Dear Friends,
Today the Gospel turns from John the Baptist to Mary as it prepares us to celebrate the birth of God’s special one, Jesus Christ. Mary, we are told, is the one ‘who believed that the promise made her by the Lord would be fulfilled.’ She committed her life so that this would indeed happen, as she brought to birth and nurtured to maturity her gifted son.
All of us who wish to respond with welcome to Jesus Christ, and who seek to live in his spirit, will listen to the promises of God and strive to be part of the means by which they are fulfilled. That is our happy responsibility as members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and it is for this we are resourced weekly and daily as we take part in the liturgy
and life of the Church.
At this time, God’s promise of a reign of peace is as precious and as apparently impossible as it ever was. Perhaps we are called once more to allow ourselves to become instruments of that peace, letting it come to birth first in the smallest details of our human interaction and nurturing it with just deeds and generous trust, the only ground in which it can grow.
This evening at 7:00 pm we shall enjoy the Service of Nine Lessons and Carols for Christmas. I hope that many of you will come and bring friends as well. Please bring some light food and drink to share in the hall afterwards.
On Monday evening at 6:30 pm we shall welcome children and their families to the children’s carol and crib service in the church. This is short and very suitable for younger children, perhaps bringing their grandparents. It is followed by festive refreshments in the lounge.
I hope that this year the Christian World Service Christmas Appeal will again receive generous support. CWS has a proven track record, and we can give through this agency with confidence. Gifts are tax deductible. Envelopes are being distributed today and more are available at the back of the church. It is good for us to be intentionally generous to those who have few resources, at a time when we spend so much on ourselves.
And of course late on Wednesday evening, Christmas Eve, this lovely church will be decorated with candles and flowers, and filled with music and wonderful people of faith and goodwill, as we begin to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Although death and its works are all around, he alone, living within and among us, brings new life and in the darkness enables us to find light.
May God bless you all.Peter Williams
Readings - Advent: Week Four
Monday 1 Samuel 1: 24–28 Luke 1: 46–56
Tuesday Malachi 3: 1–4, 23–24 Luke 1: 57–66
Wednesday 2 Samuel 7: 1–5, 8–12, 14, 16 Luke 1: 67–79
