The above title to today's post is only one word different from a famous Charles Dickens novel "A Tale of Two Cities". The novel was written in 1859 and based on the events of the French Revolution in the late 18th century, the two cities being Paris and London. Although completely unintended on my part there is strangely a link between the title of Dickens novel and my post today, by reading on you will see that my reflection also balances on the politics of these two cities, not back during the time of the French Revolution but at the end of our present year 2021.
Last night as I prepared for sleep I felt unusually cold, the house was warmly heated and my family were all beginning to feel too warm! Putting on extra garments didn't make any difference, I was shaking and shivering. My condition was only temporal, I wasn't heading towards any illness and it lasted for a relatively short time, most likely I was having no more than a reaction to my third Covid vaccination, the booster. One positive thing that came out of this experience of deep chill was the consideration of those who are forced to sleep out in the open this winter every single night. We have homeless people on the streets in our cities and towns and then, I also thought of the refugees and asylum seekers who camp out on the north coast of France seeking to get to the UK at whatever cost. Pictures from news reports flashed back in my mind of the conditions they are living in and sadly the increasing number of fatalities in failed boat crossings. There is a desperation these people have to come to our land, knocking at our door but nobody answers to welcome them in from the cold. All these thoughts turned towards my evening time of prayer, I slept and then during the night I had a dream. My dream was simply an extension of all my concerns but then went further to recall two stories of two Marys.
The First Mary
The first story is wholly seasonal and at present is being told all over the world amongst Christians and to anyone who is open to hear the true Christmas message, it is of course the very factual account of how Mary was chosen by God to bear His Son Jesus Christ in flesh so that the world may have a Saviour. Mary is to so many an incredible example of womanhood, selfless, humble and full of righteousness before God. It is the sparse setting of an animal stable where Jesus was born. Joseph and Mary knocked on the door of an inn keeper in Bethlehem and were almost turned away as they were told that there was no room at the inn, then miraculously the inn keeper offers a stable. I can imagine the sense of God's glory that fell on that place, not only at the stable but also at the inn where the inn keeper showed such kindness. On that Holy night the stable became the House of God here on Earth, there was no turning away of the fully expectant Mary, Father God had provided a place for her to stay and to birth Jesus the Son of God.
The Second Mary
This second account is of a Mary portrayed in an old song, a popular ballad sold by song sheet sellers from the 1820's in London. The song I have rarely heard here in Britain, I was first introduced to it during time spent in the southern states of America where it is widely sung by ballad singers there. Many well known artists have recorded it including Bob Dylan and Dolly Parton, it goes by the title of "Mary of the Wild Moor".
'Twas on one cold wint'ry night
And the wind blew across the wild moor
When poor Mary came wandering home with her child
'Til she came to her own father's door
"Oh Father, dear father" she cried
"Come down and open the door
Or the child in my arms it will perish and die
By the wind that blows across the wild moor
Oh why did I leave this fair spot
Where once I was happy and free
I'm now doomed to roam without friends or a home
And no one to take pity on me."
But her father was deaf to her cries
Not a sound of her voice did he hear
So the watch dog did howl and the village bell tolled
And the wind blew across the wild moor.
Oh how the old man must have felt
When he came to the door in the morn
And found Mary dead but the child still alive
Closely pressed in its dead mother's arms.
In anguish he tore his gray hair
While the tears down his cheeks they did pour,
When he saw how that night, she had perished and died
From the winds that blew across the wild moor
The old man in grief pined away
And the child to its mother went soon
And no one, they say, has been there since this day
And the cottage to ruin has gone;
But the villagers point out the spot
Where the willow droops over the door
Saying there Mary died, once a gay village bride
From the winds that blew across the wild moor
In Conclusion
The circumstances of the two Marys in these stories are very different but there are some obvious similarities. Both the Virgin Mary and Mary of the Wild Moor knock at doors in hope of refuge and a place of rest, and there are two father figures involved. Firstly, Father God responds to the needs of Mary and Joseph through the action of the inn keeper, and secondly, the elderly father of Mary of the Wild Moor who failed to hear her cry and tragically did not come to her aid.
I don't believe the dream I had was just a spinning out of the thoughts and meditations I had before I slept. This goes way beyond my own thinking and I am certain there is a warning here to the leaders of nations both in government and the highest establishments of church to bow in shame and repent before God for putting politics before the lives of the innocent, those who only ask for a door to be opened providing shelter from the winter storms. By storms we can recognise that this means the political storms as well as the natural. France and Britain should stop blaming each other for this Refugee Crisis and just bend backwards to open up doors.
Thank God, that in Britain we still have freedom to have many Churches and other places of worship, Charities, Foundations and Action Groups that can and do act as a voice for the homeless, These groups tirelessly are working to help cloth, provide food and furnishings for refugees and immigrants who have newly arrived in the U.K. Last month the government wrote an appeal to all local district councils to take on a fair quota of refugees and to find accommodation for them. At the time of writing this post only a third of councils have responded. Please pray that all councils without exception take on this responsibility to help. We too can take action and be involved, check your own council out and if they are blocking on any intake, then please write to them and ask why?
And now finally I would like to thank all my readers a very happy Christmas and a happy New Year.
God Bless You All
Theo Elsey
23/12/21
