Our readings this morning look forward with hope and excitement to a time when God’s kingdom comes: a time of flourishing both for God’s people but also for the whole of creation: the blind will see, the lame will leap, the barren places will bear fruit. However, the route to this kingdom is not the one we might expect: The flourishing described by Isaiah 35:1-10 is to be found in the wilderness, a place of hardship and trial. In Matthew 11:2-11, Jesus castigates those who travel out into the wilderness expecting to find riches and power.

Today is the second Sunday in Advent, a day when we celebrate the prophets in every generation who call us to a better future. Prophets are not always popular because they almost always call us to change. John the Baptist, Matthew 3:1-12, is pretty terrifying: munching on locusts, wearing camel skins and warning us of “the wrath that is to come”. He calls us to repent (literally, turn around) and do things differently, to bear good fruit.

At 4pm on Christmas Eve church is transformed for our family Nativity service, complete with readings, carols and a full cast of characters in costume.