Advent: 20th December

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

-Isaiah 9

The story of the Bible starts with creation, and everything being ‘good’. Pretty soon though, things go wrong and time after time, people seem to choose a path that takes them further away from God. People choose to go there own way, and make idols for themselves. At this point in the story there seems to an absence of God – a darkness. And it is of course still true. You don’t have to look very far to see the darkness in our world right now. Greed, war, injustice, poverty – all too present around us.

And Breaking into this darkness – in the way that only a light can – after a long time of waiting, God comes. And isn’t that what we are doing this advent? Waiting for God to break into the darkness in our world. Longing for him to break into our hearts and the hearts of those around us. I love how it is written in The Message in John 1, “The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood.”

I leave you with this prayer from the Northumbria Community. It titled as an evening prayer for blessing during Advent, but perhaps it is also for anybody who is waiting. Love, Gus.

God of the watching ones,
give us Your benediction.

God of the waiting ones,
give us Your good word for our souls.

God of the watching ones,
the waiting ones,
the slow and suffering ones,
give us Your benediction,
Your good word for our souls,
that we might rest.

God of the watching ones,
the waiting ones,
the slow and suffering ones,

and of the angels in heaven,

and of the child in the womb,

give us Your benediction,
Your good word for our souls,
that we might rest and rise
in the kindness of Your company.

~ from Celtic Daily Prayer From the Northumbria Community

One thought on “Advent: 20th December”

  1. Thank you to everyone for all the thoughts, Reflections and Prayers through Advent, helping us to make sense of this waiting time. love Christine x

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