Second Sunday of Advent – 4 December 2016

This week I have spent time creating an angel, a messenger of God, and as created I have contemplated the presence of such messengers in my own life – for, though we may not be accosted by angels on high surely, if we listen deeply, we hear messages of hope, peace, joy and love.

From Words for Worship –
Unlikely characters are found throughout the advent narrative, none are more unlikely than John the Baptist, the locust-eating desert-dweller. He comes across a bit like the recently departed Mohammed Ali – brazen, brutally honest and with the bravado to call out hypocrisy when he sees it. John declares that the kingdom of heaven is coming near. For whom is it coming? Not for those whom you might expect – religious leaders for instance. Today’s readings highlight the idea that Jesus comes for the unlikely, those unsung by society – the poor and needy, the meek, the Gentiles – and he comes for the most unlikely of reasons – that righteousness might flourish and that all creation might live in peace. In what unlikely ways does Christ come to us this Advent?

Who are the messengers of God around us? The unlikely reign of God is proclaimed, on earth, by those who faithfully believe and give of themselves with generous and glad hearts.