Advent Readings 2022
Advent is the Latin word for arrival or coming and is the period of four weeks before Christmas that we set aside to celebrate Jesus’ coming into our world. We remember that Jesus is coming again and eagerly await his return – when he will come as a Mighty King to make all things new; to redeem this broken world from its hurt, trouble, and tragedy. We call out with anticipation – come Lord Jesus, come!
This year we offer Advent fold-outs for you to reflect on scripture and remember God’s redemption in the lead up to Christmas, when we celebrate
the amazing and ultimate gift of Jesus’ birth. You may choose to use
them as a personal devotion, or to encourage your small group or
congregation. We no longer have printed copies available to order, but you can still download a PDF below. Each week starts on the designated Sunday of Advent. We also offer a resource with activities for whānau and tamariki for each week. This can be downloaded below.
For
thousands of years God’s people around the world have sung hymns,
psalms, waiata and choruses to remember God’s grand story and to answer
with the only possible human response: worship.
Artists have painted, carved, stitched, and written beautiful
compositions and creations to reflect and participate in this particular
season of the church year. We’ve prepared a few additional resources for each week right here—including playlists, poems, reflections and other creative pieces. Click on the buttons below for this year’s offerings from Laidlaw students, staff, and alumni.
Join us in reflection and worship through this Advent and Christmas season.
FIRST WEEK OF ADVENT
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Click on the scripture reference to read the passage online.
Isaiah 2:1-5 | Ihāia 2:1-5
Psalm 122 | Waiata 122
Romans 13:11-14 | Rōma 13:11-14
Matthew 24:36-44 | Matiu 24:36-44
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
There are two different playlists for the season—for your listening, sharing, and enjoyment as you wish! We recommend the ADVENT playlist for the lead up to Christmas, and then the CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY playlist from Christmas onwards. Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
This playlist includes songs of hope, anticipation, expectancy, and longing. We have tried to include songs which refer to the story and events announcing and leading up to Christ’s birth.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Advent carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Advent season.
CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY: The King has come!
You can find songs about Christ’s joyous arrival in our Christmas & Epiphany playlist, along with songs about the incarnation and what it means that God became human and lived among his people.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Christmas carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Christmas season.
A PRAYER
Lord, help us to look forward to the day when you establish peace on earth
When the nations will walk up to your mountain, your maunga, and worship freely in your temple
When all the tribes of Israel will walk up to Jerusalem and praise your name
Please grant us expectant hope for your return and for the peace established after judgment
Lord, as we are waiting may we keep looking up so you can teach us to walk in your ways
May we learn to walk in your paths, to walk in your light
May we wake up and clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ so we put aside the desires of our flesh
Please grant us patience too, so we keep watch and make ourselves ready for when you return
Amen
Tracey Hunt, School of Social Practice Administrator
A REFLECTION
During the season of Advent we remember and celebrate Christ’s arrival on earth and we anticipate his second coming. The set passages for this week respond to a few questions:
- What are we looking for?
- When will Jesus come?
- How can we prepare?
Isaiah paints a picture of Yahweh’s salvation in the days to come. The dwelling place of the Holy One will be established in a high place and all nations will come and seek the Lord. Yahweh will bring true justice by settling disputes for many peoples and judging between the nations. The word of the Holy One will pour out from his dwelling place. In response, the people will take their instruments of destruction (swords and spears) and turn them into tools for fruitful productivity (plowshares and pruning hooks). Nations will no longer fight or even prepare for battle. Instead of learning war, the peoples will flock to the house of the Holy One so that “he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths”.
When will Jesus come to bring the fullness of his kingdom and reign? When will we get to see this kind of reality – where all nations pour to his presence and long for his instruction? In Matthew 24:36-44 Jesus tells his disciples (and us as we listen in) that the day and hour of his return is unknown. We don’t know! The angels don’t know. Jesus doesn’t even know… only the Father knows. We can be totally sure of this uncertainty. This is just as true today as it was for the early followers of ‘The Way’. Jesus is with us in the unknown. And still he exhorts his disciples to be ready for his unexpected arrival. How can we prepare for his return in the midst of this guaranteed and perpetual uncertainty?
