Our passage today opens us to the reality of darkness, it’s there in the first part of verse two, I wonder how you reflect on darkness? I think about being on a ship in the middle of the ocean in the middle of the night, bleak, yet beautiful. We hear a lot these days about mental health and depression, maybe that is where this term darkness takes you? Wherever that phrase takes you, sit with it for a moment… How do you feel? How does it speak to you? For me it opens up the doorway of ache… or aching? A sense of yearning, longing, hankering, for something different, new, or things to just change.
Now of course this ache could also be painful, and it’s right to acknowledge that, this time of year can be incredibly painful, maybe thinking about loved ones who are no longer with us this year, or the pressure to be on form at this time of year can be overwhelming. It could also be that your health is not as it was and general living is hard work. Not to mention the economic crisis and the amount of really tough things that are going on in the world right now. However you are aching today, it’s ok… if you need to chat to someone we would encourage you to do that today.
If we go back to the passage we read about a child being born, that this sense of ache gives birth to something, hope? Expectation? Promise? Possibility? What I love about this sense of ache, is that it can be a driver for good, just like in our song by the Youngun’s. Advent provides us with this sense of ache of a better world, a sense of ache that Jesus lets us get involved with trying to make this world a better world. I’m up for that, what about you?
Photo Challenge: Take a picture of something inspired by the word ache. Use the hashtag #woryem
Ache
Ache for pain to end
Ache as longing
Ache
We ache in this season of advent
Stop for a moment
What does your body, mind and soul ache for today?
We are a community of faith.
Strandlopers on a journey.
We ache in this season of advent
By God’s grace we go.
Amen
Image by Darwin Laganzon from Pixabay
Rob Wylie is the founder of BeachcomberFX and guides its leadership team. He has worked in the North East for over 20 years and has vast experience from various roles he has held. He has a passion for Fresh Expressions of Church and Pioneer Ministry as well as beer, beaches and Miniature Schnauzers.