Dear Davenport Methodist church,
As we step into yet another season of Advent, into a new
church liturgical calendar, we are invited to wait in hope on Jesus the
Messiah, for our hope comes from Jesus Christ. As faith community, this season
invites us to prayerfully spend this time of the season, affirming in the
nearness of God’s presence in Jesus among us, for God has pitched God’s
sanctuary in our midst.
As different contexts across the world reflect on Christmas
this December, for me, Christmas is not the birth anniversary of Jesus Christ,
which we as Christians commemorate year after year, but Christmas is an
opportunity to recognise that Jesus Christ is being born every day into our
contexts offering hope, peace, joy and love to us, making the birth of Jesus
relevant for our times. Christmas is not just a past thing, but is an event in
the present where God in Jesus is taking birth in situations of the rubbles and
troubles of the world and more specifically in the contexts of poverty,
exploitation and marginalisation of our times today. The story of Christmas is
very radical that it unsettles the very idea of God who reigns from the realms
of transcendence, but who came down to pitch God’s tent among the creation,
being born as a baby, born as a poor baby, born in a manger as there is no
place in the inn and then had to flee as a child refugee. May we as church like
Jesus, be willing to pitch our tents among communities, sharing the love of
Christ with people around us.
Shiny, Jubi and Jaiho joins me in wishing you all a
meaningful season of Advent, wishing you all a very inspiring Christmas and
wishing you all a happy new year 2025. May Jesus Christ direct our ways. May
Jesus Christ increase and abound in love for one another and may Jesus Christ
guide us all to be like Jesus and make our world a better place to live in
love. Happy Christmas!
Thanking you,
Raj Bharat Patta
25th November 2024
