Joy
Lectionary readings: 1
Thessalonians 5:16-24 and John 1:6-8, 19-28
Cousin
John came as a witness to testify to the light. Note that when another John,
the gospel-writer, tells us this he repeats it, underlines it for emphasis:
he came to testify to the light.
Writing
to the church in Thessalonica, Paul exhorts them: rejoice always…give
thanks in all circumstances…hold fast to what it good…
Testify
to the light. To our Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we rejoice, whether the
circumstances we are living through are desirable or undesirable; for in him we
see goodness and beauty, and in him we share in that goodness and beauty even
as we are being made like him by the God of peace.
Our
theme for Advent this year is Comfort and Joy. Last Sunday, we thought about
the comfort that comes from God, and today we reflect on the joy that comes
from God. And the question is, what is giving you joy, in these days? Where
have you seen the light?
I
have been walking the streets of the parish, dropping Comfort and Joy baubles
through every letterbox. Several of you have helped in this, along with several
friends of mine from the running club. And it has been joyful to hear back the
responses of so many people who have been profoundly moved at receiving their
bauble, a small gift with a disproportionally large impact. It has been a
joyful thing to go from letterbox to letterbox, and a joy to see the
willingness of those who have given of their time to get this giveaway
complete. In a dark year, I testify to the light, to the light of Christ
illuminating hearts and reflecting back from feet and hands and faces.
No comments:
Post a Comment