Reflections for Advent

As we move from the first to the second week of Advent, our readings are still pointing us forward (together with Peter’s reminder not to get hung up over timescales (2 Pet 3:8-14)). But the framework shifts. Last week Isaiah was speaking to us from a place of difficulty, almost overwhelmed by the challenges of […]

Birthdays, anniversaries, memorials, they are all important markers in our lives. And of course their significance changes over time. A birthday when we are 7 is not the same as one when we are 70. We may even continue to celebrate a birthday for someone after they are dead – recognizing the birthday of Lincoln

It takes two to make a baby. Except, of course, in the case of Jesus, which was rather special. John, when writing his gospel, had no problem at all with this – he situated Jesus in his cosmic position at the beginning of time: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with

Today we hear another of those wonderful prophesies of Isaiah (Is 11:1-10). His vision of a world free of any kind of violence and division holds out hope to a people overwhelmed by conflict and danger. Paul notes: Whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of

They shall beat their swords into plowsharesand their spears into pruning hooks;one nation shall not raise the sword against another,nor shall they train for war again. Is 2:4 What was Isaiah thinking? This makes no sense – he knew perfectly well that that didn’t describe the world he experienced in Judah at that time. It

Today we hear a story of two women (Lk 1:39-45). Two pregnant women supporting each other, as women have done since the beginning of human time, and doubtless will for all time to come.  We hear something of their intimacy. One very young and probably still trying to understand what has just happened to her.

Two weeks to Christmas! I remember that as a child it was about this time that Christmas started to seem close, the excitement grew, the wondering what presents were coming. We get some of the same sense of excitement, of expectation, in the people in Luke’s account of John the Baptist (Lk 3:10-18). Even the

One of the longest lasting achievements of the Romans was their road system. Many major highways in Europe still follow the routes of Roman roads. Their engineering skills were not matched until the Eighteenth Century and we still don’t fully understand how they built some of their tunnels given the limited surveying techniques they had.

Reading today’s Gospel we could be forgiven for thinking we had dozed off, woken up, and it’s still the last Sunday of the year, the Feast of Christ the King, when we have a focus on the end of time and the final return of Jesus. Today’s reading from the Gospel of Luke (Lk 21:25-28,

In the final week of our Advent, so close to Christmas, we hear how Mary said yes to God’s plan. We also hear how King David muses about how he has a plan for God… “Since I’ve been so successful, maybe I should build a house for you.” To which God replies “You build a