Jenny’s letter 15th December
Dear Friends,
It is very easy to lose our focus on Advent and let it pass us by as we move forward to Christmas. From a young age children are taught it is a time to count the days until Christmas.
In my day it was with little pictures for which my mum made a frame and put a light behind. Opening a window was magical as the warm glow shone through the picture. Of course, those of you who remember Blue Peter, joined with them in counting down the episodes until Christmas. It was amzing what could be achieved with wire coathangers and some tinsel.
These days, Advent calendars tend to be filled with all sorts including chocolate, alcohol, coffee, or beauty products, but inspite of the gifting starting early there is still the concept that we are passing time until the main event. As I have written previously, being surrounded by Christmas trees does not help us and I take responsibility for that.
Christmas and Epiphany are two of the great Christian Festivals. Advent, though, is much more significant than either of them.
At Christmas we celebrate a moment in our faith story. We look back to when Jesus was born and, in terms of the age of the earth, 2,000 years really is a very short amount of time. At Christmas we are reminded that God is with us (Emmanuel means that) and, as we worship King Jesus, we can also look to his reason for coming. He was born to die so that we who believe do not have to pay the price or take the penalty for our sin.
Advent is not to be missed. It is a golden moment. It is a time to think about and prepare for something that is yet to happen. Jesus warns us, “You too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect.” Luke 12.40. And again in Matthew 25.31-12 Jesus teaches his followers, “…when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.”
Some of you will recall my baptism sermon about sheep and goats. On the outside they can look remarkably similar apart from the fact that sheep tails go down while goat’s tails point up. People may look the same but God knows the truth in our heart.
It is right to say that we are saved by faith. But there are many clues in the Bible that suggest that what we do now, how we behave and the values we hold, in some way impacts upon our life in eternity.
I wonder, if Jesus came tomorrow would you be ready for him? I was listening to a podcast yesterday and it was about death and dying and, specifically, what mattered to people before they die. It was noted that at the end of a person’s life, what matters is not things, but relationships. A dying person wants to be sure that someone knows they are forgiven. They want to speak or to hear affirmations of love. Look at the messages left by people in the Twin Towers at 9/11. All of those phone calls and messages were about relationsips. “I love you”, “I am sorry” . “I want you to know that I forgive you.”
Advent is not the celebration of what happened nor merely a time of waiting. It is a time for change and transformation. We have an opportunity to change what comes in eternity but more than that, we have an opportunity to change how the world is now.
What does it look like to love God with all of your heart, mind and strength? What does it look like to love your neighbour as you love yourself? Notice that there are two parts to this second commandment. We have to practise self care in order to care for others.
Spend time with God. Tell someone you love them today. Do something that helps. Care for yourself.
I continue to pray for and wish you a very blessed Advent season.
