Rev. Jo Ann Hinter
St. Timothy’s Anglican Church
In ‘church land’ we are in the season of Advent, a time of waiting, and introspection in anticipation of the birth of our Saviour, Jesus. This time of waiting and introspection is an odd time given the many commitments and the length of our ‘to-do list’ during December.
It is difficult to carve out some time to sit in anticipation of the birth of Christ and look hard at our lives to see if we are ready for this birth and all that it brings with it. We celebrate the inbreaking of God in human form into our world. We do this every year.
God in the form of Jesus comes to bring us hope, peace, joy and love, as well as new instructions on how to live with each other. I believe that God continues to break into our world, even now offering these same gifts to us.
It is hard some days to look at our world and find where God is at work. The news is very bleak most days. But I would challenge all who read this, to find the rays of God’s light in your lives. To also find the gifts of the season – hope, peace, joy and love that can and will sustain you each day. They are freely given to all of us by a generous God.
We don’t earn these gifts by what we might do or accomplish in our lifetime. They are given without strings attached to them. For me, the gifts of the season - hope, peace, joy and love - are precious and deserve some contemplation on our part.
I pray that you will find God’s light shining in your life even amongst the busyness of this Advent/Christmas season. I pray you can carve out some time in your busyness to stop and ponder the birth of the Christ child. I pray that each day you can give thanks for the many blessings in your life.