Advent Meditation - Monday 7 December

And to those who never listened
To the message of Thy birth,
Who have winter, but no Christmas
Bringing them Thy peace on earth,
Send to these the joyful tidings;
By all people, in each home,
Be there heard the Christmas anthem;
Praise to God, the Christ has come!


Readings
Acts 10:34-48
Philippians 2:1-11

Reflection
'Tis the season to be jolly - but what if you're feeling
anything but jolly? While Christmas is supposed to be a happy time, for many it is far from joyful. It is winter, it is often lonely and where is Christ in Christmas?
Christ is the source of healing. A primary focus of Christ’s incarnation and ministry was to bring wholeness to people. Not just physical wholeness – though he did bring that to many – but also spiritual and emotional wholeness. That is what God longs to give us more than anything else. And all of us are in need of that, because we all carry around injuries, either self-inflicted by our poor choices or inflicted on us through broken relationships, financial setbacks or physical accidents. It is these injuries that God longs to heal in our lives. They can cripple us, blind us, deafen us or make us bitter and unfit for relationships. However, the healing light of Christ’s love and compassion is at hand and can restore us to wholeness. We can walk, see, hear and love again. Let us be open to receive his light.

Prayer
Source of all that is light and life, truth and peace,
We have hope because your steadfast love never ceases and your mercies never end; they are new every morning, great is your faithfulness.
We remember those torn apart by fear, hatred, abuse, bitterness and scars of the past. May that same peace and hope bring justice, comfort and freedom. Amen

Further Prayers
We pray for whom Christmas brings no peace on earth. For those who this year have been broken by relationships with others. We remember all Pastoral visitors who seek to draw near to others.