Quiet Reflection

As we go forward I invite us to pause and to reflect on the themes of advent;             

Peace                                                        Love                                                     Joy

 I would like us to look at peace and to reflect on what it means to have the peace of Christ in our lives. When we think of peace we may have different thoughts in our own head what that means. We all know what war looks like, there will be noise and chaos and bloodshed and aftermath that may last for a long time. At the outset of peace there may well be unease, mistrust and anxiety in case it starts again.

Which Path do I choose?

‘The journey of life may be easy may be hard, there’ll be danger on life’s way’.                           

Words from a well-known Hymn ‘Will you ride, ride, ride, With the King of Kings’.

Yet when we look back over the last twelve months for so many people from church it has been a hard journey.

Isaiah uses some words to encourage the people of his time who were struggling and these words can be useful to us now (Isaiah 40 verses 3-5 – God comforts His people) 

“In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord;

make straight in the desert  a highway for our God.

Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low;

the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.

And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together.

For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

As well as the physical ground that we envisage here this is as much about preparing our own ground within us. 

How can we prepare the pathway that will allow God, straight into our hearts and minds.

Allowing the peace of God to dwell in us, God wants that for us. God cares for us, so much that he gave of himself for us.

Sometimes we are in our own spiritual wilderness and it’s a case of ‘what  can we do’ to prepare ourselves to hear what God is doing and  has done for us. When we are in that place in the midst of the difficulties it’s easy to try to hide – thinking we can hide from Him. We know that we can’t hide and God wouldn’t want us to feel that is the solution. We need to reconnect with Him when we are in those difficult places.  

I would like us to think and pray about the difficult journey that we have been on during the last year. How we make a path straight to God. Are we in our own wilderness?

Let the world hold its breath, for good is coming in all its vulnerable newness.
Deep within our life a wonder is conceived, hidden in humanity’s moments of faithfulness.
Look for it, for it is near.
Believe in it, for it is of God.
Be ready to nurture its life among us, for it is a precious gift for all history.
In the Spirit of Advent we watch for signs of that which is to come.
We look for them here in this place, held within our midst in promises of joy.
Holy God, this is earth’s quiet season, the season of waiting.
Let us rest in the shelter of your love.
This is the season of darkness, when we seek stars to guide us.
May we trust in the light of your promise.
May we find warmth in the signs of your presence and when the time comes rejoice as one in the mystery of the incarnation of our God. Through Christ our Lord. Amen                                                (Courtesy of Clifton Diocese)

Rev Mark

As we go through the next 4 weeks I invite us to pause and to reflect on the themes of advent;

Hope

Peace

Love

Joy

Hope is something that we have been given with the news of the vaccine to beat Coronavirus. But hope has always been there for there for us.

Hebrews Chapter 11 verses 1-3

‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.’(ESV)

There are many examples of faith in the Old Testament and many are examples of persevering faith in hope of future reward:                                                                              Abraham left his present land seeking a city whose builder and maker was God.
Joseph looked ahead to the exodus which would happen long after his death.
Moses rejected Egypt’s present treasures in favour of future reward.
By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 11 verse 7 ESV)

In all these stories God was with them, challenging them and pushing them onwards. But God was also there when they were at their lowest with the promise that he would never leave them. That no matter how difficult life would become if they remained faithful, God would see their journey through. They might not see the full glory of their journey but they could be assured that it was worth it because they had listened and responded to Gods command. 

Noah was given an assurance by God that the earth would never again be destroyed by floods. There have been many lives that have been damaged over the he last 8 months by the pandemic and if you remember at the outset thousands of rainbows appeared in peoples windows thanking the NHS staff. But they also shed some joy and hope looking forward, we even saw children doing treasure hunts counting the number of rainbows they could see.  

 A rainbow is always something positive, usually after the storm. It lifts our feelings and moods.

Take time to offer to God your Hopes and aspirations. It doesn’t matter how simple or complex they are. God hears them and will respond. We may not see the final outcome but Gods plan will come to fruition. Then I invite you to use the prayer below -  

 Let the world hold its breath, for good is coming in all its vulnerable newness.

Deep within our life a wonder is conceived, hidden in humanity’s moments of faithfulness.

Look for it, for it is near.

Believe in it, for it is of God.

Be ready to nurture its life among us, for it is a precious gift for all history.

In the Spirit of Advent we watch for signs of that which is to come.

We look for them here in this place, held within our midst in promises of joy.

Holy God, this is earth’s quiet season, the season of waiting.

Let us rest in the shelter of your love.

This is the season of darkness, when we seek stars to guide us.

May we trust in the light of your promise.

This is the season of solitude, when we listen for our own heart’s rhythm.

May we find warmth in the signs of your presence and when the time comes rejoice as one in the mystery of the incarnation of our God. Through Christ our Lord. Amen   (Courtesy of Clifton Diocese)

Rev Mark