Chaplain's Corner Nov 25th

Published on isbi School News dated Thursday 1st of December 2022

Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labour in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

These words have sprung to mind this week, as more and more signs have appeared that Christmas is fast-approaching. The words are a reminder that Christmas is only Christmas because of Christ.

Sunday marks the beginning of Advent. This is the season in the church’s year provided to enable us to prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus. It is a time of waiting.

Waiting for something can be a tedious and even frustrating experience. We do not often regard having to wait as a good thing – who enjoys a queue at a supermarket checkout, or at passport control, or waiting for a package to arrive when it hasn’t been delivered on the day it was expected? If we are impatient we can be tempted to try to fill the time with a distraction. More challenging than this, waiting can sometimes be a test of our self-control.

Yet we are encouraged to see Advent, the time of waiting for Christmas, not as a frustrating time but as a real blessing. We can view Advent in this way because in the midst of all the busyness of Christmas preparation it gives us four weeks of time to ensure that alongside all the important practicalities our hearts are ready for 25 December too. As we prepare our homes to be ready to receive family and friends, so we can prepare our hearts so that they are ready to receive the new-born Christ.

We could allow Advent to pass us by … or we could take up the invitation to allow God to ‘build the house’. The house built by God will be a place prepared to celebrate Christmas in the best possible way, with Christ at the heart and with His light and love filling our own lives, and the lives of all those with whom we rejoice.

Wishing you the blessings of Advent,

Mr George, Chaplain