November 2016

Dear Friends,

Sunday 27th marks the beginning of Advent. No doubt most of us know about Advent calendars, opening a window each day throughout December and revealing a picture or gift, but are we so clear about the word Advent itself?

Well……In Advent we look forward to the coming of Christ. Jesus Christ comes to us through being born as a baby in Bethlehem. That’s what we celebrate at Christmas. But we believe that he also comes to us at the end of our lives and at the end of time.

Advent is a time for meditating on all three of these comings of Christ. At one time it was traditional to preach on the four Sundays of Advent on death, judgement, hell and heaven. The readings set for the first Sunday in Advent look to the time when Jesus Christ will return to transform the life of the world at the end of time; a time of tumult, judgement in the sense of being drawn into the more immediate ambit of Christ’s love; a time when this earth will be drawn into God’s fuller presence.

The readings set for the second and third Sundays of Advent reflect on John the Baptist, the forerunner, the one who prepared the way for the coming of Christ. On the fourth Sunday of Advent we read about the Mary and Joseph and their part in the coming of Christ. Each Sunday many churches light a candle to remember those who prepared for the coming of Christ.

In all these persons and themes there is the call to repentance ( turning around) as a very important way of preparing for the coming of Christ. The people who were part of the Christmas story were just like us, for they too were human, and at times they did what was wrong.

Repentance (turning around) is not to be seen as a duty or a hardship, although it can feel difficult. It is to be life giving for as we change for the better we become more joyful and are better able to help other persons. We live in a world with too much destruction; some caused by nature but much caused by human actions. Repentance leads both to less destructiveness and more help and healing to those hurt by what life brings to them.

May God guide and bless our repentance this Advent; so that we rejoice all the more at the coming of Christ, the light of the world at Christmas.

God Bless
Rev Michelle Ireland