Some Thoughts For Advent

 This newsletter comes to us in the midst of the Advent Season. As we focus again on the story of the Christ Child we should be reminded that it is a story of travellers. 

Right after Mary discovers her pregnancy she travels to her cousin’s house to share the confusion and joy of the impending birth. A little later she travels with her betrothed husband Joseph to his home town of Bethlehem for a Roman Census. Those who worship the newborn Child travel from surrounding fields and even further away. 

We are told of distant travellers who had studied the stars in a far off country and had followed one particular star to see the mystery that its light promised. These far off strangers were bold as well as adventurous – they told King Herod that they had come to worship the real King of the Jews. But a dream told them to return home by another way – more travels that took them in an unexpected direction. And then we hear of the threat to the infant’s life, and the need for Joseph and his young family to flee to Egypt for safety. 

As the story of Jesus’ birth and childhood moves from one place to another it is a significant reminder that God who is with us (Emmanuel) can be found wherever we travel, and indeed has promised to journey with us through life. Like the wise travellers from afar, we have the opportunity to follow a promise as our life’s journey unfolds. We are invited to live with the mystery of the incarnation as our guiding star, to allow the life of Jesus interpret our lives and our travels. 

Many stories in this newsletter speak of the surprising moments of grace that came in the midst of strange places and strange people. That was the experience of Mary and Joseph, of the shepherds and the wise men, and of many whose lives were touched by Jesus throughout his short life. As we seek Jesus in the midst of our life’s journey, we too will find those moments of grace. We can all be travellers, on a pilgrimage through life following a heavenly star so that our ordinary lives may be filled with light and truth. 

God bless you in this Advent season.

Jeanette Mathews 

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