Scripture:..the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” (Luke 3. 2-6)Reflection:How ready are you for the coming of Christ? In our Gospel reading we are challenged by John the Baptist to ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’ in other words - prepare your hearts for the coming of our Lord Jesus, get your house in an orderly fashion, clear away all the rubbish, make a new start by owning up to the fact that we have got it wrong and take steps to change our ways by being there for others, caring for the sick, feeding the hungry, providing shelter for the homeless, welcoming the refugee.This Sunday in Advent is a time in which we should all hear the words of John the Baptist and search within ourselves and ask the difficult questions which he posed. Are we prepared to be challenged about ourselves and our ideas and our behaviour. When John the Baptist told people to make straight paths for God, he meant that we should be constructing a different type of society, and that we should be constructing within ourselves hearts which care for others.Lyn Hayes
Scripture:Pilate summoned Jesus and asked him "Are you the king of the Jews?" (John 19.33)Reflection:The story of the Jews as it unfolds in the Bible is a story about the successive failures of a family cum nation to live by the rules. It tells of individuals and tribes who aspired to live in harmony, to act justly and to obey the ethical precepts of the Ten Commandments but went astray. The plan was that this would be a beacon nation ruled not by a King, a President, an Emperor, but by common obedience to religious principles, a theocracy. As the plan failed, Israel turned to individual prophets like Samuel, then to Kings like Saul and David, only to fall victim to more powerful kings and emperors. Jesus refused those who wanted him to become king. The kingdom he talked about was "not of this world". The Church's feast of Christ the King is a celebration and reminder that we owe our moral values and loyalty to an other-worldly God.David Harmsworth