Paul the Apostle and beloved pastor of many of the early churches reminds his dear ones (and us!) that “the day is near”. And we can do something. We can wake up, be alert, be actively watching and waiting. We can “put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light”. We can let Jesus make us more like him. We can be ready to receive Christ by cultivating attitudes of expectancy and expectation – even and especially in the midst of uncertainty. Because Jesus and his kingdom are near. That is a promise and a guarantee.
But really – how on earth do we prepare for and live with this certain uncertainty? Psalm 122 might offer us a bit of practical help. We can sing. No matter our circumstances and inward or outward trust, confidence, or peace… we can remember that we are on a journey and we can seek the Lord.
Psalm 122 is one of the psalms of ascent – ascribed as a song for pilgrims journeying upwards to Zion and Jerusalem – God’s dwelling place. In some ways they are songs for the displaced or disoriented to sing as they move towards and into God’s presence. An overwhelming sense of gladness and joy grows from this psalm and the instinctive response is to bless others with divine peace. We can sense that these worshipers have tangibly experienced – they have tasted – some of the salvation and justice of the Holy One and it compels them to sing and to bless. They cannot help themselves but to pray for peace and goodness for all of their relations.
This advent, let’s get in on Isaiah’s invitation and choose our response: “O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the Lord”! Perhaps, in this season of certain uncertainty, Jesus will draw near to us and grow in us a deeper and more tangible expectancy for us to notice the nearness of his presence and the approaching of his kingdom.
Come, Lord Jesus, come!
Lisl Baker, Culture and Relationships Coordinator
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!
SECOND WEEK OF ADVENT
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 11:1-10 | Ihāia 11:1-10
Psalm 28 | Waiata 28
Romans 15:4-13 | Rōma 15:4-13
Matthew 3:1-12 | Matiu 3:1-12
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
There are two different playlists for the season—for your listening, sharing, and enjoyment as you wish! We recommend the ADVENT playlist for the lead up to Christmas, and then the CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY playlist from Christmas onwards. Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
This playlist includes songs of hope, anticipation, expectancy, and longing. We have tried to include songs which refer to the story and events announcing and leading up to Christ’s birth.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Advent carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Advent season.
VISUAL ART
Isaiah 11:1-10 foretells a leader who will be a descendant of King David’s line, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit” (v. 1). This leader will have such calibre, such presence, that the whole created order will experience renewal. This person is of course, Jesus, God incarnate, divine majesty made flesh, who came and walked, and ate, and laughed with us.
I designed and embroidered this piece to illustrate the impact Isaiah envisages Jesus will have on the cosmos, where the features of that impact are the literal fruit on the shoot that grows from the stump. He will judge with righteousness (flaming heart) and justice (sword) (v. 4), the breath of his lips will slay the wicked (v. 5), a leopard and a goat will lie down next to each other (v. 6), and a young child will play near a snake without fear (v. 8). Isaiah weaves a glorious picture of the deep saturation creation will experience in the day when the promised King makes his dwelling place with us. Every Advent I am reminded to dream again for glimpses and opportunities to bring that long-anticipated reality closer.
Jess Hall, Library and Administrative Assistant
A PRAYER
Lord God, in a world wracked with injustice and pain, we long for justice and healing. As your people of old waited and hoped for the stump of Jesse to blossom into righteousness and justice, so we too wait and hope for the fruit of righteousness and justice promised by the birth of Jesus. As we hear the voice of John the Baptist preparing the way, we repent of ways in which we have contributed to the oppression and pain of others. And we ask to be filled with the Spirit of hope that the birth of Jesus brings, that we may ourselves be agents of hope wherever you have placed us, working and praying for the promised day when the world will be filled with the glory of God. We ask these things in the name of Jesus, king of righteousness.
Dr Tim Meadowcroft, Senior Research Fellow
A REFLECTION
The seer’s vision of flourishing comes to a people in the midst of tumultuous times: of suffering, anxiety, and uncertainty – a people cut down to a mere stump of the fruitful vine intended. Isaiah speaks of One who would see through and under the surface of things to God’s deeper reality – the truth of who is favoured and who is judged – despite present circumstances. Here is a breath-taking vision of shalom – all-encompassing peace and wholeness – fruit of God’s power and faithfulness in the coming Messiah.
