Second Sunday of Advent- Reflection by Canon Leslie

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. The Gospel reading is Luke’s account of how John the Baptist prepared for the ministry of Jesus.  For Luke, John is no longer portrayed as the returned Elijah, but as the last of the long line of prophets.  Now John’s message ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’, leads directly to the proclamation ‘and all flesh shall see the salvation of God’.  There is here the note of confidence that the salvation brought by Jesus is for the whole world, not only for the Jewish nation. 


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 Christmas decorations. In today’s picture from his book, Christmas Time, Teddy Horsley and Betsy Bear are standing by the Christmas decoration that they have made for their front door.   


Lord Jesus Christ, 
We celebrate your holy birth. 
Teach us to praise you 
through the Christmas decorations around us; 
for you are the joy of Christmas. 
Amen. 


Next Sunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, keeps the focus on John the Baptist. The image to help prepare for next Sunday’s theme is Giving presents. 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.