Reflection for Sunday 16th November 2025

The Second Sunday Before Advent

Malachi 4.1–2a; 2, Thessalonians 3.6–13; Luke 21.5–19

As the church year draws to its close, our readings start to tilt our gaze towards Advent—the season of holy waiting. They remind us that faith isn’t about quick fixes or tidy endings, but about holding steady when the world feels uncertain.

Malachi speaks of a day when the “sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” It’s an image of dawn after a long night, light breaking through frost, warmth returning to cold bones. It’s a promise that whatever shadows we walk through now are not the end of the story.

Paul, writing to the Thessalonians, urges his readers not to lose heart, even when others give up or grow idle. Keep at your calling, he says. Keep doing what is good and right, even when no one notices. It’s the quiet faithfulness of daily prayer, of caring for neighbours, of doing the next small act of love—that’s where God’s light takes root.

And in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus warns his followers not to panic when the world shakes. “By your endurance you will gain your souls.” The call is not to escape hardship but to meet it with courage and trust. Faith doesn’t make life easier—it makes us steadier.

As we stand on the threshold of Advent, these readings invite us to be people of patient hope. To keep showing up, keep tending the light, keep believing that the dawn will come. The healing warmth of God’s love still rises over every weary heart. So this week, as the days shorten and the nights grow cold, hold onto that promise: the light is coming. It always does.

Blessings and prayers,

Emma