Advent is a season of preparation for Christmas. It is not just about putting up decorations, trees, stars, tinsel and buying pressies. It is more about preparing our hearts for the promise of God, Emmanuel - God with us. Here are four reflections for each week of Advent, which you may want to ponder on each week as we draw closer to Christmas.
Please scroll down for week 2, week 3 and week 4.
WEEK 1 - HOPE
Sunday 30 November to Saturday 6 December
The Light Breaking Through
The first week of Advent invites us to wait in the darkness with the expectation of dawn. The Prophet Isaiah promises, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). This is not a naive optimism, but a gritty conviction that the night will not win.
Theologian Jürgen Moltmann famously wrote, "Totally without hope one cannot live. To live without hope is to cease to live."
Hope is the fuel of our spiritual survival. We hear this longing in The Beatles’ classic, "Here Comes the Sun." George Harrison wrote the song after a "long, cold, lonely winter," capturing the universal relief of seeing the sun return.
In Advent, we acknowledge the winter of our world, maybe our sorrow or the silence, but we sing with the assurance that the Son is coming. We look toward the manger, knowing that, indeed, "it’s alright."
Let us pray:
Lord of Light, in the deep winter of our lives, we wait for Your dawn. Help us to hold on to hope when the night seems long. Shine Your light into our hearts and remind us that the Son is coming. AMEN
WEEK 2 - PEACE
Sunday 7 December to Saturday 13 December
Peace in the biblical sense — Shalom — is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness. In a chaotic world, we cling to the promise of Philippians 4:7...
"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Like good foundations, it is a peace that stands firm even when the world shakes.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church and was martyred for his faith in opposition to the Nazi party) observed,
"God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises... leading us by the best and straightest paths to Himself."
This type of supportive, intervening peace is echoed in Simon & Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The link below is audio only.
When the lyrics promise, "When times get rough / And friends just can't be found / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down," we hear an echo of the Incarnation - God becoming human. Christ comes to be the bridge over the chaos, laying down His life to secure our peace.
Let us Pray:
Prince of Peace, calm the storms that rage within us and around us. Be the bridge over our troubled waters and guard our hearts. Grant us the wholeness that only You can provide. AMEN.
WEEK 3 - JOY
the Serious Business of the Kingdom of God
Sunday 14 December to Saturday 20 December
On Gaudete Sunday, the third Sunday of Advent, we light the pink candle for Joy, marking a shift from solemn preparation to the excitement of anticipation. This joy is distinct from fleeting happiness; it is a profound resonance with the Good News that anchors us even in sorrow, trouble or tough times.
The angel announced to the shepherds, "I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people" (Luke 2:10).
C.S. Lewis, in Surprised by Joy, distinguished this feeling from mere pleasure, describing joy as an "unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction." It is a spiritual pang that points us heavenward, a hunger that reminds us we were made for another world.
We find a surprising echo of this in Pharrell Williams’ "Happy." While often heard as an anthem of earthly buoyancy, its refrain, "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof", touches on a deep theological truth.
To be a "room without a roof" is to be open to the heavens, removing the ceiling of our own limitations. Advent joy tears the roof off our reality, exposing us to the infinite sky of God’s grace. We clap not because our earthly circumstances are perfect, but because the "bad news" of the world has been superseded by the "good news" of the Gospel.
LET US PRAY
God of Joy, burst through the roof of our limited expectations. Fill us with the "good news" that lifts our heads and hearts. May our lives reflect the deep, resonant joy of Your coming. AMEN.
WEEK 4 - LOVE
Sunday 21 December to Thursday 25 December
To the Ends of the Earth
The final week culminates in Love. The Incarnation (God with us) is the ultimate evidence of God's pursuit of humanity. As John 3:16 reminds us, "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son." This is not a passive sentiment. It is active, sacrificial love.
St. Augustine described the intensity of this affection, stating, "God loves each of us as if there were only one of us." It is a personal, specific, and overwhelming drive that compelled the Creator to become the created, bridging the infinite gap between the kingdom of God and earth.
We feel the weight of this need when we look at our own world, country and community. The tragedy of the shooting in Bondi last Sunday reminds us how fragile our safety is and how quickly darkness can pierce our daily lives. In the face of such senseless violence, a sentimental Christmas card version of love is not enough. We need a love that enters the trenches. A God who is with us.
We find a mirror to this sacrificial devotion in Bob Dylan’s "Make You Feel My Love" (famously covered by Adele). The lyrics, "I'd go hungry; I'd go black and blue / I'd go crawling down the avenue / No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do / To make you feel my love," capture the grit required for true love. This is our God! In the manger and eventually the cross, God went to the ultimate lengths through hunger, suffering, and death, simply to let us know His love. He crawled down the avenue of history to meet us in our pain.
LET US PRAY:
Loving Father, thank You for going to the ends of the earth to find us. We bring before You the heartbreak of Bondi and ask for Your healing touch. As we approach the manger this Christmas, help us to grasp the depth of Your sacrifice. Make us feel Your love, that we might be agents of that love in a broken world. AMEN.
Credits:
Created with images by by-studio - "Unscharfe Lichterkette vor Blauem Hintergrund" • Jne Valokuvaus - "Pin on the date. The sixth day of the month is marked with a red thumbtack. Focus point on the red pin." • Tanes - "The sun rising over mountains on a winter day." • stockyes - "One candle flame at night with bokeh on a dark background" • Sensay - "Hope - inscription on the heart, sharing hope concept, green bokeh background" • vetre - "Birth of Jesus. Christmas nativity scene. Manager and star." • alesmunt - "Hand gesture V sign for victory or peace sign over yellow background" • icebergpicture - "建築中の住宅の基礎工事" • dizain - "Hand writing God Never Breaks His Promises with marker, concept background" • MIA Studio - "Christmas nativity scene of born child baby Jesus Christ in the manger with Joseph and Mary.Traditional Christmas Nativity Scene banner background of baby Jesus in the Christmas with Mary and Joseph." • deagreez - "Full length body size photo of cheerful positive cute nice pretty girl jumping up high wearing jeans denim white t-shirt isolated over vivid color background" • paul - "Child's hand holding mother's finger on blurred The cross of jesus christ background."