The God of the Psalmist – the strong shepherd who sees, hears, and responds – Israel’s shield and defence – is the God of Isaiah, the sender of John who would prepare the way for the promised Messiah, and of Paul who would enlarge the tent of God’s people far beyond the people’s imagining. Worship, prophecy, and proclamation gather the hopes of a people, a world, in turmoil – not with escapist wishful thinking nor toxic positivity – but in lives attentive and responsive to God’s work in the world and in each other, unified in Christ. Here, ‘the God of hope fills us with all joy and peace as we trust in him, so that we overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit’. Advent invites us to receive God’s encouragement, endurance, and power so that, united in Christ, we may – with prophet, psalmist, and apostle – anticipate in our lives the truth of God’s peaceable Kingdom, even – especially – in these tumultuous times.
Reflect: Where and how might I embody the hope of Isaiah’s vision and Paul’s exhortation to the church in Rome—the truth of what God is doing in the world and in and through us—this Advent?
Rev. Dr Karen Kemp, Senior Coach/Lecturer – School of Theology, Centre for Church Leadership
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!
THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 35:1-10 | Ihāia 35:1-10
Psalm 146 | Waiata 146
Luke 1:46-55 | Ruka 1:46-55
James 5:7-10 | Hēmi 5:7-10
Matthew 11:2-11 | Matiu 11:2-11
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
There are two different playlists for the season—for your listening, sharing, and enjoyment as you wish! We recommend the ADVENT playlist for the lead up to Christmas, and then the CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY playlist from Christmas onwards. Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
This playlist includes songs of hope, anticipation, expectancy, and longing. We have tried to include songs which refer to the story and events announcing and leading up to Christ’s birth.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Advent carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Advent season.
VISUAL ART
The desert and the parched land will be glad;
the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom;
it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. (Isaiah 35:1-2)
Like anything in life where there is a lot of waiting and longing, our patience and endurance can be tested. It can get challenging and dark. Then, like light finally breaking through clouds, a ray of hope. During Advent, we celebrate God’s faithfulness, when the lame dance, the blind see, and those who are bowed down are lifted up.
See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. (James 5:7b-8)
Pio Mulipola, Graphic Designer
A PRAYER
Waiata a Meri (Mary’s Song – Luke 1:46-47)
Ka whakanui tōku wairua i te Ariki
Ka whakanui tōku wairua i te Ariki
Ka whakanui tōku wairua i te Ariki
E hari ana tōku wairua ki te Atua
Ki tōku Kaiwhakaora
Ka Waiata ki a Maria
Enjoy this song about Mary's 'yes' to God. This rendition is sung at The Church of the Holy Sepulchre – Te Mīhana Māori.
(Click on the song title to listen on Youtube).
Prayer response
Lord, we join our hearts in worship
In adoration and praise
We glorify You
We rejoice in You
Our God, our Saviour, our Lord!
Sharon Pihema, Pou Arahi
A REFLECTION
In Psalm 146:5-10 the psalmist speaks blessing over those whose help comes from the God of Jacob – the God who reigns forever over all generations. Isaiah 35 reminds us that trials don’t last forever. Mary’s song in Luke 1:46-55 reminds us that he sees us and has kept his promises, even as the scope and methods he chooses are often beyond our imagining.
How lovely it is to have the Bible at our fingertips. We can see every story, from start to finish. Hundreds of years of slavery and 40 years in the desert, all overcome in a matter of mere chapters. We can abbreviate centuries of silence to pages. We can read of John the Baptist’s time in the desert and prison and imagine the heartbreak of a beloved family member not coming to his aid. Yet, we can rest easy knowing there was a greater purpose and he is now in heaven. Chapter after chapter, book after book. We can see trial, tribulations, hope and redemption. A narrative confirming that God keeps his promises – that he cherishes us and we are beloved. It can be easy to forget that the people in the stories…didn’t know the end of the story.
