LAST SUNDAY, as part of my training as a Methodist minister, I shared a reflection inspired by the Methodist Church in Britain’s Advent theme: Gifted. The theme for the second week of Advent, the time of preparation before Christmas, is ‘The orange in the stocking’. The readings were Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19 and Matthew 3:1–12.
Introduction to the service:
6th December is the feast of St Nicholas, patron saint of children. In many countries, this is the time for gift-giving rather than Christmas Day. In the Middle Ages, there was a tradition of electing a Boy Bishop to take the place of the bishop of an area until 28th December, the feast of the Holy Innocents. The Boy Bishop would make all the bishop’s decisions and perform all church ceremonies, except for Communion. This tradition persists in many places, and is now also open to girls. So now, as we wait for the birth of a baby at Christmas, is a good time to hear the wisdom of the young.
‘The truth is that most people do not encounter God through dramatic signs. They encounter God through small acts of kindness, through honesty, through welcome, through justice, through peace.’
I invited the youngest member of the church to come and sit next to me on the sanctuary, and said to him:
The word ‘bishop’ comes from the Greek meaning ‘overseer’, so you can oversee our worship today and tell us what you think later.
Then I said to everyone:
You may be thinking that Methodists don’t have bishops, at least not in this country. There are bishops in the worldwide Methodisit Church. But we do have superintendents. The word ‘superintendent’ comes from the Latin meaning ‘overseer’, so it’s not so different. Except bishops wear a mitre – a special hat inspired by the tongues of fire which descended on the apostles of Jesus at Pentecost.
I gave the young person a cardboard mitre to wear.
The Methodist Church’s theme for the second Sunday of Advent this year is ‘The Orange in the Stocking’ as part of its overarching ‘Gifted’ theme for this season of preparation.
The simple orange in the stocking represents God’s precious, often unexpected, gifts to us. The orange might remind us of the bags of gold St Nicholas gifted to a poor man to save his children from a life of poverty and slavery. It also reminds us of the tradition of decorating an orange in a Christingle service, where the orange represents the world, sticks with fruit or sweets represent God’s creation and blessings, a red ribbon represents Christ’s loving sacrifice, and a candle represents the light of Christ.
We sang ‘Christ Be Our Light‘. A little later, after Psalm 72:1–7, 18–19 and Matthew 3:1–12 were read:
We began with a reminder of St Nicholas, patron saint of children, and the ancient tradition of the Boy Bishop It is a joyful and mischievous tradition, but it makes a serious point: sometimes wisdom comes from the voices we least expect.
As we welcome our own young ‘overseer’, we are reminded that the Church is healthiest when every voice is honoured, especially those who are usually unheard.
This fits beautifully with the theme of St Nicholas, with the orange in the stocking, and with the message of both our readings. They ask similar questions:
- What is power for?
- What kind of gift are God’s people meant to be?
Psalm 72 portrays a picture of leadership that stands in complete contrast to the noisy power struggles of today. The psalmist prays that the king, or leader, will:
- judge with righteousness,
- defend the poor,
- deliver the needy,
- and crush the oppressor.
The psalm doesn’t celebrate power for its own sake. Power is only valid when it is used to enable flourishing, especially for those who are overlooked and vulnerable. The image is pastoral: the ideal king or leader is like rain that falls on mown grass, refreshing the land, bringing peace, enabling growth.
In other words, those with influence are meant to be a gift to others.
As Christians, we tend not to talk about ourselves as ‘powerful’. Yet we do have influence: the power to speak, to act, to stand alongside those who are hurting, and to make choices that bless or harm. The psalm invites the Church – and every follower of Jesus – to ask: When people encounter us, do they feel nourished like rain on dry grass?
Then, in Matthew’s gospel, we hear the voice crying in the wilderness, of John the Baptist. John is not gentle, or subtle, or polite. But he asks similar questions to the psalmist:
- What kind of people are you becoming?
- What are you doing with the power God has given you?
His message is sharp: ‘Bear fruit worthy of repentance.’
