Advent Sunday & St Andrew's Day

Since this Sunday is our patronal festival at St Mary & St Andrew our readings will be

Isaiah 52: 7-10
Romans 10: 12-18
Matthew 4: 18 -22

But I think these also fit the Advent theme pretty well.
The world does not need the church to tell it that it's nearly Christmas - every advert is shouting it at us, and tomorrow we get to start opening our Advent calendars.
But what the world does need us to tell them is...
what?
If we say 'the Lord is coming' we will see some people immediately write us off as the sort of people who want to walk round with a sandwich board which says 'the end of the world is nigh'. And yet our message is vital - and the world needs it now more than ever.
Of course our message is more than what we say - it is how we live and how we treat people.
If our following Jesus has taught us something about who he is and what his coming means, we need to share this with our neighbours.. somehow.

Just opening thoughts - more to follow soon I hope!

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