I keep on my desk a figure of a woman with skin the colour of toffee. She is kneeling on rough stone. Her torso bent low. One arm is wrapped around her middle, hand pressed to her side. The other arm reaching behind her, hand raised to the heavens. Eyes closed, her expression both peaceful and purposeful. Behind her is a stone. It is perhaps intended to be the shape of a small monument but to me it has always looked like a giant gravestone bearing a message threading through generations. Written on it are the words “She who kneels before God can stand before anyone”. She is a reminder that even when we are …
Holding on, bearing the weight within us
Holding on, nurturing the promise in our hearts
Kneeling in endurance in the midst of trial
Kneeling in a hope that won’t be quenched
She reminds us that we can hold on and we can kneel because we know we are never alone. We are loved. We are seen. We are known. Our stories are not over. This is why we can throw a hand back and to the heavens, pointing to the hope that is our good God. Pointing toward the stories of the past that tell us it may not be in our time or our ideal timing but he always comes through for us, our ancestors and our descendants. We can stand before anyone because we know they don’t have the final word. We know we can hold on because darkness never lasts and joy comes with the morning. We know that we are part of a larger story and we know how it ends. We rejoice because the author of our story is the promise keeper.
Erica Griffin, Counselling Lecturer
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!
FOURTH WEEK OF ADVENT
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 7:10-16 | Ihāia 7:10-16
Psalm 80 | Waiata 80
Romans 1:1-7 | Rōma 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25 | Matiu 1:18-25
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY: The King has come!
You can find songs about Christ’s joyous arrival in our Christmas & Epiphany playlist, along with songs about the incarnation and what it means that God became human and lived among his people.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Christmas carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Christmas season.
VISUAL ART
The past few years have felt particularly chaotic and at times hopeless. The prophesy that God would send a child, who would literally be “God with us,” was given to his people in the midst of chaos – as they were shuddering in fear, lacking in trust, and filled with disobedience. (Isaiah 7:10–16)
The darkened leaves in this painting are the leaves of Christ’s family line, according to his flesh (Romans 1:4). They tumble twining around from the royal line of David, represented by the royal crown. They are autumnal: fallen, frail and beautiful, but destined to die.
The Christ child lies buried within the young woman’s womb. Vulnerable but kingly. Crowned not with the golden crown of David but with a crown of thorns. He entered into the chaos and suffering of this world. As a human baby in utero he was fully reliant on the life of his mother. As the King of the universe he is the life-giver and sustainer of her life. This child, buried in his mother’s womb, would be buried once again in the depths of a tomb. And just as he was born into this world clothed in frail humanity, he was exalted as the powerful Son of God, by the Holy Spirit, by his resurrection from the dead. (Romans 1:4) Emmanuel, God with us, Jesus Christ our Lord. From him bursts life, love and grace. The golden light of hope shines through into the darkness as he answers the cries of his people. Making his face to shine upon them, saving them and restoring all things (Psalm 80:3).
Leigh Greyling, Theology Student
Isaiah and Matthew texts: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.
Rough. Incomprehensible. A nightmare journey. Springtime rains turning dust into slush. Why is God doing this? The donkey is traditional, not Biblical. Heavily pregnant Mary may have walked the whole, never-ending, way. All at the command of a hated invader decree. Is God really in control? But the Messiah must be born in the city of David. Caesar was unwittingly doing God's will in God's perfect timing. God in full control.
In the painting I backgrounded the texts with the Greek of Matthew 1:18 to 23. But as you can see I ran out of room at the end of verse 21—a great place to finish! I wrote in Uncials in the style of Papyrus 52 which can be dated around 100 CE. Matthew-Levi's original would have been 30 years earlier but the style would not have hugely changed. Blood red gives the painting a basic glow.
As the Greek dried I chose blue as an harmonic contrast to the red but it got lost even though capitalised, so I highlighted it with thin white and it came up nicely. Blue is traditionally Mary's colour. White for purity. Holiness. As the climax approached I reversed the colours to blue on white, which worked well. Then the climax of THE VIRGIN SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON demanded gold on white—Royalty on purity.
