If you’re like me, your thoughts turn at this time of year, as we each the winter equinox, to the thought of lighter evenings and warmer days to come; the prospect, once we move into January, of days gradually, if all too slowly, growing longer and nights shorter. That image of light is of course central to the Christmas message, and key to that of Advent, as the following prayers and comment, taken from my Advent study book Lighten our Path, explores.
Prayer
Gracious God,
speak to us of the new beginnings you bring,
the fresh start you daily make possible in the lives of all.
Open our hearts to meet you through your word,
your Spirit,
and the fellowship we share with all your people,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Readings
You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will pave the way of the Lord, to bring knowledge of salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins. The sun will rise over us, a new dawn from heaven, to shine on those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace. Luke 1:76-79
The night is nearly over, daybreak is near, so let us renounce shady deeds and put on the armour of light. Romans 13:12
We have seen the message of the prophets fully vindicated, and,until the day dawns when the light of the morning star shines in our hearts, we urge you to pay heed to it, just as you would to a bright lantern glowing in the darkness. 2 Peter 1:19
Comment
When did you last make an offering to the sun, or travel to Stonehenge to celebrate the summer solstice at dawn? Unless you happen in earlier days to have been a modern-day Druid or new-age devotee, the answer, I’m sure, is never; the idea of investing the sun with sacred or spiritual significance simply does not occur to us. We may call ourselves sun-worshippers in the sense of enjoying a baking hot day stretched out on the beach, and in the grey months of winter we may yearn for longer days and shorter nights, but that’s about as far as any veneration goes. Yet had we been born thousands of years ago we’d probably have thought very differently. Imagine what it must have been like
then to witness the sun’s apparent decline during the months of autumn, each day inexorably bringing fewer hours of daylight. In such a situation it would have seemed perfectly natural to greet the rising sun with relief and celebration, giving thanks for the return of its life-giving power, and it was only a small step from there to outright worship.
We, of course, worship not the sun but the Son, the one sent from God to bring light of an altogether different sort – illuminating the mind, heart and soul. Yet though the meaning is altered, the analogy of sunrise is a good one, for it captures the idea of new beginnings, freshness and promise for the future, dawn bringing such a feeling as no other time of day can quite begin to. And, of course, we see just this idea in the words of Zechariah as he looked forward to the one whose coming would be like ‘a new dawn
from heaven’, the breaking of day, full of untold possibilities. I want, in this session, to focus on one aspect of what that means in particular: what we might call the light of a fresh start, turning from our old ways to a new way of life, letting go of the past and
beginning again, remade, renewed and restored by the grace of God in Christ. Here is one of the key themes not just of Advent or the Christmas story but of the Christian message itself: God’s promise of freedom, forgiveness, redemption, salvation, call it what you will – liberation from everything that separates us from him, that destroys and demeans, preventing us from being the people he would have us be and from experiencing the joy, peace and fulfilment he yearns for us to enjoy. That was the message John the Baptist was called to declare; in the words of Zechariah: ‘You, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will pave the way of the Lord, to bring knowledge of salvation to his people through the forgiveness of their sins’ (Luke 1:76-77). That is the child Mary was called to bring into the world: ‘She will bear a son, whom you are to call Jesus, since he will rescue his people from their sins’ (Matthew 1:21). That is the one concerning whom the Apostle Paul was joyfully to write: ‘Anyone united with Christ is a new creation: the old self has passed away in its entirety; everything is made new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Through him, in other words, we are offered a new relationship, a fresh chapter. Whoever we are, however often we have failed, God invites us to start again, in his strength and by his grace.
Prayer of intercession
Hear our prayer, Lord, for those who long to start again –
all who recognise their faults,
acknowledge their mistakes
and seek in you new beginnings.
Hear our prayer for those who despair of changing –
all who have come to faith
but find the old self stronger than they imagined,
their weaknesses still leading them astray,
their failings just as real.
Hear our prayer for those who refuse to change –
all who knowingly oppose your will,
taking the way of greed, selfishness,
hatred and violence.
Hear our prayer for those who work for change –
all who proclaim your grace and minister your love
in word and deed,
working to win hearts and transform lives.
What we cannot change,
achieve through your renewing Spirit,
bringing a fresh chapter,
a clean slate,
a new dawn for all.
Amen.