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Monday 8 December 2014

Advent -take time, slow down, open up


Pews News 7th December
Dear Reader,

This time of year is known in the Christian church as ‘Advent’. Advent is derived from the Latin word "Adventus" which means "arrival". . I wonder what Advent means to you? Is it the countdown for getting everything ready for Christmas Day? The list seems to on and on: the turkey, the cards, the pudding, the cake, the presents...!  

Or is Advent about something else? I am drawn to thinking about it as a period of time where we can look for the small but perceptible presence of God in our lives - and in the world. If we don't do that, then what is Christmas all about? It will be about that list of things - and when Christmas Day is over, we will be clearing away the debris and being glad that it is all finished for another year - and nothing else will have changed either.

Christmas isn't supposed to be like that. For Christmas to be different, we have to do Advent differently. Advent draws us to the present moment, to a still, yet active commitment to the life we live now. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a vulnerable baby who depended totally on others for his survival. Are you prepared to depend on Him in your life?


  Alan

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