I left out the last two verses in line with my Greek, also deciding against Psalm 80. Maybe in another painting sometime. The Magnificat despite its fabulous words was also put aside. This painting's subject is limited to the birth of Jesus, so I left out Paul's even more distant words to stay on subject. Instead I did my own word-for-word translation from the Greek of Matthew 1, altering the word order only when the meaning became unclear. Here is the NKJV version:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
Both my writing and my version are really rough. This really rough time for the young couple ended in a cowshed birth. Such scenes have been prettied up by artists over centuries so it is time to redress that fiction. Mary must often have wondered if God had deserted her. A smelly stable was no place for the birth of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! But here it was happening and she was in the centre of it. The shepherds would have helped. Especially with their description of the angel choir. What a breathtaking display of Heavenly fireworks! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Chris Strom, NZBTI Alumni
A PRAYER
Glorious wonder, Holy awe,
In you Lord, the vine is restored.
Heavenly mystery, the perfect One,
Emmanuel, the Only Son.
All royalty, all majesty, all glory,
Found in the breath of a baby.
From David to Mary,
Through our Lord Holy Spirit,
The glory of Your plans, revealed.
Redemption grows in Mary’s womb
Salvation in human form.
Glorious wonder, Holy awe,
In you Lord, the vine is restored!
Heavenly mystery, the perfect One,
Emmanuel, the Only Son!
Villette Iosefa-Lowe, Theology Student
A REFLECTION
To witness the birth of my children can only be described as some of the most joyous and humbling experiences of my life. Not only because of the awesome wonder of welcoming a child into the world, but also the overwhelming love and respect that I felt for my wife due to the resolute and tenacious way in which she brought our babies into the world. The preparation and fortitude that was needed beforehand and during their arrival should not be underestimated. The mental toughness, the physical stamina, the emotional resilience, together with the spiritual confidence and faith my wife displayed, galvanised our belief that God was at work, and in control of the whole process. For what happened in the delivery suite was the culmination of many months of preparation - doctor’s appointments, antenatal classes, exercise, sleepless nights, dieting, research, as well as a constant seeking of the Lord for his presence, guidance, and strength. In short, one of the underpinning beliefs that sustained us, was that we had a responsibility to ensure we did everything in our power to preserve and bring forth God’s gift of life.
My friends in Christ, it is a similar sense of responsibility, preparation, and hope that we are challenged with this week, as we meditate on our assigned scriptures and their significance for this Advent season! As we prepare to welcome and celebrate the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we are called to acknowledge the “Immanuel” of God who was proclaimed and conceived by the prophet Isaiah in his time, but later actualised through the events that Matthew writes about so vividly. A message that embodied a judgement on King Ahaz and the House of David for their relative lack of faith and trust, but for Joseph (also a son of David), would represent a watershed moment of clarity and purpose for the fulfilment of prophecy, God’s will, and faithfulness. We are reminded as God’s people and community in the chosen verses of Psalm 80 that we have a responsibility to not only be open in our declaration of our faith and disciplined in our response to God’s goodness and mercy, but above all obedient in our relationship with him. Ultimately, as saints and servants of God, we too are called to embrace the challenges of mission and service, and like Paul can be assured of God’s grace and presence through his personal calling on our lives.
May God’s Spirit of Faith, Hope, Love and Peace be upon us, our families, and communities of faith as we journey towards celebrating and embracing the totality of what it means to receive the gift of “God with Us”.
In Jesus’ name…Amen.
Rev. Dr Imoa Setefano, Student and Community Coordinator (Manukau)
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!
CHRISTMAS WEEK
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 9:2-7 | Ihāia 9:2-7
Isaiah 52:7-10 | Ihāia 52:7-10
Psalm 98 | Waiata 98
Hebrews 1:1-12 | Ngā Hiperu 1:1-12
John 1:1-14 | Hoani 1:1-14
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY: The King has come!
You can find songs about Christ’s joyous arrival in our Christmas & Epiphany playlist, along with songs about the incarnation and what it means that God became human and lived among his people.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Christmas carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Christmas season.
