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From the newsletter ... |
WAITINGAs essential road works have been carried out in Witney over this past year, I have spent more time waiting in queues of traffic than I wish to remember. Advent, the 4 weeks leading up to Christmas, is also a time of waiting. Unlike waiting in traffic however, Advent is a good reason for waiting, a time of anticipation. I can remember as a child opening the doors on my Advent Calender each day and the temptation to have a sneaky look behind the double doors on the 25th. There were no chocolates behind each door then, just a countdown to Christmas. I can also remember finding a few unwrapped presents before Christmas one year; my initial excitement soon turned a little sour as I realised that some of the excitement of Christmas had been lost. Perhaps you have some similar memories. Today, of course, we can look back at Jesus' birth as an event that changed history; but who was anticipating it? Certainly not the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. They were terrified when the angel came to them, this was the last thing they were expecting. On the other hand, Isaiah, amongst others, foretold the coming of the Messiah several centuries before. Simeon, a devout Jew, received a revelation from God that he would not die before Jesus was born. A week after the birth Simeon was able to hold the baby Jesus in his arms. Advent then is a time for waiting, as we prepare for Christmas. However, for Christians, it is also a time of preparation for the second coming of our Lord Jesus, when he comes in glory to judge all our hearts. Just like his birth in Bethlehem, some will be prepared and waiting, others like the shepherds will be terrified. So perhaps there is more to waiting, than sitting in a traffic jam after all. As you ponder all these things, may I, on behalf of Blake and St Mary's Cogges, wish you all a very Joyful Christmas this year. Cogges Parish | Other articles | Previous issue | 
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© 2001; Published in Cogges Parish monthly newsletter, December 2001 | |