This was the moment when nothing Happened...


Ursula Askham Fanthorpe, (1929 - 2009) was the first woman nominated as Professor of Poetry at Oxford University.

She wrote this Advent poem:

BC: AD

This was the moment when Before
Turned into After, and the future's
Uninvented timekeepers presented arms.

This was the moment when nothing
Happened. Only dull peace
Sprawled boringly over the earth.

This was the moment when even energetic Romans
Could find nothing better to do
Than counting heads in remote provinces.

And this was the moment
When a few farm workers and three
Members of an obscure Persian sect
Walked haphazard by starlight straight
Into the kingdom of heaven.

We are entering Advent in the Christian calendar. A season of waiting. Our culture hypes up this season of waiting so that it has become a time when everything seems to happen… there are shopping lists and parties and … so much to do…. and yet for some of us in the church it truly is a moment when nothing is happening and so we wait…
We wait with the few farm workers and the obscure Persian sect
and the expectant family walking haphazardly into …
What do you do while you wait… are you counting days, making listings, creating strategies, reading the trends…
What do you do while you wait with hope for the unexpected?