When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.
Luke 2: 15-16
When I read this passage, I think about what the shepherds must have been feeling. They have just been visited by the angels and told the incredible news of the birth of Jesus.
They were just sitting on the hills tending their sheep, in an ordinary setting, when they were told extraordinary news. ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that happened, which the Lord has told us about.’ This verse shows their awe and curiosity. A desire to know more; maybe a desire to play their part. And they didn’t just sit and wait – ‘they hurried off’. There was a sense of urgency; the sense that they had to leave their home and their sheep, and go in search of Jesus.
I have the privilege to work for Tearfund. Over this past year that has been difficult and challenging for us all and many around the world, I’ve been amazed at where God has shown up, where He has revealed his love and hope.
We’ve been supporting churches around the world from Brazil, Ethiopia, Guatemala, India, Myanmar, and Zambia. Churches are there within communities, responding to crisis – not just Covid-19 but also hurricanes in Latin America, and on-going conflicts. They are loving and nurturing individuals and communities, reaching out and sharing love and hope through word and deed.
It has been incredible to see the church and its people responding, just as the shepherds did. They’ve ‘hurried’ to the places where and hope have been needed. And they continue to hurry where the need is greatest.
Jesus is in the ordinary every day moments. In the dirt and grit of life. The image of baby Jesus lying in a manger is so powerful for me – peace, love and hope found in the ordinary.
Daily Share
The ‘daily share’ is a hint each day for how you could share some hope in your life, today.
In this season where are you ‘hurrying’ to bring hope, peace and love to others? It may just be in the ordinary events of the day. Maybe it is a smile to a neighbour, doing the shopping for someone, making a phone call to say hello to someone on their own, saying thank you to key worker or a shop assistant. Whatever it is, let’s remember that Jesus is in the ordinary, and we can play our part in sharing the extraordinary message of hope and love this Christmas time.
Catriona Dejean
Catriona has worshipped at TRINITY since 2012. She lives in Eastbourne. She enjoys long walks in the hills and countryside, playing jazz music and baking bread.
John Norris is an aspiring part time metal sculptor from Hurstpierpoint. He bought a welder in December 2018 and started tinkering in his spare time. He dreams of one day being able to make a full time career out of metal sculpting. The pieces on display at the Lewes Art Wave festival are still some of his very first creations!
Martina is an artist and theology student with a background in professional photography and this is her second time exhibiting at TRINITY. Her photographic work this year considers how experiencing the world through digital media has changed our perception of it, while her community sculpture project invites to look inward and explore themes of holiness and wholeness.
Sarah is an award-winning Illustrator, author and painter. With an illustration career spanning 18 years, Sarah has illustrated for many clients including Kew Gardens, IKEA and The Guardian. Her staple work comes from illustrating funny children’s books. Her latest book CHARLIE CHANGES INTO A CHICKEN is the best selling debut middle grade book of 2019.
Suzanne is a semi-abstract, contemporary landscape painter and a teacher. She is inspired by the land, sea and big skies. She paints in oils and mixed-media from memory and experience, and her work is developed using artistic intuition. She says ‘my greatest loves are atmospheric weather and fleeting light and this I try to capture in my work, through my own emotional response.
Jo Marks is a British figurative artist. Using graphic lines, her chalk and charcoal drawings are developed from a fascination with the human form.
Her unedited marks reflect the energy and urgency with which the subject was observed. Whether these marks are intuitively abstract or more true to life, they always express an authentic understanding of form.
While Jo tries to reflect this sense of dichotomy in her carefully balanced compositions, she also aims to ensure her work brings a sense of peace. “Knowing when to stop is a huge challenge, I never want to over-bake my pieces but instead reflect the joy with which they were made.”
Martina was struck by the stories of pain, suffering and incredible strength and integrity she discovered just among friends and family. All hidden behind the socially acceptable facade of: ‘I’m fine’.
For this series she has photographed women with a hidden illness or trauma. The women choose a flower, branch or other foliage to represent the fact that there is more to discover than can be seen on the outside. The choice of foliage or its positioning may reveal something about their illness or struggle and how it affects their relationships and identity.
Although I have been sculpting in clay for many years, it was as a mature student that I went to study ceramics at Falmouth College of Art. Returning to Sussex I set up my own studio producing figurative stoneware sculpture. Singers, dancers, performers, some written over with sonnets or songs, my work reflects my love of literature and my early career in the theatre. I constantly go back to basics, which for me is an endless exploration of the human form.
The theme of Communication for this exhibition is a broad one. Visibly, verbally and tangibly, art is the great communicator, giving us fresh insight into the human condition. I like the image in the bible of the body being the temple of the soul. I hope these quiet abstract nudes have a meditative quality - meditation being perhaps one of the purest forms of communication.
The other two figures were inspired by events in the life of Jesus Christ 2000 years ago, but they are very modern tragedies. A Syrian refugee, her child in her arms and her possessions on her back, flees her country. A mother cradles her son after violence on a Hackney street. Only you, the viewer can say what, if anything they communicate, but if you have paused to look and wonder for a moment why these things happen, then thank you.
Suzanne Hennegrave is a semi-abstract, contemporary landscape painter and a teacher. She is inspired by the land, sea and big skies. She paints in oils and mixed-media from memory and experience and her work is developed using artistic intuition.
