Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

As a child I was encouraged whenever we had been on a big family holiday, to make a scrapbook. I still have them (and some more recent ones too) - filled with all sorts of 'stuff'. The earlier ones mainly contain postcards and the odd train ticket. As the years passed they became more and more comprehensive - including all the booking details, luggage labels, detailed itineraries, sweet wrappers and lumps of rock (not the edible kind!). I added very little by way of comment, allowing the items to speak for themselves - and they do that job very well, triggering often very detailed memories of the trips - right back into early childhood.
With that in mind I am putting together a book of scraps reflecting some of the physical experiences of my journey through and beyond Advent. Along the way I have been trying to think of ways of including something of a response to Christmas itself and plan to blend the tickets and maps with some of the Christmas cards and letters Belinda and I received this year. As I was away from home just at the time they were being delivered I didn't really get a feel for them at the time.
Now as I sort through the cards and begin to wonder how they will help tell my story I am intrigued by the range of images they show and what are the most frequently occurring.
There were of course lots of images of the traditional variety with Santas and wreaths and all the trappings of a Victorian image of Christmas or contemporary cheesiness. Some, I have to say are rather beautiful! A few included hand drawn images and there were a couple of classic artworks, along with some showing images of significant places.. Then a slightly larger collection of animals  and birds against winter backdrops (and not just Robins!) and including this exqusite bovine specimen which is certainly a challenger for my favourite!
Then there were the overtly religious ones - an angel or two, a couple with biblical texts, one Annunciation and one Madonna and Child. There was a swathe of Holy Family/Manger representations but then something intriguing. By far the majority of the cards suggested journeys to Bethlehem. As I see my sabbatical as both filled with journeys and as taking me on a journey these caught my attention.
Then the thing which really struck me - the journeys were being made by just two groups of people. There were several describing the trek of the shepherds to the stable - but far more (about 3:1) were images of the Magi.
In liturgical terms that means the Epiphany story wins over Christmas! Of course we barely recognise Epiphany, at least in the Methodist tradition, unless January 6th happens to fall on a Sunday. (Methodists are not generally good at midweek festivals - Sunday is the proper day to do the God stuff!). So why the fascination with the Wise Men, Three Kings, Magi - whatever we want to call them?
In my tours of Italian galleries I can't say I was struck by many great masters representing the story, though I think that was because I wasn't looking for  them and anyway I was too busy trying to process the apparent fascination with the slaughter of the innocents that seemed to appear in every room.
I need to think about why so many cards of the Magi. Do they just make for an attractive image with a  bit of bling, which speaks to the materialistic urge of the festive season? Is the sense of mystery linked with travellers from the east an idea which appeals to the current age (a bit of mysticism)? Does the symbolism of the gifts with their mixture of adoration and a hint of pain to come speak to our bittersweet life experiences?
I'm intrigued! Spellbound by the possibility that this tale which looks beyond Advent and beyond the birth itself to find true meaning. The card bearing the trite words 'Wise men still follow Jesus' almost broke the spell - (if nothing else, being pedantic they were following a star towards Jesus...) - somewhere here is a meaning to take us beyond the cheap soundbite. I look forward to getting a feel for how these images integrate into my scrapbook.

One final image combines all the 'religious' bits giving all the shepherds, angels and kings a good outing:

an odd feeling

 I always knew I would struggle to honour the challenge of writing a regular blog during my sabbatical. I have never been able to keep a regular diary and tend to reflect on events long after they have happened and usually such thoughts come in response to very different events. But as I head into the second of my three months of privileged time for reflection I try to sum up how I feel and fill out the space with images of some of the work I did during my short drawing course in Florence.

Taking account of my working title, we are of course now in the 'beyond' bit, Advent (the preparation time) has gone. We are now firmly in the liturgical season of Christmas - the waiting is over and we are called to live within the renewed reality of 'Immanuel - God is with us'.

Advent was fun and it was busy. I travelled, saw new places, met new people and experienced new things. Even did some drawing! Then I spent some time getting to know my sabbatical environment in Berwick upon Tweed (which by the way owes much to Italian architectural influence in respect of its street plan and walls, reflecting Lucca in Tuscany - only not as warm!), I renewed my love/hate relationship with DIY tasks in our flat - and of course had an immensely relaxed festive season. At the beginning of this I was worried about 'letting go' - but whether it was the busyness or the stimulation of new things, I didn't find myself over concerned about the things which normally dictate my life. It all felt unusual, out of routine, and just occasionally real things impinged - but not too much and they were of my choosing.

But it is beginning to feel different now. I miss many of the people I would normally have around me, I am beginning to wonder what is going on. What are they doing? Will I be able to fit back in in March? Are they glad I'm not there? Folk are being incredibly good at not contacting me and do appreciate that - but it does engender a sort of loneliness and feeling of being marginalised. I think it might be good for me in the end but just now it is odd. I have let go, now I need to resist any temptation to grab for security. I am not a paranoid, control freak - am I?