e-posada for Advent

As part of the e-posada for Advent here are my reflections for my 'hosting day' - following on from Jem's typically thought provoking offering on his blog yesterday - yet at the same time completely different!



Faith is better described as a journey rather than a destination.

Mary's journey was arduous, painful, and within it came the pain of childbirth and the anxiety of homelessness. And the birth of Jesus wasn't to be the end of her pain, as Simeon said to her 'a sword will pierce your own soul also'. But she was also one of those who saw the resurrection first hand, and knew the joy of bearing the one who brought life to the whole world.

Our faith is filled with struggle, with the unknown, with the uncertainty of life. We hold on to the promise of what is to come, and that through this difficulty will come joy. What is crucial to us now is to remain faithful on the journey, and to remember that the end of our searching is Christ.

The Alternative (Church of England) Collect for the days of Advent:
Eternal God,
as Mary waited for the birth of your Son,
so we wait for his coming in glory;
bring us through the birth pangs of this present age
to see, with her, our great salvation
in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
from: Common Worship Daily Prayer

Comments

Alastair said…
Forgot to say that Andii's original posting is thought provoking too! Follow the link in the header to the post to see it and find out a bit more about the e-posada too.
10:52 am
Jem said…
Thanks Al, I like the way you put it, about our searching; it reminds me of some Visions ( visions-york.org ) hymnody

'but deep down my searching was searching for you'
9:21 pm
Sally said…
Thank you for this Alastair, I like the way you highlighted the grey areas;
Our faith is filled with struggle, with the unknown, with the uncertainty of life.

Too often we tell polished versions of the nativity accounts!

I'm going to have a lot to live up to with by the time we get to the 11th!
9:28 pm
Lydia said…
I just published my e-posada: http://oneploughwoman.blogspot.com/
1:43 pm
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