VISUAL ART
John 1:1-14
The green Greek is in the style of Papyrus 52 (c.100). Purists will say not a literary hand, far too plain. But John was a plain man, a fisherman with a small pen in a thick hand. The white is rough, as befits a rough life in a rugged country with survival hardly possible. Writing the words took hold of me and grew larger. These are big words about a Big Man, God's own Word made Man. No paint can capture them. They sing alone. The translation is a mixture of KJV and NIV and my own. When my granddaughter asked if it was my own translation I replied:
"So you could tell, huh? Yes. Pretty awful in parts. "They slammed the door in his face" is nothing like the Greek which simply says "did not receive him." But hey the KJV translated "they cast the same in his teeth" where the Greek simply says... something much milder with no "teeth." However, by way of justification Prof Blaiklock pointed out ta idia is idiomatic Greek for "Home." Ta idia = one's own things - the place where one keeps one's belongings. So "He went home, and his own family slammed the door in his face." That is the true meaning of the Greek. Sometimes a paraphrase is more accurate than word for word."
"No room!" The innkeeper slammed the door in Joseph's face. Desperate, Joseph hammered harder:
"I said no room!"
"My wife is about to have a baby!"
"All we have is a cowshed. Try that."
"Where?"
"Where the cows are."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Welcome in your heart too?
Chris Strom, NZBTI Alumni
A POEM
Ready and Waiting
Yeshua
You came…
uninvited
Sent by Your Father
cocooned
in a womb
Thrust
into the mess
tiny, helpless
A mother, young
disgraced
not by You…
but by the ignorant
the arrogant
A woman
favoured
chosen
READY
Entrusted with
the greatest GIFT
Trust…
That’s what You had
complete trust
in Your Father’s plan
Humbled
laid bare
The WORD
THE Word
God Incarnate
sent Himself
embodied
in the Word
A creative Word
planted
in the darkness
of a womb
WAITING
to bring forth LIFE
For God, You are ready
watching
anticipating
that Your Word will be fulfilled
for eternity
Through us…
Help me be ready
and waiting
© 2021 Barbara J. Harry, BCNZ Alumni
A REFLECTION
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
Isaiah 9:2
This scripture from Isaiah 9 speaks to those of us who know Christ. We all had an experience of walking in darkness and seeing a great light. We all had some sense of this dawning. To me, this scripture speaks of God approaching me and calling me; of the light that led me to turn around and want to follow God from when I was converted at 13 years of age. But knowing the Light of the World was not a one-off event. Rather it is an ongoing encounter with the light that shines on in the darkness; a light that will not be overcome (John 1:5).
As a counsellor, I have seen times when a person has an epiphany about their life – that they are valuable or loved, or can change their life – and this can turn a light on, so much so that their face lights up. I have also seen people struggle to find even a small light in the midst of a time of intense suffering. Sometimes it feels like we’re sitting together in deep darkness. But then occasionally, miraculously, as they tell their story and are listened to, a small flicker of hope appears.
Christmas week is often a time of last-minute present buying and sorting out who’s bringing what for dinner. But it can also be a time to find that quiet moment and remember again Isaiah 9:2 – that at Christmas we welcome the Light that came into the world while we were in darkness. He is the Word made flesh, the one we have been waiting for in Advent – preparing for, yearning for, hoping for. Christ has come to us. Emmanuel.
Rev. Dr Sarah Penwarden, Counselling Lecturer
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!
EPIPHANY
We recommend that you read the Scripture passage and short reflection in our “Advent Readings” on the Sunday of each week – beginning on the first day of Advent: Sunday, 27 November. You can reflect on it all week. Below are some additional resources for consideration, wondering, and worship during this season. Enjoy!
SCRIPTURE
Isaiah 60:1-6 | Ihāia 60:1-6
Psalm 72 | Waiata 72
Ephesians 3:1-12 | Epeha 3:1-12
Matthew 2:1-23 | Matiu 2:1-23
*Note: For those who follow the Lectionary Calendar and Church Year, Advent 2022 marks the beginning of cycle or “Year A”. The weekly Scripture passages in our readings are from each Sunday of Advent – with the exception of Epiphany. If you would like additional Bible readings, you can follow along with the daily recommended readings for this season.
From: Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
You can download the 2022 (for Advent and Christmas) and 2023 (up to Epiphany) versions of the lectionary.
Another resource is the Vanderbilt Divinity Library
FOR LISTENING
Click on the title or icon to listen to the playlist.
CHRISTMAS & EPIPHANY: The King has come!
You can find songs about Christ’s joyous arrival in our Christmas & Epiphany playlist, along with songs about the incarnation and what it means that God became human and lived among his people.
