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
Scripture‘But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. 35 Therefore, keep awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, 36 or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Keep awake.’ (Mark 13 32-37)ReflectionHow often do we remind ourselves that Advent is a season of waiting, longing and preparation and then realise how hard it can be to hang on to that spiritual meaning of the season? All around us are the trappings of Christmas with its different kinds of waiting, longing and preparation which usually overshadow the true meaning of Advent - it’s not that it is wrong to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ - far from it. But Advent is a time to prepare for the second coming of Christ the King even though we do not know when or how he will return. Jesus tells us that this does not matter, our job is to be ready, doing what God has called us to do with the gifts he has given us. Sharing those gifts with each other in love with the help of the Holy Spirit to bring about God’s Kingdom on earth. Lyn Hayes ALM
