Seeker

Yesterday's Advent post was about night and its associated darkness.  To state the obvious: when people are in darkness they need light. On this 5th day of Advent the #AdventWord2018 is #light. In the Bible 'light' is often used as a symbol both of God and of the people of God. Light is used to describe God bringing salvation to people who walk in darkness  so they may have the light of life. The opening of John's Gospel describes Jesus is as the true light coming into the world and rejected by some who prefer darkness to light. Later, in that same gospel, are these words of Jesus: "...I am the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." John 8: 12 (NRSV) You may be reading this blog because you are a follower of Jesus. Or you may wonder what it means to follow Jesus but are unsure how to start. You could start by planning to attend a Christmas service at a church near you . Meanwhile...

'Light'  is the Advent Word for today. In Advent, Christians look forward to the coming of light into darkness. And in Advent, Christians celebrate the fact that the true light has come, is coming and will come into the world.  The coming of true light is cause for hope even in the darkest days. As I wrote in 'What is Hope? ' in Advent last year, hope is not wishful thinking or a denial of reality. On the contrary: "Hope, like faith and love, are gifts of God, so do come from outside of us. Hope come from God who is other than us. We may discover hope within and cultivate hope by our actions. The challenge in times of despair is to open our eyes to small green shoots of hope and nurture those wherever we find them. In doing so, it helps to remember that God, who is the source of hope, is not only outside of us, but also behind us, before us, beside us and within us." Nancy Wallace in 'What is Hope? ' a post on Seeker John's Gospel ...

In this image a child reaches for the hand of her father. For me that is a lovely illustration of trust.  It looks as if father and child are walking. It may be that the child has no idea where they are going, but that's not a problem to the child. Daddy is here and Daddy can be trusted. How would you define trust? What about trust in God? What does that mean to you? About 4 years ago I wrote a post entitled What does it mean to trust God? In that post are some links that some may find helpful. Take a look and see what you think. Image Credit: mcdarius on Flickr, CC License

'Watch' is the Advent Word for today in the global Advent Calendar I am following this year. I love the way that groups of meerkats always have at least one meerkat on watch, alert to the surroundings. This is particularly for the safety and so the well-being of the group as a whole. Jesus told his disciples to watch, stay alert, keep awake. In other words to have eyes, minds and hearts open and ready to see his coming, whenever and wherever that might be. Jesus said:  "Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his slaves in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to be on the watch. therefore, keep awake - for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, at at midnight, or at cockcrow, or at dawn, or else he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly. And what I say to you I say to all. Keep awake." Mark 13: 33 - 36 NRSV In...

There is so much bad news around at the moment, it becomes a particular joy to receive good news. And good news is all the more likely to be believed when it is personally delivered by a loved and trusted messenger. Advent is about the message of God coming to save. The messengers who herald that coming bring good news of comfort, peace and joy for those who receive that message. Prophecies from the book of Isaiah are often read during this countdown to Christmas season. I especially love this one: "How beautiful upon the mountains   are the feet of the messenger who announces peace,   who brings good news,   who announces salvation,   who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns'.   Listen! Your sentinels lift up their voices,   together they sing for joy:   for in plain sight they see   the return of the Lord to Zion.   Break forth together into singing,   you ruins of Jerusalem;   for the Lord has comforted...

Advent is about getting ready for the coming of Christ. How do we get ready? We prepare. The Advent Word for today is 'prepare'.  At this time of year, preparing for Christmas, we can become so focused on private preparations for friends and family like preparing food and presents, that we lose sight of the bigger picture. The bigger picture involves preparation of heart, mind and will. It involves commitment to God's kingdom values of justice, love and peace. In many churches today, on this 2nd Sunday of Advent, these words from the prophet Isaiah will be read: A voice cries out: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God.   Every valley shall be lifted up,   and every mountain and hill be made low;   the uneven ground shall become level,   and the rough places a plain.   Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,   and all people shall see it tog...

In the busy season of Advent it can be hard to take time out to do nothing. It can be hard to make space to concentrate on an activity that brings you peace and joy. The boy in this picture is keeping quiet and still. His focus is on his fishing line and especially its end where he hopes the fish will bite. Whether this is work or play for the boy in the picture, he seems to have a clear focus. He is waiting and watchful. He seems to do nothing, but waiting and remaining attentive is not idleness. He is focused, prepared and ready to act at any time, not knowing if that will be sooner or later. The Advent Word for today is 'Focus'. The brief meditation that accompanies it in the global Advent Calendar I am following this year is this: "Imagine the lenses in your glasses get accidentally switched – everything is out of FOCUS; blurry.   Today, be still and take time to FOCUS. You will see what you have never seen." The Psalmist sings, 'Be still ...

What has the word 'mend' got to do with Advent? It is the Advent Word for today in the calendar I am following. Advent is about waiting expectantly for the coming of Christ to judge the world. That is the great Christian hope: that in the end light fully overcomes darkness, evil will be destroyed. God will, with justice and mercy, mend what is broken and restore to wholeness what is wounded. In the meantime, we live in a broken world where each can play a part in repairing relationships. No one can do everything but all can do something. Even 1 needle and piece of thread can be used to stitch a wound so it may heal. There's a lot of truth in the proverb, 'a stitch in time saves nine' . When something is in need of repair it is better to act sooner rather than later when things may get worse. Just think about potholes in the road, or tiles missing from a roof. Mending sooner rather than later is especially true when someone needs to give or receive forgive...

What do you think of when you hear the word 'gather'? Yesterday I spilled a container of cashew nuts over other stuff in the kitchen. It took a while to gather up what had been scattered. The nuts of course were powerless to get themselves back where they belonged. People on the other hand...(complete this sentence how you will.) Christians regularly gather for worship, in the open air, in churches, homes and many places, including on-line. We belong in relationship with others and with God. 'Gather' is the Advent Word for today in the online global advent calendar that I am following. You can follow Advent Word on Twitter  @adventword  or sign up at Advent Word to receive a daily email during advent with the image and very short meditation. Today's image shows people gathered for worship. The accompanying meditation from Advent Word gives a reason for such gathering: "We gather together because when “two or three are gathere...