Jn. 1:1-5; Ephes. 1:13-14

This year has been very difficult and Christmas Day has been suddenly stunted as a result of the
curse of Covid 19. And some have said that the virus has stolen the joy of Christmas; that the light of
Christmas has dimmed. But has it? Maybe our celebration of Christmas this year is different, but the
true meaning of Christmas has not changed. The conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn that occurred on
the 21st producing a brilliance not seen for 800 years can remind us that on Christmas day some two
millennia ago the Light of the World was born who came to destroy the darkness with a light that
can never be dimmed.

One Christmas present I had was a torch and it took me back to a time 54 years ago, to the eve of my
marriage to Heidi in a small Tanzanian village called Vwawa. I had to travel to stay with Heidi’s
neighbour 4 miles away over dirt roads in the middle of a ‘cloudburst’ in pitch darkness. I got lost
and stuck in the mud! However, after an hour the neighbour came to find us with his tractor. Seeing
the lights from his tractor coming to the rescue drove away the menace of the darkness, lifted my
spirits and gave me hope; and saved my marriage!

This brings me to Jn. 1:4 ‘In him was life, and that life was the light of men’ Jesus came to live
among us to drive away the menace of darkness, he said ‘“I have come into the world as a light, so
that no-one who believes in me should stay in darkness.”’ Jn. 12:46. The light Jesus brings is the
light which puts chaos to flight. In the creation story God moved upon the dark, formless chaos
which was before the world began and said “Let there be light.” Gen.1:3. The new created light of
God routed the empty chaos into which it came. So Jesus “is the light which shines in the
darkness”Jn.1:5 He is the person who can save life from becoming a chaos. This light can be in you
and I for when we allow the gift of that light to shine in our lives we become children of the light.
Jesus said, ‘“Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”’Jn.
12:36a

Does your life seem in chaos at the moment, are you fearful of the darkness that 2021 may hold?
Then bathe yourself in the light of Christ for he is your present salvation and hope for the future.
When Jesus dawns in your life light comes. Stuck out there in the African bush I was lost, I needed a
guide and somebody to show the way. The light which Jesus brings is a guiding light. Without a
guiding light I was stuck in the darkness and lost until that tractor appeared to show the way with a
bright light to guide us along the road. If a man does not possess the light of Christ he walks in
darkness and does not know where he is going. One of the features that strikes me when I read the
Gospel stories are the many times people come running to Jesus asking “What am I to do?” When
Jesus comes into our lives the time for guessing and groping in the dark is ended, the time of doubt,
uncertainty and vacillation is over. The path that was dark becomes light; the decision that was
wrapped in a night of uncertainty is illuminated. Without Jesus we are like I was on that unknown
road in a storm and in total darkness. With him the way is clear. With him we can be freed from our
present fears, and just as I had hope when I saw that light, with the light of Jesus in our lives we have
hope for the future, with him we have hope for eternity. The light of Jesus brings hope to the lives of
all who believe. I want to ask you a question: Do you really know the hope to which he has called
you? The hope that comes from faith in the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and enables us to
experience Gods love and forgiveness and look forward to an eternal life bathed in His light. We who
have that faith and hope, Paul tells us are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit, guaranteeing a
life that’s in Christ while we sojourn through this world, and with Christ in eternity; all for the
praise of his glory. Ephes: 13-14. For hope must replace despair before we can praise his glory.

Christmas is most of all a time of when our hearts are enlightened with hope of life which Jesus brings us. If you are in darkness, lost, afraid, perhaps you or a loved one is sick or in despair and unable to look forward; if your life is in freefall heading into chaos, if you are in need of the light of Jesus in your life, or in need of more hope then just turn to Jesus in prayer; give him access to your heart and receive his
SHINING LIGHT OF HOPE T0 ENLIGHTEN YOU

This is Christmas week and we come to meditate on the arrival of Jesus and what it means for the world.

T – Transformation. With the arrival of Jesus on earth the whole of history and the
state of man was transformed. He came to set us and the whole of creation free
from corruption. He came to save us from ourselves! When Jesus comes again that
transformation will be completed. Every knee shall bow! No more pain, no more lies
or self-deception, all will be made clear. The seed of love that was planted in the
world by the birth of Jesus and which grew into the tree of the cross will complete
its transformation into the flower of eternal ecstasy, where time is no longer
constrained, but ever ticking.
Each and every one of us is daily being transformed by the power of God through
the Holy Spirit so that His love grows stronger in us and his new kingdom on earth
is being born and built in us and will come to complete fruition on the day of his
return.
Are you looking expectantly forward to your appointment with Jesus are you
following the light of his star that he casts before to direct your path that leads to
victory through his transforming love? If you are there is no room for depression or
worry about the state of your life and the world around you – there is only room for
hope and joy

Fourth Sunday in Advent

N – Nature. We have a dual nature; a Godly nature and a human one. In Jesus these
were perfectly blended, but in ourselves the human nature is corrupted. If we do not
recognize and nurture the image of God within us – if we allow our Godly nature to
fall into disrepair then all that God sees is our corrupted nature and on the day of
the Lord we will be left behind because Jesus will not recognize us as one of his
own. However, if we believe in the Majesty of Jesus and his loving rule over our lives as well as the whole of creation, and, submitting to the helping power of the holy spirit, earnestly live in accordance with the promptings of the image of God planted in us, and in constant expectation of Jesus’ return; then on that day we will be taken to be with him. Matt. 24: 39-41.

Third Sunday in Advent

V – Victorious. Rather than a failure as we look upon the our saviour an accept his
saving grace we know that, however much we fail him and feel unworthy, we are
victorious, because he has won the Victory over Satan and evil and so we too
share in that victory, and will be with the Father as his adopted sons in Heaven!

E – Expectation. Matt.24:36. All the wise men had were some astronomical signs,
yet they fully expected to meet with the baby Jesus, despite obstacles which could
have convinced them that they were on a wild goose chase No one, not even Jesus,
except the Father knows the hour when Jesus will return. We should, therefore, be
constantly on the alert and preserve the awareness that he could return at anytime,
despite doubts that we might occasionally have. We must expect the unexpected.
It’s easy to think that it hasn’t happened for 2000 years, therefore, I could probably
get away with not making a full commitment to Jesus and satisfy all my worldly
desires for one more year! But, no Paul reminds us that the night is nearly over and
the day is upon us and he entreats us to clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus
Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of our sinful nature Rom. 13:12

Short Acrostic Reflections for Advent

Second Sunday in Advent.
D – Deliverance.

The coming of Jesus brought freedom from the shackles that bind
us and prevent us from living a whole and full life. Such chains could be money,
drugs, greed, sex and the inability to love and accept love. [Romans 13: 8-10].
Indeed, we could be enslaved by satanic forces, Jesus can deliver us from these as
well, which is why we say in the Lord’s prayer ‘Deliver us from [the] evil [one] Matt.
6:13.
When Jesus returns he promises that he will deliver us from wars Isa.2:4, pain and
suffering and death Rev.21:4 All we have to do is to:-
D- Decide.

To accept God’s Grace to yield to him, to ‘put aside the deeds of
darkness and put on the armour of light. To wake up from our slumber and let our
lives be:-
D – Directed.

By that light – just as the wise men were directed by the star. Let
Jesus be your ‘guiding star’!