“For God So Loved the World” -featuring Lucy Stimpson- Maynard, sung live at the Kings Theatre, Southsea in  Mustard Seed Songs’ first musical “His Story.”

Christmas TV adverts seem to be becoming more and more popular. Last year John Lewis featured “Monty the Penguin” with the slogan “Give someone the Christmas they have been dreaming of.” This year they had “Man on the Moon” with the slogan “Show someone they’re loved this Christmas.” Sainsburys this year had “Christmas is for sharing.” And the Germany company, Edeka probably won the popularity stakes with their “Time to come home.”
Loneliness is the theme for the Edeka ad in which an elderly man is only able to get his relatives to visit him for Christmas dinner by tricking them into believing they were going to his funeral. It is also the theme for the “Man in the moon” in which a little girl’s gift brings happiness to a lonely old man on the moon. A recent newspaper article featured this ad to bring attention to the loneliness that many people suffer at Christmas time- it referred to a 95 year old man and his wife who made a 999 call because they were so lonely. The two police officers who called did not admonish the couple for wasting police time but instead spent time with them listening to the couples’ amazing stories of their experiences in World War 11.
I am most fortunate in having a loving family and friends and the only time I can ever remember feeling lonely is when, at the age of 10, I moved with my family from Gillingham in Kent to Portsmouth. In Gillingham I had friends all the way down our terraced housed street and could call on boys and girls any time I wanted to play cowboys and Indians, hop scotch, hide and seek , football or cricket. In Portsmouth, however I knew no one as we arrived at the start of the summer holidays. I remember spending day after day with no one to play with. My mum and dad were very loving and caring but I still felt lonely and yes it is a horrible feeling.
Because Jesus was fully human as well as fully divine I wonder if He ever experienced loneliness? He had loving parents and the Bible speaks of Him having brothers and sisters but is there anywhere in Scripture that’s indicates that He was lonely? We are told that he was sad and wept when He arrived at the tomb of Lazarus -but lonely? Could He have been lonely in the Garden of Gethsemane- possibly not as we are told that an Angel strengthened Him. (Luke 22:43) However when He cries out on the cross “My God, my God why have You forsaken me?” surely this is the cry of someone experiencing loneliness in the extreme – in this case caused by the fact that, for the first time in His life, He was separated from His Father.
So I am sure that if we, at any time, suffer loneliness we can feel reassured that if we come to Jesus He will comfort and strengthen us, not only because He is God, but also because He knows exactly how we feel.
Instead of the John Lewis advert I have chosen a “remake” created by Dan Rackham, a community worker at St Philemon’s Church in Toxteth, Liverpool. The video concludes with the words of John 3:16 which are the focus of this week’s featured song. Incidentally I have just discovered that these words conclude this current edition of “Every Day with Jesus” – coincidence or Godinstance?
All at Risen! – The Musical wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year