challenging, interesting stuff.

ignore me