It feels truly surreal that I am writing this as I am preparing for the weekend of annual remembrance, marking the end of the First World War and paying tribute to all those who have given their lives in wars throughout time, and yet my theme is “Christmas”. It surely cannot be that time of year already? And yet the shops are informing me that it is so: in the shops last week advent calendars, Christmas decorations, and seasonal sweet treats vying for attention with hallowe’en masks and pumpkins. There is a bizarre sense of time condensing, as I even spotted Easter eggs nestling in the sweet aisle. These are likely to make a full appearance before the Christmas cakes disappear. Along with our peculiar weather, in our festival lives it is as if every season has blended into one. 

We can address this condensing of time in our spiritual lives as the new Church year begins in Advent, and we travel into the Christmas Season. We mark the passing of time with changes in the Gospel, moving from Mark to Luke, with colour, moving from white to purple and then gold, and in our daily lives as we move from contemplation and waiting, to joyful celebration.

Advent is a time of waiting, a time to pay close attention to the coming of the Saviour of the World, and to be ready to lift our hearts in pure joy as we greet Emmanuel, God with Us, on Christmas Day. Throughout the Christmas season, the Prince of Peace joins us to journey through the visitation of the Magi, the Presentation at the Temple, and the fleeing of the Holy Family to safety as refugees in Egypt, all packed in before we once again dress our churches in purple and address the journey towards the cross in Lent in March. 

As we continue to pray for God to send to us a Priest with a heart to build our churches and reach out to our communities, let us remind ourselves of some key lines from the scriptures that help us to recall the message of Advent hope, and especially of the week of Christian Unity that begins in mid January – and I do hope you will all join us in Launceston on Sunday 19th January at our United service with our brothers and sisters from every church in town.

Isaiah 40:31 - But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
1 Peter 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 

A Prayer for Hope from https://www.biblestudytools.com: Lord, I maintain my hope in You, and I hold onto the assurance that what I am praying for is already accomplished in the name of Jesus. Your Word promises, “no good thing does He withhold from those that walk uprightly” (Psalm 84:11). I wait upon You for Your definition of the “good thing.” You will not withhold from me. As David prayed in Psalm 18:1: “I love you, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”  Amen  

Rev’d Jess

PLEASE NOTE. This and all other entries in 'News and Notices' are usually listed in order of date published or amended.