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Sentence

‘Heaven and earth will pass away,’ says the Lord, ‘but my words will not pass away.’  Mark 13:31

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Collect

Eternal God,

through long generations you prepared a way

for the coming of your Son,

and by your Spirit you still bring light to illumine

our paths: renew us in faith and hope

that we may welcome Christ to rule our 

thoughts and claim our love;

to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Readings

• Isaiah 64:1-9
• Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
• 1 Corinthians 1:1-9
• Mark 13:24-37

next week

• Isaiah 40:1-11
• Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13
• 2 Peter 3:8-15a
• Mark 1:1-8

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A Thought to Ponder

Advent 1 Mark 13:24-37

“Be watchful!  Be alert!  You do not know when the time will come.”

The beginning of the Christian year begins at the end of time: the promised return of Christ at the end of time. In this brief Gospel parable of the master’s return, Jesus articulates the Advent themes of waiting, watchfulness and readiness. Jesus calls us to realise our responsibilities in the present as we dare to look forward to the promise of the future.

Advent is a call to pay attention: to pay attention to the voice of God, the hand of God, the love of God in every joy and sorrow, in every pain and trauma, in every victory and setback before us. Jesus urges us to “watch” this Advent to behold the beauty and wonder and grace of God’s presence in every moment of our lives.  

The coming of Christ and his presence among us – as one of us – gives us reason to live in hope: that light will shatter the darkness, that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices, that we are never alone or abandoned by our merciful Father in heaven.Advent confronts us with the preciousness and limits of time: that our lives are an Advent, a prelude, to the life of God to come. While confronting us with the reality that our lives and finite and fragile, these Sundays of Advent also assure us of the mercy of God, who is with us amid all the struggles and challenges of our everyday Advent journey to the dwelling place of God.

© Connections/MediaWorks

Sermon

You can read the Pew Sheet here

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