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Good morning.

It’s a busy day today, for Christmas shoppers. Well, for last-minute Christmas shoppers (like myself).

If you’re out today on your local high street, I’m willing to bet you’ll have the experience of walking along a crowded pavement – probably in a bit of a hurry to get around all the different shops and people on your list – and bumping into people, right, left and centre. Now, I know that in the UK we drive on the left-hand side of the road. But do we walk on the left-hand side of the pavement? Which side do you step when another person is heading towards you?

(I’ve become confused). It feels like a gamble which side to choose. I’m not sure whether the world is more cosmopolitan or whether pavements are more crowded. But I bump into people more often than I used to. I had one of those moments the other day when I found myself doing a double quick-step from side to side. You know how it goes: two people are heading towards each other so both step to the side – only they both step to the same side. In their embarrassment each makes a quick step to the other side, in order to let the other person past – only to turn it into some sort of dance. They fail to pass one another and probably now bump into one another headlong.  

In case you find yourself dancing the double quick-step today with some stranger, I’d like to make a suggestion: smile, and wish them a happy Christmas.

Lord Jesus, we thank you for the community in which you’ve placed us. In the busyness of this day helps us to turn each step into a dance and each encounter into a smile. For your good news of great joy is for all people. Amen.