by Eileen Miller, Ilkley Road Methodist Church

IN our rush to celebrate Christmas, we seem to forget there is another season that precedes it, Advent. Advent is a countdown. We see shopping centres, television adverts and supermarkets reminding us how many shopping days there are until Christmas.

Children count down until the day of “presents” dawns, daily ticking off their Advent calendars. We as Christians prepare for Christmas by counting down the weeks until we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ.

Advent is such a beautiful season – a time for renewal and especially a time for forgiveness because God brings forgiveness in the shape of his Son. It is the perfect time to prepare for those desiring peace. By reflection and prayer, by reading and meditation, we can make our hearts a place of peace.

The world is not as just, not as loving, not as whole as we know it can and should be. But the coming of Christ and his presence among us give us reason to live in hope: that we can be liberated from our fears and prejudices and never be alone. We are called to be witnesses of God’s love by extending that love to others and sticking up for justice and our commitment to what is right and good.

May this Advent season be a time for bringing hope, transformation and fulfilment into the Advent of our lives.