Advent has come around again. If we are 'bored' of Christmas by the time it arrives then we haven't done Advent at all. It is a great season of hope, light, joy, and peace. These are not just buzzwords we throw around at this time of year. Imagine what it would mean to breathe each of these gifts into our lives. 'Hope refers to a desire and expectations that goals that seem difficult to achieve may somehow be realized' (Harrington). And today's first reading asks us to dream big. It is from Isaiah and it is powerful. "They shall beat their swords into ploughshares..." (Isa 2:4). Imagine a world where we turned every single weapon into something useful... peacefully useful. It is not as daft as it seems. Imagine a world without weapons. Some people have tried it. Take a look at this pic of musical instruments made from weapons....
Or this one:
Or pull up a seat and look closer at this:
If you want to hear more about a community who spend some of their time turning AK47s into gardening tools, then check this out: http://www.redletterchristians.org/beating-ak47s-into-shovels/
The cliché is that 'another world is possible'. This is what Advent tells us and dares us to believe. Pray for peace this Advent season, peace in our hearts, our communities, our families.... oh and 'happy new church year'. SHALOM. MARANATHA.
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