Although Birmingham city centre would have you believe that Christmas has already arrived, we are currently in the much-overlooked season of advent, and my latest post is in honour of a season in danger of being squeezed out of our calendars by the premature celebration of Christmas
The song sung by Zachariah at the birth of his son John the Baptist talks of this baby as a symbol of hope and a foreteller of the coming of the kingdom. It is perhaps a song we could sing at the birth of every child. The following reflection is based on his words in Luke 1:68-79.
68 ‘Praise be to the Lord,
the God of Israel, because
he has come to his people and redeemed them. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in
the house of his servant David
Blessed be God
Coming among us
Dwelling with us
Dwelling in us
We are redeemed and set free
A freedom which calls for action
A freedom that inspires new hope
A freedom lived and shared
The freedom of love
70 (as he said through his
holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and
from the hand of all who hate us – 72 to show mercy to our
ancestors and
to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our
enemies,
Blessed be God
Who remembers the forgotten
Who remains with the abandoned
Always
From all time
For all time
Eternity encompassing today
Rescuing us from our enemies
Giving us energy in the face of apathy
Giving us purpose in the midst of emptiness
Giving us life in all its fullness
Rescued and called
To use our love to care for the loveless
And our voice to speak for the voiceless
and to enable us to serve
him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
Called to have no fear
No fear of condemnation and criticism
No fear of standing up and standing out
Perfect God, perfect love
Drives out all fear
The knowledge we are loved
This is our holiness
To go and share that love
This is our righteousness
To stand with the unloved and the unlovely and the
seemingly unlovable
This is our service
76 And
you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for
you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,
And you, the little children,
Prophets of God and messengers of the Kingdom
Your innocence prepares the way of the Lord
His light shines in you
In your curiosity and wonder at the world
In your trusting and in your hope
In your joy and the delight of being alive
77 to
give his people the knowledge of salvation through
the forgiveness of their sins,
Give us knowledge of our salvation,
The opening wide of a kingdom where all are welcome,
A kingdom for such as these
In your suffering we see our sin
In war we have damaged your trusting love
In hunger we have hidden your inquisitive wonder
In poverty we have trampled on your joyful hope
Your tears call us to repentance,
Forgiveness,
Change
And
new life.
78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by
which the rising sun will come to us from heaven 79 to shine on those living in darkness and
in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.
New life lit up by the faithful love of our God
Coming from on high
Dwelling with the humble
Dwelling alongside the forgotten ones
Dwelling in the children
Giving light
The light of a smile
The light of love
Calling us from darkness
From despondency and despair
From apathy and inactivity
From comfort and continuity
To walk in the light of a
new way of peace
