A Message

        On the 2 nd of February the church commemorates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple. With this commemoration the 50 day cycle of Christmas comes to an end. 12 days on and we move into the season of Lent. From Christmas immediately into Lent while to many may not make sense, the period of Lent receives meaning in the coming of the Messiah. The purpose of God sending his only begotten son Jesus into this world gains momentum with the season of Lent.                 Lent is a time for reflection, penitence and restoration. We have a period of forty days for reflection. What are we supposed to reflect on? None other than our faith journey with Christ, which we share with our brother and sister here on this earth.  God’s word, prayer and the constant questioning of our conscience in the light of the scriptures help us to reflect on this journey. Christ is always faithful, he ...

We are still in the Christmas season. On the night that Jesus was born the shepherd visited the baby Jesus is the manger. Now sometime after the birth of Jesus, the Maggie from the east visit Jesus who is now in a house in Bethlehem. These Maggie belong to a Median tribe called the “the magoi”. They can be considered magicians belonging to a sacred caste. They had conformed to the Persian religion yet retained some of their old beliefs. They were pagans. Basically they were astrologers.             Today our reflection is on the theme, “Jesus Christ-the manifestation of God”. The Maggie, they were not Jews, they didn’t know who Jesus was, yet the only fact they knew “a star appeared” it meant a king was born. And all they wanted was to see him. Through their eagerness to see this new born king, Jesus Christ is made manifest to Herod and the whole of Jerusalem. Even the chief priest and the teachers of the law who knew this truth...

It’s election time. The citizens of this country are wondering whom to vote for. But politicians are talking about making agreements. Agreements of convenience, agreements which are selfish, agreements with only one goal – victory.   The end 2017 and beginning of 2018 gives us an opportunity to re-look at our agreement with God and to renew it. This agreement is our covenant. The covenant we have with God is not temporary. It is not selfish but selfless. It is not one of convenience but one of commitment. One which cannot be broken. Because the covenant we have with our God is one which is signed by the precious blood of Jesus. One which was signed by the making of a sacrifice on a cross. And so we turn to the scriptures to draw inspiration towards this covenant. Romans 12:2 Paul is telling the Romans “don’t live according / don’t be conformed to this world”.  The world or age we live in is a society or system created by man. One that will make him happy without God. ...

Building up to Christmas there have been many forwards on the electronic communication devices. And here was an article written in lighter vein which caught my attention. It was about the wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus, and how shoppers have begun cursing these men for bringing gifts and starting a trend of gift giving. This only caused me to go back to the nativity of 2017 years before. Looking at the first Christmas attention should not be on the gifts brought to Jesus rather, it should be about Jesus, the biggest and most invaluable gift given to the world. That was a world of darkness that was a world which saw the segmentation; it was a world where the majority was made to feel insignificant or unknown. It was no different to the world we are living in today. Maybe the world has grown but the environment can be considered much worse than 2017 years ago. Such a world was a world in need. It was in need of a leader, a great person who could alleviate humanity – the ...