IV Sunday of Advent Readings: 2 Samuel 7v1-11&16; Psalm 89v1-8; Romans 16v25-end; Luke 1v26-38. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Each year, I love to hear about the Angel Gabriel’s visit to Mary. I love that she is invited to be the mother of the promised Messiah, to be the mother of Almighty God made man. However, I am always so surprised by Mary’s reaction. First, instead of being terrified at the angel’s visitation, Mary wonders what the Angel’s greeting means. Then when told what God has in mind for her, Mary challenges the angel by asking how this could be? Over the years as I have pondered and reflected on Mary’s reactions and wondered whether Mary had been visited by angels before? For why would Mary wonder what the Angel’s greeting meant, unless she had met with angels before and been greeted differently! And, why was Mary not simply afraid of the angel, unless she had learnt not to be afraid, because she had been visited before! These reactions are in sharp contrast to what happens next, for after Gabriel explains that the child will be conceived by the power of God’s spirit and, for proof of this, that her barren cousin Elizabeth was already 6 months pregnant To which, Mary quite simply agreed to God’s plan, without any further comment and without any hesitation. For me, this confidence in God’s promises and plans is also extraordinary, but I am not so surprised by this because, like her cousin Elizabeth, Mary was probably also of the priestly line of Aaron. This means that Mary was raised in an Israelite family, a family whose calling was to study the scriptures, worship regularly, pray often and put their trust and confidence in God. Today as we give thanks for God’s promise of the Messiah, we also give thanks for Mary’s unconditional agreement to bear the Christ-child so that God could be born into the world he made. For through Mary, we believe that God was born into the world and given the name Jesus. Jesus, the son of the most-high God, Jesus the king who reigns forever in the line of his ancestor David, Jesus the king who reigns over the House of Jacob, the House of Israel. Let us pray: Almighty God, our Father in heaven, we thank you for choosing Mary to be the mother of the promised saviour, we thank you that Mary was ready to meet with your Angelic messenger, we thank you that Mary agreed to bring Jesus into the world. Help us to be more like Mary so that we may embrace your holy will, rejoice in your salvation and be ready to greet Jesus when he returns to make his judgement. Amen. Thank you for joining us.
III Sunday of Advent Readings: Isaiah 61v1-40&8-end; Psalm 126/Luke 1v46b-55; 1 Thessalonians5v16-24; John 1v6-8&19-28. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Today readings tell us about God’s plan of salvation for the world. In Isaiah we hear what God has foretold in a prophecy that tells of a time when God would put all things right - for God was announcing that he was coming into the world to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour and establish an everlasting covenant with his people. For the Lord God of justice was coming to bring in salvation and righteousness, by planting oaks of righteousness and re-building ancient ruins, and by exchanging ashes for decorations, mourning for gladness and weakness of spirit with a cloak of praise. Isaiah was told by God that - before this time came - a witness would be sent out into the world to announce that God had sent him to bring good news to the oppressed, to the broken hearted, to captives, to prisoners and to all those who mourn. In the gospel, we hear the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy about the witness who would be sent into the world. This witness was a man sent by God, whose name was John. (John was the child of Zachariah and Elizabeth, the cousin of Jesus, the John known as John the Baptiser). When asked who he was, John gave his testimony, saying: he was not the Messiah, he was not Elijah, nor the prophet; for he was the voice crying out in the wilderness, one who baptised with water, one who was unworthy to untie the sandals of someone already amongst them, who was going to succeed him. In other scriptures, we learn that the one John was speaking about was his cousin Jesus. A cousin who was not just any man, but God become man, the Messiah. The Messiah who died on the cross for our sins, who rose back to life and was seen by many disciples, before returning to heaven at his ascension. It is Jesus that other scriptures tell us will return one day to bring heaven and earth to its close and then judge the living and the dead. In Thessalonians, we hear Paul testify that when Jesus returns, the one God who is faithful will sanctify his people by making them clean, unblemished and faultless – so they are fit to enter into heaven. This is a gift of grace that we do not deserve it to which Paul responds by calling God’s people to action. This is to pray, to rejoice and to give thanks in all circumstances. To hold on firmly to all that is good and to give up all that is sinful. To allow the spirit freedom, to listen to the words of the prophets and to test everything through discernment. I pray that we will hear and then act on what we learn from scripture because a time is coming when all will be restored – when God will turn all things right side up. This is a time that has been foretold to us by God’s people down the ages and is a time that is drawing ever closer - minute by minute, day by day and year by year. For it is the time when we shall all be judged – so we need to get ready to face our maker. Let us pray: Almighty God, our Father in heaven, thank you for the messengers you have sent to forewarn and prepare us so we can be ready to meet you at the second coming of Jesus, when he comes to judge the world. Set us alight with the fire of your Holy Spirit so we can turn away from disobedience and become a just and wise people who shine as lights in the world and acceptable in your sight. Amen Thank you for joining us.
