Air an stairsneach

“Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” Ephesians 5.14

Standing on the threshold of Advent - the start of a new liturgical year - are you full of hope or sighing "here we go again"? World-weariness is an ever present danger, especially if one is stuck in a rut. Advent invites us out of our ruts. Defying the secular count-down to Yuletide indulgence, Advent focuses our attention on the return of Jesus and, because the Bible teaches that he could come at any time, it challenges us to consider what we ought to be doing whenever he comes...

Life does not have to be this way, we do not have to be as we are. But, you complain, I cannot change my circumstances, I lack resources, opportunities, health, youth... Since when have any of these restricted God from working powerfully in a person's life? Because the fact is that, while we wait for Jesus to return in the fulness of his glory, he is here already in the person of the Holy Spirit: Emmanuel, which means God with us.

Because all things are possible for - and with - God, that means we can look forward to conforming our lives in faithfulness to his richest intentions for each and every one of us. That requires a step of faith: we have to follow Peter in getting out of the boat; or Zachaeus in climbing down from the tree. If that seems too much, ask God for a push. The time is short, so it is important that we make the most of it.