The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14
Advent ('coming') is a time of preparation for Christmas, beginning on the fourth Sunday before Christmas.
Around the world many Christians celebrate Advent by remembering four themes: hope, peace, joy and love. For some, they light candles to help reflect on these ideas. As the birth of Christ fulfilled what the prophet Isaiah prophesied, so do we hope for the fulness of these four things in our world. We may see glimpses of these and this a great cause for celebration! However, we acknowledge that our world falls short and things are not as they were created to be.
Arotahi have created daily readings through the traditional season of Advent (that starts on 1 December this year – the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day) and through the Christmas period until Epiphany (6 January 2025). Epiphany (‘to show forth’) is celebrated on the twelfth day after Christmas. It commemorates the visit of the Magi who travelled from afar to worship the child in Bethlehem. It was the fulfilment of God’s promise to them of the good news.
Arotahi have created a 48-page prayer guide with daily readings over these next five-and-a-half weeks (1 December to 6 January) – the PDF can be downloaded here. Each Friday we will publish the upcoming week of daily readings in one article, the first week of readings are below this introduction. There are a mixture of stories and reflections from Arotahi people and partners from around the world. As we read these, may we become more aware of the glimpses of hope, peace, joy and love that are springing up through people, places and land. As well, we anticipate the fullness of God’s promises for our world.
Join us in prayer this season of Advent.
From the Arotahi Team.
Sunday 1 December
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2-7
Hope
God, we wait
as Israel waited
stranded, scattered, exiled, shamed.
Waiting with the poor and captives,
waiting with the lost and lamed.
God, we wait
- as prisoners wait
for words to set them free - for glimpses of your kingdom in the midst
of our debris.
God, we wait
as prophets wait,
for death to unfold into life and signs of beauty to appear in places
torn apart by strife.
This Advent time,
we wait,
and hope...
that just as God was found on earth,
so all that we’ve been longing for and waiting for
shall come to birth.
Light a candle of hope to proclaim that God’s light is coming into our darkness.
Immanuel shall come and dwell with us. We look for you, we wait for you. Our hope is in you.
Mark Pierson
Worship Curator | markpierson.org.nz
Monday 2 December
This was to fulfil what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope. Matthew 12:18-21
Around the world many Christians celebrate Advent by remembering four themes: hope, peace, joy and love. At times, we may see glimpses of these: in our neighbourhoods, in our nation and around the world.
But we also know there is brokenness. We can see this in our relationships - with God, with our self, with each other, and the world.
We long for change and for the fullness of God’s kingdom promises.
Prince of Peace,
You are the one who proclaims justice.
The one whom nations put their hope in.
May our world know the fullness of your hope, peace, joy and love.
In your name,
Amen
Tuesday 3 December
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Christmas is a celebration of love, joy and peace and hope. These are the greatest gifts we can ever give. But they are often the most difficult, especially if we have not received them from others.
Christmas is a season of love and a celebration of sacrificing what we have to show appreciation to those who mean the most. While expressing love to another may be the most beautiful thing we can ever do, it can also be one of the most difficult, especially when those who should love us the most withhold it. Love anyway. True love is not self-seeking. It keeps no record of wrongs. And demands nothing in return.
This world never allows for perfect circumstances. And those who wait to find joy in them, never will. It is unwise to base our happiness fully on the actions of others. But that doesn’t mean we can’t bring a little joy into the life of another by the things that we do and the words that we say. We can still be intentional about spreading joy wherever we go.
Family and personal relationships can cause conflict, turmoil and stress at any time, but the tensions are often heightened during the holidays. Offer the gift of peace this Christmas by taking the first step. One phone call or conversation may not make amends for years of hurt, but it is still the first step that needs to be taken by somebody.
Hope is one of the greatest assets in the entire world. It is one of the greatest treasures we can ever find for ourselves. And it is one of the greatest gifts we can ever give to somebody else. See the good in others. Believe in their greatest potential. And encourage often. As you "tune your hearts to sing His grace", I encourage you to hear anew these words of love, joy, peace and hope, as can be received and should be proclaimed to all people-now and always.
Mark
Tranzsend Director of Operations
Wednesday 4 December
Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Luke 1:38
In these words Mary captures what it means to be a disciple. The angel has surprised her with news that she struggles to understand, and which frightens her with its implications. She replies with three simple and stunning statements:
“Here am I”. Some translations say “Here I stand”. She is saying I am here in this place and in this time. I have autonomy, agency and responsibility. I can respond and I will respond from my own context and with all that I am.
