Moderator Rev Sharon Hollis provides us with this reflection to round out our Advent stories of hope, peace, joy and love.
It’s hard not to think that 2016 was a year of predominantly bad news, even more than that, a year of grimly depressing, awful and profoundly tragic news.
We’ve seen a horrifying procession terror attacks around the globe, the suffering of the innocent in besieged cities such as Aleppo, tectonic political shifts towards intolerance and exclusion with an increasing hostility to those seeking sanctuary, as sadly exemplified by our own nation’s shameful systematic cruelty to asylum seekers.
In the midst of such news it’s with much relief that today and tomorrow many hearts and minds will turn to the images and stories of a newborn baby. These are the images and stories that give us good news, in fact they give the great joy of learning the best news that there is.
That is the news that God’s love is manifested and demonstrated in the life of Jesus. This love enables us to face the bad news of the world with hope.
The birth of Jesus says that reign of love is here, in and among us, as it sometimes quietly, sometimes extravagantly transforms the world through God’s goodness.
This Christmas may you and everyone you love come to more deeply know comfort and joy of God’s tremendous good news.
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