Sunday 8 December 2024

Today is Sunday the 8th of December, the 2nd Sunday of Advent. Audrey Assad sings, ‘Winter Snow’. You could've come like a mighty storm With all the strength of a hurricane You could've come like a forest fire With the power of heaven in Your flame But You came like a winter snow Quiet and soft and slow Falling from the sky in the night To the Earth below Oh, You could've swept in like a tidal wave Or a big ocean to ravish our hearts You could have come through like a roaring flood To wipe away the things that we've scarred Oh, but You came like a winter snow So quiet, so soft, so slow Falling from the sky in the night To the Earth below, Your voice wasn't in a bush burning No, Your voice wasn't in a rushing wind It was still, so small It was hidden You came like a winter snow So quiet, so soft, so slow Falling from the sky in the night To the Earth below Today’s reading is from the Book of Baruch. Baruch 5:1-9 Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction, O Jerusalem, and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God. Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God; put on your head the diadem of the glory of the Everlasting; for God will show your splendour everywhere under heaven. For God will give you evermore the name, ‘Righteous Peace, Godly Glory’. Arise, O Jerusalem, stand upon the height; look towards the east, and see your children gathered from west and east at the word of the Holy One, rejoicing that God has remembered them. For they went out from you on foot, led away by their enemies; but God will bring them back to you, carried in glory, as on a royal throne. For God has ordered that every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low and the valleys filled up, to make level ground, so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God. The woods and every fragrant tree have shaded Israel at God’s command. For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him. In this reading, we hear about the promises of God: that sorrow and affliction may be cast off, and that God will lead His people with joy, mercy and righteousness. The Prophet Baruch employs an image which is later taken up by John the Baptist: 'That every high mountain and the everlasting hills be made low, and the valleys filled up, to make level ground'. What does this mean to you? How might it speak to you today? Advent is a season of waiting, of hope and of expectation. As the days become darker, so too the light burns more brightly. What is it that you hope for during this season? As this time of prayer comes to an end, take a moment to share freely both your sorrows as well as your hopes with God, perhaps praying for a future that may be filled with hope. O Wisdom, Lord and Ruler Root of Jesse Key of David Rising Sun King of the Nations Emmanuel Come, Lord Jesus.