“The servant of the Lord”. She is declaring her desire and decision to follow God. To be God’s servant. This is her identity and what she has to offer in response to the angel’s pronouncement: her very self. Today everyone wants to be a leader, an influencer or a celebrity. Mary’s desire is to be God’s servant.
“Let it be to with me according to your word”. Mary clearly doesn’t know how she will become pregnant and must have been so confused by much of the angel’s announcement. But she trusts the word of God and wants her life to be aligned with it. She is a disciple of the Word. This is the last request Jesus left his disciples in Matthew 28:20: “teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
One verse. Three simple statements. Yet they are perhaps the richest and clearest response of anyone to the call of God on their lives. The really exciting part, and the bit that challenges me the most, is that Mary lived these statements. Her life fulfilled them from here in Luke 1, to when she stands at the foot of Jesus cross in compassionate witness to the evil being perpetuated on her deeply loved son. What devotion and commitment.
Alan Jamieson
Arotahi General Director
Thursday 5 December
Away with the noise of your songs I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream. Amos 5:23-24
Love Calcutta Arts was started by Peter & Leonora and developed by Priya and her team.
This year we handed the shares in the company to Priya. Priya has done so much to develop and sustain the business and its heart reflects her heart.
E te Atua,
We give you thanks for the work of Love Calcutta Arts.
We pray for your wisdom as it grows and looks to the future.
Through the business and community work, may we see your justice flow.
So that more may know of your goodness and hope.
In your name,
Amen
Friday 6 December
What do your eyes see?
Have you ever stopped to wonder at the hodgepodge assortment of images that assail us in the lead up to Christmas?
There is the obligatory tinsel, the Christmas trees with gifts underneath, and of course the big guy in the red suit. Totally foreign to our southern hemisphere days of summer, we are also confronted with winter landscapes, reindeer, and snowmen. Christmas songs directing us to ‘Deck the Halls’ and ‘Come all Ye Faithful’ are the soundtrack that accompanies us we gather in church, and also as we push through ever thickening crowds in stores and supermarkets, emerging from harrowing experiences in overfull car parks.
There is perhaps a bit of a kiwi connection to the Christmas card pictures of camels being led through sand by wise men. But this is more because we like to go to the beach at this time of year, rather than because we too have our eyes fixed on that star in the sky and all that it means. Often when amongst it all we catch sight of a nativity scene, we are at a run.
Is it any wonder that in this flurry of mismatched images we find it difficult to move into the Advent posture of expectant waiting? Or that alongside that expectancy, to joyfully celebrate all he has already done? So many other things clamour for our attention.
Can I invite you to just pause for a moment and look upon the face of the sleeping child. Bundled up in all that swaddling is the fulfilment of all our hopes, the beautiful gift of real life beyond our wildest dreams. Caught in those tiny hands is the promise of all that is to come, glory to God and peace on earth. Let’s linger a while over this tiny form and be struck afresh with awe at the reality of God with us.
May the Spirit stir our hearts to be like Simeon who faithfully waited in longing and expectation until that day he saw the Saviour, held in his mother’s arms, being brought to the temple.
May we say along with him,‘…my eyes have seen your salvation, that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel’. Luke 2:30-32
May we join with the prophetess Anna in giving thanks to God for Jesus. May we let our delight in him overflow into every part of our hearts and minds and conversations. May we be caught up afresh in the Christmas story and moulded further into people of expectant hope.
This Advent, in amongst the tinsel and hubbub, let’s linger with Jesus.
Emma Stokes
Carey Baptist College Lecturer
Saturday 7 December
The first week of Advent has passed.
In this Sunday to Saturday of waiting,
I hold onto the promise
That there will be justice
And perfect wellbeing
For:
The barefoot and bashed friend.
Sunday.
The sick bodied friend.
Monday.
The cheated on, humiliated friend.
Tuesday.
The crippled with anxiety friend.
Wednesday.
The addicted friend.
Thursday.
The deceived and robbed bare friend.
Friday.
The oh so very lonely friend.
Saturday.
Lizzie
Lizzie is involved with the Loyal Workshop. This year the Loyal Workshop celebrated 10 years! Mira, one of the artisans who works there and who is a mother of two, says: “My dream is that Loyal will continue to grow and develop. Then more women can gain freedom and live a beautiful life. That’s my wish”
Advent is a season of waiting. It’s a season of holding onto the promise that justice will come in all of its fullness. Today, join us in praying that more women may experience freedom - just like Mira.
Image: From the cover of Arotahi’s Daily Advent Readings 2024 PDF
