Christmas Message from Sarah Tapp

The month of December marks Advent. Not simply an opportunity to get ready for Christmas, but a season of waiting, watching and anticipating the hope and light that is to come. Hopefully we have been preparing not just our homes, the festive food we might eat and gifts we will send, but have also taken time to prepare our inner selves as we dwell in the darkness that comes before the light. This is an apocalyptic season; we don’t just wait for the baby, we wait also for Jesus’ return, the end times, the day of the Lord, and this should make us feel a little uncomfortable. As God’s people we live in tension. We can’t run headlong into the tinsel and turkey with abandon like the rest of the world because although Jesus’ birth is certain and his return is guaranteed, we live with the uncertainty of how long we will have to wait for him to come back.

As we wait we can dig deep into what we do know of God, find hope in what we are certain of - his incredible love for us and his insistent call to share that love with others. When the time comes, I pray we will gather together as family to welcome the tiny human baby born to teenage parents who became refugees. I pray each one of us will find God in the dusty dirty manger, this most unusual setting for a king, and be surprised by him once more.

May God bless you this Christmas. Rev Sarah Tapp