Crab Apple Trees Full of Mistletoe
December 2020 Blog

The Rector’s Blog - December 2020
Dear Friends,
It was a very pleasant discovery to come across a crab apple tree full of mistletoe. One branch hung over the pavement, and I thought to myself, ‘If I stand here long enough I might get lucky and be able to bump elbows with someone’! During this pandemic we have had to improvise. In church we have had to refrain from shaking hands during the Sharing of the Peace, and instead we wave at one another…but it’s not the same. We have learnt to foot-tap and elbow-bump instead of hugging and kissing…but it’s not the same.
I did some research and I found out that the very earliest references to kissing can be found in Indian literature. When Alexander the Great invaded India he came across this custom and introduced it to Greece. There we are: the Greeks can claim that they introduced kissing to Europe! I also learnt that the lips have lots of nerve-endings and therefore they are possibly more sensitive than fingertips. If we want to really feel something it is useful if we can brush it against the lips. Kissing is useful! It also triggers the production of enjoyable chemicals in the brain. How very scientific.
The reason why I am sharing all this kissing information with you is to help us appreciate a phrase that was coined to describe Christmas. Back in the 1600s Thomas Goodwin, a chaplain to Oliver Cromwell, described Christmas as the time when ‘Heaven kissed the Earth’. This is a beautiful way of describing that glorious moment when Jesus was born. We can now apply our knowledge of kissing to understand what happened in Bethlehem. Through Jesus’ birth God made real contact with us. Nothing else could have been the same. The birth of Jesus was personal, emotional and moving for both God and us. As in any birth, Christmas is a true moment of glory – a time for angels to burst out singing, and for shepherds to rush off to celebrate the birth of Jesus.
At Christmas time we are all invited to visit the Manger. The experience leaves us glowing and joyful as you would expect from visiting any new-born baby. In the case of Jesus’ birth, however, it all means so much more. God shares the Peace with you and me with a kiss.
Happy Advent, and Merry Christmas when it comes!
John Ganjavi