The first part of the playlist includes contemporary renditions of Christmas carols and hymns. The second part of the playlist includes sacred and choral music for the Christmas season.
VISUAL ART
Muriwai, 2022 - Acrylic on canvas
I chose Muriwai as my landscape, relating to Epiphany's awe of God's creation.
I am in awe of
This place you have coloured in
Home away from home
Joshua D. F. Young, Counselling Student
A POEM
Presents or Presence?
What gift can I bring
to worship The King?
The angels they sing
ancient echoes ring
Keen shepherds draw near
unblemished Lamb, rare
“Hush, This One we fear”
Distant mandate clear?
Magi travel bold
balm Gilead—gold
myrrh, incense unsold
Priceless Love behold
So what will you bring
to worship this KING?
What kind of a thing
makes an offering?
“Have credit
my cash
so I won’t buy trash
Time, talents rehash
my treasures I’ll stash.”
I long for your heart
your inn, there I’ll start
My Glory impart
lavish gifts—My heart!
THIS Gift, no other
unwrap
discover
layers uncover
I AM your Lover
“Great King of Glory
herald Your story
through me
From the ‘Tree’
ring Your victory.”
Want just My presents
or all My Presence?
Conduct My presents
or ample essence?
“It’s You I’ll pursue
nothing else in lieu
Yearn for mankind—to
unwrap all of You.”
I AM always present
© 2021 Barbara J. Harry, BCNZ Alumni
A REFLECTION
“Epiphany” is from the Greek term epiphaneia “appearance”. Paul uses the term in 2 Timothy 1:10 when he describes how God’s grace has been revealed through the appearance of Jesus on earth. Epiphany commemorates that appearance, and in particular it commemorates the first time Jesus appeared to Gentiles. Jesus’ appearance to the Magi in Matthew 2:1-12 is the first recorded instance of Gentiles encountering Jesus. They recognised Jesus was a king and honoured him with their gifts. What they could not know, what no one yet recognised, was the true significance of Jesus’ appearance, or the fact that it was anticipated as long ago as Genesis.
The Lord makes a number of wonderful promises to the patriarchs in Genesis, but none is more wonderful than his promise that they would be the ancestors of kings, and the means of bringing blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3; 17:3-6; 22:17-18; 28:13-14 cf. 49:10). Remarkably we see these two promises converge in our reading from Psalm 72, a beautiful prayer for Israel’s king. The prayer would have served well at a king’s coronation, presenting as it does the image of the ideal king. And a notable feature of the ideal king is that, “All nations will be blessed through him” (72:17).
We see the beginnings of this blessing in Matthew 2:1-12 when the Gentile Magi encounter the child king, Jesus. And by the end of Matthew’s Gospel Jesus has suffered and died, and he has risen from the dead. His appearing has become so much more than anyone expected and it is now time for God’s blessing to go to all nations. This is why Jesus’ final command to his disciples is to, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (28:19).
No one took Jesus’ command more seriously than Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 11:13). In Ephesians 3:1 we find him a prisoner for his calling. Paul is concerned his imprisonment will discourage his readers, and so he spends the next few verses expressing his sense of privilege that God called him to announce the message that Gentiles are equal partners with Israel in receiving all the riches that are to be found in Jesus Christ. Paul is emphatic. The blessing that comes to Gentiles is in every sense equal to the blessing God bestows on his people Israel. Gentiles and Israel are “members together of one body and sharers together in the promise of Christ Jesus” (3:6).
Epiphany is an opportunity to reflect on the love and faithfulness of our God. He has kept promises to bless us that he made millennia ago. And who could have imagined the riches contained in those blessings; riches that have come to us with the appearing of his Son and our Saviour.
This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Saviour, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel (2 Timothy 1:10).
Dr Richard Neville, Theology Lecturer
WHĀNAU AND TAMARIKI ACTIVITY
Miriam Fisher (Location Lead & Lecturer - Education, Ōtautahi/Christchurch), has prepared an activity based on the theme of each week of Advent. You can download this week's right here.
These may need amending to suit the age and stage of those in your whānau but we hope they will offer you an opportunity to engage in this season simply and meaningfully with your tamariki. You might come up with new variations!