The members and friends of Henry Street Church gathered for a splendid tea, just as good if not better than those of past years. Then, after singing some favourite carols, Tom treated those present to a lovely guitar and voice solo entitled “Halelujah.”

The speaker Derek Wadley then commenced his talk by posing the question, had those present ever been lost? It was agreed that everyone had, and what a relief it was when they were found. He reminded them that sometimes because the place is strange to us we don’t even realise at first that we are lost.

Derek had gone with a coach party to Edinburgh to support Gloucester Rugby Club in a recent International match. In the morning, they visited the Royal Yacht Britannia which is now permanently moored in Edinburgh.

Derek said he had not realised before his visit what a beautiful ship it is, a national treasure, and well worth a visit. Commissioned by King George VI shortly before his death, the Queen herself oversaw the fitting out and the ship came into service in 1954.

The Queen used Britannia extensively on state visits all around the world until the ship was taken out of service in 1997. She is fitted out like a country house and the State rooms are magnificent. The dining table can seat 52, and it takes three hours to lay out all the china and cutlery.

After their visit to Britannia, Derek and his friends went to the match and then onto where they needed to go when it was finished so that they could catch their coach to return to the hotel. Confidently, Derek set out with his friends to the designated place but suddenly he realised that his friends had melted away and he didn’t know exactly where he was.

Just then, his mobile phone rang, he was told “the place for the pick up has been changed, return as quickly as you can to the Rugby stadium to catch the coach”. He turned on his heel, and headed back to the stadium. As he got there, his phone rang again. “Where are you? You have missed the coach.” He was lost in a place that was strange to him, it was late, dark, and getting colder.

Refusing to panic, he spoke to a Rugby official, and asked if there was a taxi rank nearby. “Yes”, he was told, “but you’ll be lucky on a night like this if any taxis stop for you!” Sure enough two taxi drivers whizzed by him, seemingly oblivious to him trying to flag them down. However, the third driver stopped, and took him quickly back to the welcoming lights of his hotel. What a relief. He had been lost but now was found. But to his surprise, there was no sign of his friends. They returned on the coach, ten minutes later.

Derek’s experiences that day reminded him of another day in 1947, when as a 14 year boy, he made the decision to ask Jesus to come into his life. He was blithely going along his own path, facing a lost eternity but not realising it. Just as in Edinburgh, he had no means of finding the right path for himself, someone else had to help him to see what he had to do.

He told the guests at the tea that there are also treasures beyond our understanding in heaven but just like the Britannia we will never realise it unless we actually go the right way. Christmas is a lovely season, and even better when we give Jesus his proper place in it.