Making space! -To Trust

Readings for Advent 2 Isaiah 40:1-11; Psalm 85, 2 Pet 3:8-15a; Mark 1:1-8

I trust that you are all making progress with your Christmas presents.
I put to my children in the last few days
an idea that came out of the Christmas Bowl material
Let's give each other presents of about $5-$10
and then each give $20 to another cause.
They looked aghast...well if not aghast then askance!
Another hair-brained, unrealistic idea of that priest
we are (un)fortunate enough to have as a father.
The youngest one gets it...
...enraptured with caring for a girl in Tanzania
through a school project
it is easy to get her to understand
that $10 spent on her
---another Barby, a fluffy pen, cheeky knickers....or whatever
is here today and gone tomorrow!
But for the little Tanzanian girl
it can do so much more.
She was taken by the notion
that in Africa the wealthy send their children
to Europe as soon as they can
and so there is a "brain drain"
I am impressed that a 12 year old
can get this concept.
She understands that by supporting strong education
in Tanzania
then most people will stay if they can.
This stuff is fairly self-evident
if and when you think about it!

Comfort and Trust
Today we are invited by the Christmas Bowl
to reflect on the theme of Trust.
There is presented for us
and image of a God who we can trust
Amidst all our troubles and difficulties
and no one escapes this...
we trust that God will care for us and sustain us.
The readings tell us that God will
Bring us back...we can trust God to restore us
that God is ...patient with us
we often think God is slow
but God is patient
That God will empower us with the Holy Spirit
Even John says, don't be like me
rather open yourself to the one who comes after
and he will pour out his Holy Spirit on you..

These are promises in which we are invited to trust.

• God cares for us
• God is patient with us
• God empowers us

In our life
I hope that you might see here
that what is being offered is a chance to be real and genuine.
It is not unlike getting the Christmas present idea right.
There is nothing wrong with presents
there is an issue about proportion, and
about what is important.
We can trust God to give us the right gifts,
but can we trust ourselves!
Can the world trust us to deliver
on God's behalf
or have we been distracted by the trivial, the unimportant?
God cares for us and bring us home how do we care for others
and restore them
How do we act as agents of reconciliation
and bringers of peace?
God is patient with us have we given up on people,
have we stopped talking to someone who has hurt us
or have we settled for second-best in our relationships
God empowers us has our relationship with God
gone stale
do we allow ourselves to be open to the Holy Spirit
do we pray with vigour and with power
We can trust God
and we need to be trusted as God agents.