Walk Church Sunday 27th November – Cranbrook
Advent starts with darkness, not light. So meeting at the beginning of Advent on a cold November day in the pouring rain provided a powerful backdrop for reflections that questioned God’s presence in our world.
In the rain we heard the Gospel, which reminded us of Noah and the flood. Jesus used the story to warn of grave consequences when people, in the routine of daily life, forget God. Further on and still in the rain, we prayed for those places where people in desperate need cry out in anguish: “Where are you Lord?”
One attempt to tackle this difficult question comes from a recently published book of conversations between musician Nick Cave and journalist Seán O’Hagan, Faith, Hope and Carnage. The book, which was commended by Rowan Williams, came after a period of intense grief for Cave and his family following the sudden death of their teenage son. Cave says: ” . . . . God is the trauma itself. . . perhaps grief can be seen as a kind of exalted state where the person who is grieving is the closest they will ever be to the fundamental essence of things.”
We wish you a peaceful transition from darkness into the the light of Christmas as we journey through Advent.