On Saturday 10th December 2022, we hosted a lovely Christmas Fayre with free visits to Santa Claus, good quality inexpensive refreshments, a tombola and raffle, toys and books and lots of other items for sale. It was a delightful and happy afternoon with lots of chatting with local families. What a wonderful time we had and we made some money to support our Church funds too. Thank you so much to all you who came, all you who hosted and all you who contributed to such a lovely time.
II Sunday of Advent Readings: Isaiah 40v1-11; Psalm 85v8-end; 2 Peter 3v8-15a; Mark 1v1-8. Let us pray: May the words of my mouth, and the thoughts and meditations of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. A Word: Today our readings tell us about the coming of God into the world. First as the Messiah and saviour of the world and next when God returns to bring all things created to their close. The first time that God came into the world is called the Incarnation. Before the incarnation, through Isaiah, God told his people how to recognise when the Messiah had arrived to comfort his people and speak tenderly to Jerusalem. God reveals that before the promised Messiah, a messenger would be sent to cry out in the wilderness and prepare the way for the Lord. This messenger would remind God’s people of their mortality after which the glory of the Lord would be revealed. For God was coming into the world like a shepherd - to feed his flock, to gather in his lambs and to lead the mother sheep gently; because people are like the grass that withers and the flowers that fade. As Christians we believe that the Messiah came into the world through Jesus, the son of God. And, in Mark, we hear Jesus saying that his cousin John, was the one who cried out in the wilderness and called people to prepare the way for the Messiah. John did this by inviting people to come and receive a baptism of repentance, in which they could confess and be forgiven for their sins. Jesus also reminds us that John announced that the one he was preparing the people for - was coming with great power and would not only baptise the people with water but also with the Holy Spirit. We believe that John was preparing the world for Jesus, and that at the incarnation, the time when God became a human being, the time when God came into the world, that God came to live and die as a human being in order to rescue us from sin and eternal death. For as the psalm tells us we have a God who looks down with righteousness from heaven; we have a God who is gracious to his people; we have a God who gives all that is good to humankind; we have a God who forgives us our sins and speaks peace to the faithful; and we have a God who brings salvation to all who respect, revere and worship him. Now we are in a time of waiting for God’s return. In Peter, we learn that the Lord will return one day at a time we are not expecting. We also learn that the day of the Lord, when God returns to the world, has been delayed because of God’s great patience in wanting no-one to perish. But one day that time will run out, then the day of the Lord will arrive and the whole created order of the heavens and earth will come to its end and after this the final judgement will take place. So, as we call to mind the coming of the Messiah at the first Christmas and his return at the end of the age, let’s listen to and act on Peter’s guidance. For he tells us to lead lives of holiness and godliness, while we are waiting so that when God comes he will find us to be a people who are striving to be at peace and without spot or blemish so we are ready for His return and not found wanting when we are judged. Let us pray: Almighty God, our Father in heaven, thank you for sending your Son into the world to redeem all people and save us from our sins and wickedness. Now, as we await his return, give us grace to imitate his ways so we can run the race that is set before us and be ready to greet him with joyful love and a firm faith when he comes again. Amen Thank you for joining us.
