6th December 2018

I presided at communion this morning and gave a two minute talk based on last Sunday's readings, Jeremiah 33.14-16 & Luke 21.25-36:

I feel like there’s been some kind of mix-up in today’s readings, Jeramiah is usually so doom-laden, but in amongst it is this moment of beauty. On the flip-side of that there’s Jesus sounding like an old testament prophet- we’re all doomed! And it’s in Luke, who normally brings to mind tales of women, children and sheep. Why do we have this gospel of doom as our first Advent reading?

It’s sounds really chaotic, and that’s sometimes the reality of the world we’re in, we’d need to be living under a rock to not see the world is in flux at the moment, and we don’t know which way things are going to go.

What Jesus is advising his listeners to do is to be prepared, no matter what’s to come if we get ourselves properly ready we can face what’s ahead, and that’s essentially what Advent is, a time of preparation, but it’s also a time of hope. Advent is waiting, preparing and hoping for what’s to come.

Jesus warns that things are going to get a little crazy, but that’s ok because it’s what’s waiting on the other side of it that matters. After the tumult comes liberation; Jesus has shown us in his own story that pain, despair and misery never have the last word.

Through Advent we prepare, we remember, and we retell Jesus’ story as a way to remind ourselves of the hope he brings us, the liberation we find in him and that, as ever, he will deliver us through whatever we’re facing. Last week’s reading from Revelation reminded us that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, before all things, within all things and after all things. No matter what our experiences, the good and the bad, Jesus is with us before them, during them, and after them.

Through Advent we sing “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”, Emmanuel meaning “God is with us”. The ancient hymn reminds us that Jesus overcomes all the darkness in the world. We travel in Advent towards the light, yet carrying the light with us.

Today I was joyful sharing a dog walk with my husband and hearing about his new job, I was thankful for his new job and I (superficially) felt helpless that my mobile network is down- no data and no Google maps!!