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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Canon Ann Easter

Good morning!

And happy St Stephen’s Day when, back in the tenth century in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, a king who was renowned for his love of God and humanity, saw a poor man out in the snow and felt great compassion for him. And that king went out, with his servant, to take food and fuel to the man’s home. The King was, of course, called Wenceslas, and we are still singing about that night all these years later.

Christmas is traditionally a time for giving, it’s all part of our human response to a God who gives extravagantly – not just one sycamore seed but millions! Not just sunshine and rain but rainbows too!

Sometimes, though, the urge to give at Christmas can go too far and I’m sad when people that I know haven’t got a great deal themselves, feel that they must spend lots of money on Christmas presents. But, while we’d all love to give magnificently, the reality is, as another carol says, that what God wants is for us to have love in our hearts. That’s all. Love for God and love for all of God’s Creation.

Thinking back to that poor man in Bohemia, I have a feeling that the story that stayed in his family for generations was not so much what King Wenceslas brought, but the fact that the King brought it himself and I reckon that he stayed for a little while and heard the man’s story too.

Gracious and Generous God, help us to see you in those we love and to give of ourselves to you and to them with joy.

Amen.