Last week we lit the 1st Advent candle – that fragile flickering flame in the darkness reminding us of God’s gift of hope. This week the 2nd candle reminds us of his gift of peace. We think of Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: “Peace I leave you, my peace I give you. A peace which the world cannot give, this is my gift to you.” (John, 14:27). And we remember that the first words which Jesus spoke to the same disciples in that same upper room after the resurrection were: “Peace be with you.” It is a precious gift – a gift we so urgently need in our world today.

The tone is set by our beautiful 1st Reading from the prophet Isaiah who gives a vision of a future world where “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb”. This makes me think immediately of Sir David Attenborough’s latest series called ‘Kingdom’ currently showing on Sundays on BBC1. It shows the fierce rivalries between four top predators sharing the same Zambian river valley – lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs. It is brutal! But Isaiah prophesies a time when the Spirit-filled Messiah – “a shoot from the [seemingly dead] stump of Jesse” – will come to rule with justice, bringing a new era of perfect peace where natural enemies, predators and prey, will co-exist and all creation will know the Lord.

This is a kingdom which we are called to build in the here and now. In today’s Gospel John the Baptist tells us the first step needed to build this kingdom. We hear his cry from the desert: “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Repentance means coming back to God, and recognising what we need to leave behind if we are to be truly free and once more walk in God’s ways and live in peace. What do you need to leave behind? What robs you of peace in your life? Give this to God. Let us also pray particularly for all political leaders in the world - that they will have the wisdom & humility not to be predators but builders of just & lasting peace – a peace which only Christ can give.


Advent blessings & prayers, Fr Richard, Fr Ephrem & the parish team.
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