Manifestation of Jesus to the Peoples of all Nations

The world now is too dangerous and too beautiful for anything but love.

May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.

Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.

May your hands be so blessed that everything you touch is a sacrament.

Your lips speak nothing but the truth with love.

May your feet be so blessed you run to those who need you.

And may your heart be so opened . . . that your love,

[and God’s] love, changes everything.

Elizabeth Tapia (Philippine theologian)

Fourth Sunday of Advent

Simple things can remind us of God’s presence. It may be the delight of meeting someone who we have not seen for some time or brightens our life. Today, we notice that God enters our world through the least - the forgotten ones, those who do not to count or matter, the lowly, unnoticed.  Israel’s history and the prophets show that God works among the small and apparent insignificant to accomplish big things. In Luke’s gospel, God’s word overlooked those in power but came to John the Baptist. Micah speaks of the smallness of Bethlehem and what emerged there. He suggests that we look to the peripheries of importance to find God's work.

The Third Sunday in Advent

This is Gaudete (‘Rejoice’) Sunday where the third Advent Candle – pink in colour - is lit to celebrate the joy of relationship with God, each other, and the sacredness of creation. The scriptures today shout-out the promises of hope (from despair), restoration (from destruction), liberation (from oppression) and joy (from fear) giving all a reason to proudly wear the color pink and rejoice! During the Holocaust Jewish people had to wear the Star of David and gay people the pink triangle as trademarks of persecution and discrimination. I cannot speak for Jewish people, but what was a symbol of discrimination became a symbol of survival and pride, where in recent decades pink triangles have been visible worldwide during gay rights demonstrations. 

Second Sunday in Advent

Luke sets John's word context. As John was firmly placed in his context, the readings situate us in our world. The Good News came when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Tiberius Caesar had been Emperor fifteen years, Herod was tetrarch/ruler of a fourth of Galilee, and Caiaphas was high priest. And the Good News comes when world leaders met playing political roles in Glasgow for COP 26. In the past it was always thought that to know where God is in the world, we need to look to those in power and have power.

First Sunday of Advent

It is strange to begin the new church year with images of sudden change and dramatic reversals. As Jesus participated in a disruptive march into Jerusalem with crowds waving palms and the ritual cleansing of the temple, he was warning that even things that seem permanent can disappear in an instance. Nothing withstands the ravages of time or upheavals in history - not power structures, environments, roles, grand structures and not even God’s temple. Change can appear like a disaster but can reveal how God draws near to us.