Humans beings are spiritual beings, made by God and for God. We have a void in us that can only be filled by friendship with God. It's when we try and fill that God-shaled hole with other stuff that things begin to go wrong.

Christ taught with authority and it moved people to conversion. As followers of Jesus we are called to live and act in and from that same authority. But what does this mean in practice? What does teaching and living with authority look like?

Jesus calls us to follow him, but what does following him actually look like? What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus? Well, its about letting go of false security and putting him in the driving seat of our lives.

Hearing and listening are not th same thing. In our noisy and chaotic world God still speaks to us, but do we hear him? And even if we hear him, are we really listening to him?

The baptism of Jesus speaks to us of our own baptism. Through baptism we are united to Jesus and to one another. In these days of darkness we are reminded that we are beloved sons amd daughters of God and are very precious to him.

Christ the Light has come into the world! The Jesus movement did not die out, but is very much alive. 2000 years have passed and we still celebrate the moment when the Word became flesh and was seem amongst us. Jesus is truly alive and wants a relationship with us, here now and today!

Mary gives us the model of perfect discipleship, she believes the Word, trust's the Word and then conceives the Word. As we enter these last few days before Christmas we are invited to do the same.

We have a gear change today on the liturgy as we begin to focus more on the coming of Christ at Christmas. Christ, we must remember, is already amongst us, his hidden presence with us. But is he known to us? Do we want to know and be known by him?

St John the Baptist's Advent calls is for repentance. Are we willing to change? Are we willing to repent? Are we ready to receive the Lord who is to come?

Advent is more than the run-up to Christmas, it is a season of hope. As we begin this new season and new church year we call on our God in hope and in trust to help us, to change us and through us to help others.