Advent weekly reflections: Looking beyond ourselves

15/12/2019

The third week of Advent celebrates John the Baptist, whose entire life was dedicated to pointing to glory beyond himself: pointing to the life of Jesus sharing his delight and awe at what God was doing. Advent is profoundly challenging because it invites us to look, and point, away from ourselves. It calls us to prepare the way for someone else.
Read Isaiah 35.1-10
The sun rises over a mountain range, silhouetting them. Jordan Wozniak

The questions are insistent in Advent: Who is it in our communities that we need to make space for? Who is unseen? We need to lose our preoccupation with the castles of the world and remember the sheds.

As we look beyond ourselves, we may find God in surprising places. With the refugee, the homeless, those who grieve. Advent and Christmas can be times of desolation for those who are alone, forgotten, or grieving the loss of those they love. Whoever we are, we are called to look beyond ourselves, to the God who promises to walk with us on the way.

Archbishop Justin Welby and Rev Isabelle Hamley

Bible readings are taken from The New Revised Standard Version (Anglicized Edition), copyright 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.