Scripture….the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a virgin. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. …… Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her. (Luke 1:26 – 38 [26-27, 32-33, 36])ReflectionMary was startled, and not just by the angel’s appearing, but even more so by his message. No wonder that ordinary, extraordinary, Mary asked ‘but how?’And often in our own lives, we also want to ask that question. How is it going to be possible for us to overcome the impossible? Then it is good to remember and hear the angel’s answer to Mary: ‘Nothing will be impossible with God.’ When we look out into the world, many things could make us feel that it is impossible. How can we trust God when wars rage and the climate is out of whack and people are starving and oppressed? But God, our God who choose to be born of Mary, to live amongst people like ourselves and suffer, die and rise again for us in a time which was no less violent, no less confusing and worrying than our own, this God is the same God for whom nothing is impossible. We can trust him. We can also say ‘Yes’, just like Mary.May God bless you this Christmas and always,Revd Ylva
ScriptureThere was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. (John 1.6-9)ReflectionThis “John” is John the Baptist – whom we remember on this Third Sunday of Advent. The priests from the Temple in Jerusalem, ask him a simple yet profound question, “Who are you?” He knows he is not “the light”; he is the messenger. He answers them, from the scripture of one of their great prophets, Isaiah, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord’.”John the Baptist was a very unconventional man within his society. He knew who he was; he knew what God called him to be and do; he didn’t worry about what other people thought of him. He didn’t compare himself to other people or to their relationship with God. He simply got on and did what God called him to do.Maybe there is a message in there for us too. Listen to that simple question for yourself…. “Who are you?” And ask yourself, what does God want me to do?Revd David
ScriptureThe beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.... 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. (Mark 1.4-5)ReflectionMark ‘s Gospel opens quite abruptly: no account of the Baby born in a stable, no ancestral history. The Good News, says Mark, is here, now. It demands your attention, and a response. The ‘beginning of the good news’ is about repentance, about recognising where we have gone wrong and seeking God’s forgiveness. Why did people flock out into the wilderness to hear John’s challenging message? Surely because they were aware that something was missing in their relationship to God, and they glimpsed a way to put things right.In this season of Advent we are challenged to take an honest look at our own shortcomings and to pray for God’s loving forgiveness. Set free, as St Paul says, from the burden of guilt, we find new confidence and energy, strengthened by God’s grace to follow more closely in the steps of Christ. May this Advent be a time of blessing for us all. Revd Rosemary Kobus van Wengen
