From the minister... 

Dear friends
'How are the preparations going?’ That’s the question that invariably comes up in conversation at this time of year. As December comes into view, we are all confronted with the reality that Christmas is just a few weeks away.

From experience, it seems that Christmas planners fall into two broad categories. There are some people who have been meticulously preparing for months. These are the people who cause me to break out in a sweat sometime in October, when they tell me that the presents are already bought, menus have been worked out, and cards are about to be written with envelopes effortlessly addressed using mail merge.

The second set of people are those who leave it all to the last minute, who will be spending Christmas Eve hurrying from one shop to another in search of presents and food.

Our own approach sits somewhere between these two extremes. There usually isn’t too much of a panic at the eleventh hour, nor are the preparations completed far ahead of schedule.

As Advent begins, however, you might want to pause and reflect on some remarkable words from the New Testament, which give us a glimpse of God’s preparations for Christmas. They are found in the first chapter of 1 Peter. Like many other New Testament letters, it begins with an extended reflection on the redeeming work that God has done in sending Jesus. Peter writes about the way the early Christians have been saved ‘with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect’ (1 Peter 1:19). Then he offers a further insight into the wonder of all that has taken place:

‘He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake’ (1 Peter 1:20).

As I reflect on these words, I imagine Peter writing his letter, bent over parchment with pen in hand and recording his thoughts. I picture him looking up and recalling memories from thirty years ago, how a day that began with a routine fishing trip on the Sea of Galilee changed when Jesus appeared on the shore and how life changed upon hearing his invitation: ‘Come, follow me.’

By the time Peter writes his letter, he’s had many years to think about this story and how the coming of Jesus fits within the overall purposes of God. Now he understands that the sending of Jesus has not been God’s fallback option, a plan hastily put together in response to what has gone wrong. God did not begin his Christmas preparations recently. It was always his desire to send Jesus to us, because God has always wanted to be with us: the people and creation he loves.

This wonderful story of Jesus, conceived so long ago, begins at Christmas and reaches its climax at Easter. John’s Gospel records a prayer spoken by Jesus shortly before the arrest in Gethsemane that set in motion the events that ended with his crucifixion the following day. In this prayer Jesus utters the following words: ‘Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world’ (John 17:24). Peter was in the room when that prayer was uttered. That Thursday evening of Holy Week wasn’t his finest hour. By the time the night was out he would have denied Jesus three times.

Yet Peter’s failure was never the end of the story. Our failure never is. There is always a way back to God, made possible because of Jesus and his life laid down on the cross. I imagine Peter thinking back to that first Maundy Thursday, remembering the mistake he made but also that line in Jesus’ prayer. He remembers how Jesus spoke of the love of God before the creation of the world, he rejoices that this love has come to him, and he wants others to know as well. 

By the time you pick up this edition of INSight, Christmas will be just four weeks away. You may be ahead of schedule as you plan your celebrations or panicking about what is yet to be done. But I hope you can hold onto what most matters most about this season: God’s been planning Christmas since the creation of the world, because he’s always loved you and wanted to be with you.

Wishing you God’s grace and peace, Trevor