Three Gifts?
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Here the Magi, having survived a long, tiring and dusty journey on their NON-camels, are still wearing their pristine robes as they offer gifts to the NON-baby at the NON-stable! The picture below is better.
There was GOLD, a gift for a king and useless for a toddler.
Soon there will be a station at GOLDborne (a k a GOLBORNE) ...
... on the West Coast main line south of Wigan. Here there are four tracks and Golborne station ...
There was INCEnse a gift for a priest and used in Temple ceremonies.
It was a resin which, when heated, gave off a pungent but not unpleasant pong. The idea was that it symbolised the purity of worship and the cleansing power of Almighty God. It was, effectively, religious air freshener.
INCE is a station on the line between Wigan and Manchester. 
It has an impressive entrance archway ...
... which leads to an open footbridge ...
... and the obligatory bus shelter on an island platform.
Once upon a time its facilities were luxurious by comparison!
MYRRH is also a resin, mainly used crushed or in tincture form for purifying and embalming dead bodies.
"Here," toddler Jesus, "have some embalming fluid. Keep it safe as you will need it in about 30 years."
Some gift, eh?
The Magi were in the business of seeking guidance about the future and they knew from their studies (See Isaiah Chapter 53) what the child's destiny would be. And we know as well!
MYRRHfield (a k a Mirfield) is in West Yorkshire and is on one of the main trans-Pennine routes now undergoing a massive upgrade. (see map below, located between Dewsbury and Huddersfield.)
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Mirfield used to be a "real" station with a significant overall roof.
It gained an extra platform in a more recent but previous upgrade ...
... and is now (or will be) the proud owner of a new footbridge with lifts.
An impression from above suggests a hole in the main platforms ...
... presumably to improve the ambience under the low bridge. It certainly needed it!
It looks as if the hole was always there but it has been made more open and therefore brighter!
One delight at Mirfield is two murals under the bridge.
fbb wonders which rail company sponsored the artistic embellishment?
Anyway, well done whoever done it and whoever paid for it!
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S trength from the S pirit
Quirky Question : What is a Paraclete? Is it Greek for ...
(a) an advocate
(b) a counsellor
(c) a helper
Answer below
In everyday life we have Petroleum Spirit ...
We also have alcoholic spirits ...
... which are often used by drinkers to give their personal "power" a boost, a false power which soon evaporates!
Some feel the need to explore "The Spirit World", seeking explanation, in the occult, of the whys and wherefores of life.
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Fifty days after Jesus rose from the tomb came the Jewish festival of Pentecost. It was at this festival, in a very busy and crowded Jerusalem, that the early followers of Jesus received The Holy Spirit. This, said those who observed it, was like tongues of flame settling on each person there..jpeg)
Millions of Christians have experienced this gift from God and they haven't looked like human candles!
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But God's spirit has powered their human engine, helping them go just a little bit deeper in their relationship with their Heavenly Father.
Unlike alcoholic spirits, God's spirit provides a real strength in adversity and will never evaporate.
God's Holy Spirit never lets the recipeint down.
Of course, the gift from God does assume that the recipient is seeking to live a life by God's standards, a life that seeks forgiveness from God for failure and offers a positive act of repentance in return.
God is not a slot machine!
Quirky Answer : It can mean all three. In the Bible it is sometimes used as an alternative word for The Holy Spirit.
Quirky Question : What did Paul "shake off" as he made his way to Rome?
(a) a violent attacker
(b) a snake
(c) a bad cold
Answer tomorrow
P.S. In the UK, Pentecost is called Whitsun; White clothing Sunday.
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Next Variety blog : Sat 27th Dec
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