Message of Abbot Paul - Sunday 28th November
Message from Fr Paul for Sunday, 28th November 2021
Last night we had the most wonderfully uplifting Advent Carol Service in the abbey church led by the Academia Musica. The singing and organ playing was spectacular in every respect, and yet it was not a performance or a concert but clearly an act of prayer and devotion. Likewise, the prayers and scripture readings were conducive to deepening our understanding of and love for the Advent Season, not only as a period of preparation and penance for the Nativity of Our Blessed Lord, but of hope and longing for his Second Coming. Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus, come! Every aspect of the service was quite exquisite, but I was particularly impressed and moved by the perfect rendering of the ancient Latin O antiphons. We are all truly grateful to have been blessed with the presence of Academia Musica at Belmont, a Hereford choir, many of whose singers are young students at the Sixth Form College.
Our Gospel passage today comes from Luke, (Lk 21: 25-28; 34-36), as we begin Year C in the cycle of Sunday Scripture readings and C means Luke, where the Gospel is concerned. You will recognise the reading as being made up of two short weekday readings from last week. In fact, today’s second paragraph we read and meditated on only yesterday. Here is the text itself:
“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars; on earth nations in agony, bewildered by the clamour of the ocean and its waves; men dying of fear as they await what menaces the world, for the powers of heaven will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.
‘Watch yourselves, or your hearts will be coarsened with debauchery and drunkenness and the cares of life, and that day will be sprung on you suddenly, like a trap. For it will come down on every living man on the face of the earth. Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man.’”
Luke is always a joy to read as he is a positive writer whose aim and desire is to encourage his readers who might feel discouraged by a sense of failure or of inadequacy before the teaching of Jesus. No matter how bad or how frightening things are or appear to be, “When these things begin to take place, stand erect, hold your heads high, because your liberation is near at hand.” What words could be more reassuring and uplifting than these? If you are worried about death and judgement or alarmist prophecies that the end of the world is nigh, what words could be more tranquilising or consoling to our spirits than these, “Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man”? If you are new to reading the Scriptures, then start with Luke and you will not regret it. If you are feeling down and disheartened, then go back to reading the Bible, the word of God, with the help of Luke. You will not look back.
Can I wish you all a very blessed and rewarding Advent? The good Lord is always with us and never lets us down.