In other words: ‘If God is doing something new in you, let it show.‘
Fruit doesn’t grow because the tree tries harder. It grows because the tree is rooted well, tended well, and pruned well. It isn’t decoration. It is the outward sign of the inner life.
St Paul later names nine fruits of the Spirit [Galatians 5:22-23]:
- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
These are not dramatic gifts. They do not make headlines, but they can change lives. They are simple and nourishing – like an orange tucked into a stocking. Familiar, small, but precious. The orange symbolises the gifts God places in our lives that are easily overlooked yet deeply life-giving.
John’s call challenges us to become more fruitful, not simply to feel sorry for our shortcomings. Repentance is about changing direction. It is about clearing away what stops us bearing fruit.
John speaks of winnowing and threshing – separating wheat from chaff, the dry skins of cereal grains which are not good to eat, and need to be removed from the grain before we can use it to make food.
It is an image for clearing space. Removing distractions. Peeling back the layers that stop us being the gift God intends.
So perhaps our question is: ‘What needs to be cleared away in us, individually and as a church, so that fruit can grow more freely?‘
John’s message is not to discourage or frighten us. It means to free us, to remind us that God’s Spirit is always gently winnowing – helping us let go of the chaff so that what is nourishing in us can feed others, working to peel back whatever keeps us from being whole: old habits, distractions, pride, fear, even the stories we tell about ourselves that are not actually true. Repentance is the Spirit’s invitation to become useful again, nourishing again, alive again.
Much of this season revolves around giving. St Nicholas did not give gifts to impress anyone. He gave because generosity had become the fruit of his life. His actions pointed to something deeper: a belief that each person is precious to God.
When we put an orange in a stocking – or light an Advent candle, or invite a young person to ‘oversee’ our worship – we are training ourselves to notice the small signs of holiness among us. These small practices shape our hearts. They help us become the kind of people who can bear fruit that blesses others.
This is why the way we introduced this service matters. When we listen to the wisdom of the young, we are doing something very Psalm-72-like: honouring the voices we often overlook. And something very John-the-Baptist-like: challenging our comfortable ways of behaving.
Sometimes the fruit God wants to grow in us begins with paying attention to people we usually ignore.
So the question for this week of Advent becomes: ‘What needs to be cleared away so that God can bear fruit in us?‘
Is it hurriedness? Cynicism? The habit of assuming we have nothing left to learn? Is it a reluctance to speak out when someone needs defending? Or a tendency to hide our faith in case someone thinks it strange?
John the Baptist’s language sounds harsh, but the heart of his message is hope. God desires our flourishing. God longs for us to be fully alive, like fruit on a tree, like wheat ready for bread, like rain refreshing a weary land. And God longs for the Church – this church – to be a gift to this community:
- a place where the vulnerable find defenders,
- a place where generosity is normal,
- a place where every voice is honoured,
- a place where Christ’s light remains steady in the world’s darkness.
The truth is that most people do not encounter God through dramatic signs. They encounter God through small acts of kindness, through honesty, through welcome, through justice, through peace. In other words- through fruit.
The Methodist Church’s theme for this second Sunday in Advent is ‘The orange in the stocking.’ The symbol of the orange is small, humble, and beautiful. You don’t need an enormous budget or a dramatic gesture to bless someone. Sometimes all it takes is a kind word, a warm welcome, a quiet prayer, or listening to someone who needs to be heard.
An orange is ordinary – until you really need it. Then it becomes a moment of joy, a burst of flavour, a reminder that sweetness still exists in the world.
What if we each asked this week: ‘Who needs a small taste of God’s blessing from me?‘
- A note of encouragement.
- A conversation with someone lonely.
- A willingness to apologise.
- A choice to give rather than accumulate.
- A moment of deep listening to a younger voice – or an older one.
These small fruits change the world far more than we realise.
Psalm 72 invites us to use whatever influence we have for justice and compassion.
John the Baptist invites us to clear away the chaff so that good fruit can grow.
St Nicholas reminds us that generosity reveals God’s heart.
And the orange in the stocking reminds us that even the smallest gift can carry enormous grace.
Recent comments