by Fr. David Pickett, Rector St Oswald’s, Guiseley

Dear brothers and sisters

Where has the year gone? I’m sure it was only yesterday that I was packing the car with luggage and children ready for the long trip to the South of France for our summer holiday! And yet, here we are, about to enter into the Christian time of Advent which marks the countdown to Christmas. Sure signs that you are getting older: time seems to gallop along at a vast rate of knots and police officers look as though they should be doing a paper-round instead!

Advent (from the Latin word Adventus – meaning ‘coming’) begins on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day, which is the Sunday nearest November 30, and ends on Christmas Eve (Dec 24). It has four themes, each falling in order on the Sundays – Hope, Joy, Love and Peace. Advent leads us into Christmas which is supposed to be a time peace and good will to all people, but how can we as human beings begin to feel any kind of joy, peace and good will when there is so much discord in the world, and not only throughout the world, but in our own country too! Today there are people starving in the Yemen; the Middle East continues to be a battleground; the United States of America seems to be in a state of constant in-fighting and nasty political wrangling whilst thousands of migrants descend on their doorstep via Mexico, threatening to destabilise the region. We have the debacle of Brexit here in our own country, and now people-traffickers are putting the lives of migrants at risk by putting them into inflatable rafts and pushing them off from the shores of France towards the freedom of the white cliffs of Dover. I for one see no joy, peace or good will in any of these situations.

And yet Christmas brings a time of hope. The Book of Proverbs in the Bible tells us: ‘Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.’ And this is why we must always have hope, why we must always fill our lives with love. We look upon the trails and tribulations of the world and hope that through the innate goodness of people this world can and will be a place where all can live free from war and conflict; can live free from tyranny and oppression; can live free from hunger and poverty. We hope for a day when no one has to fight or put themselves in danger for a better life; where all will be equal and live in unity.

If ever there was a time to hope for this kind of world, Advent is it. The Jews were waiting for the Advent (coming) of the Messiah, the one who would free them – by use of force - from the tyranny of the oppressive Roman army. What they got was someone who advocated peace, not violence, one who taught us to love our neighbour and to give of ourselves unconditionally to the poor and marginalised. Only by doing this can we begin to live in Hope, Joy, Love and Peace. It’s a great aspiration to have and is, without doubt, achievable!