Fourth Sunday of Advent- Reflection by Canon Leslie

​Today is the Fourth Sunday of Advent. On the last Sunday of Advent, the Church focuses attention on Mary who prepared for the first Christmas in a very special way.  According to Luke, Mary (the mother of Jesus) and Elizabeth (the mother of John the Baptist) were relatives and were pregnant at the same time.  In this Gospel passage, the two pregnant women meet and Elizabeth acknowledges the supremacy of Mary’s unborn child. 


For those of you who wanted to do some thinking and preparation for today’s service during the preceding week, I invited reflection on the image of the baby. In today’s picture from his book, Christmas time with Teddy Horsley, Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear see the baby Jesus placed in the cattle’s feeding trough, while the animals looked on.   


Lord Jesus Christ, 
you were born as a baby like us. 
Help us to see you 
in every human child; 
for you are one with us. 
Amen. 


Christmas Day follows on closely after the Fourth Sunday of Advent. A core Gospel reading for Christmas Day is the prologue to John’s Gospel that sets out the mystery of the incarnation. The image to help prepare for Christmas Day is Christmas lights. You can find out more about that theme here https://www.prayerforliverpool.org/prayer-resources.html. We would really appreciate you letting us know how you are using these materials.