Advent faith believes in the possibility of surprise, and that our tragic and repetitive history has a punch-line which will overturn everything that we have been taught to expect.
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
An Open Table where Love knows no borders
Sermons on Hope (Page 8)
In baptism, we have passed from the preoccupations of the present to the a life shaped by God’s future, and though the completion of that transformation may be painful, it is nevertheless the fulfilling of our deepest longings.
Advent is a time of deep paradox, a season that speaks to the reality of our world and calls us to be awake.
The answers to the questions about our future directions are not easy, but we can trust the God who holds our future in his hands.
God invites us to be immersed in another possible reality, to look at the world with the dark and contrary light that comes from the cross of Jesus.
God is always acting, but often in surprising and paradoxical ways. The ways of God often reverse human expectations.
In the midst of horror and despair, Christ arrives with love enough, with peace enough, with hope enough to make things very, very, very different.
The Advent season is a gift that illumines our present with light from our promised goal, to shape us as a people of patient and vigilant faithfulness.
The hope that empowers us to maintain our counter-cultural obedience to Christ, is that the One who will eventually rule over all is the One who offers himself as a suffering servant of all.
Hope is a courageous and active stance towards life which is nourished in those who attend to the voice of God in Scripture.
God sees us, the baptised, as having the appearance of Christ, which gives us reason to believe in ourselves and live up to it.
Locating our struggles within the bigger picture of God’s purposes can give hope and purpose, but it also places us in a challenging place of priestly mission.
Although the coming Christ is brings our deepest hopes to fulfillment, the transition will be traumatic and we still fear his coming because of our unhealthy investments in the present.
Because of who Jesus is, we are both naked and vulnerable before him, and confident to approach God. Our only fear is of ourselves!
We are called to proclaim and celebrate the advent of God’s justice, and doing so is ultimately more radical than simply fighting injustice.
Although the coming Christ is brings our deepest hopes to fulfillment, we still fear his coming because of our unhealthy investments in the present.
Will we live out allegiance to the state, the economy, the mass media, consumerism, status-driven values and wealth, or to God, to the new community, to upside-down kingdom values and to a radical alternative which is the source of hope and transformation?
Preparing the way of the Lord is not just a temporary clean-up for the visitor, but an embracing of the new possibilities that are opening to us.
We are called to live the lifestyle of the era that has not quite dawned – values found in Jesus Christ that will bring life to the world.
With the coming of the Christ, our deepest longings and yearnings will be fulfilled.