Christmas 2017 1 The Chronicle Rector ’ s Reflections - The Rev. Canon Susan Wells The Chronicle St. Elizabeth’s Anglican Church 5324 Bromley Road, Burlington, ON L7L 3G4 Rev. Canon Susan Wells Phone: 905-637-6335 E-mail: [email protected] www.stelizabeths.net www.niagara.anglican.ca Christmas 2017 Where Does the Birth of Christ Lead? Sometimes it is appropriate to look at the goal and then look at the steps we need to get there. Our goal is to follow Christ, to grow into the “full stature of Christ”, a journey of running and falling, of loss and hope, For the followers of Christ the Journey is led by the Light of Christ even though it sometimes feels like we are taking two steps forward and one step back. Yet nevertheless we continue to move forward. But what is the ultimate goal of Bringing forth the City of God Imagine what could happen if the world picked up the challenge to follow the words of the hymn, City of God, by Marty Haugan. Bring forth the Kingdom of mercy, Bring forth the Kingdom of peace; Bring forth the Kingdom of justice, Bring forth the City of God! On November 26, Jesus clearly shows us our role in Bringing forth the City (Kingdom) of God. Our goal is found in this week’s Gospel for “The Reign of Christ”. The reading is from Matthew chapter 25 verses 31-40. This is one of the piv- otal readings in the Bible. Jesus showed the disciples how to live and how to treat others, then passed the torch to the disciples and now, through them the mantle is passed to us. So where does our journey begin, what are the building blocks that we need to be the instruments of change, to acknowledge our dependence on God and to accept our role in bringing forth the Kingdom of God? As we look forward to Christmas we journey through Advent with reminders that Jesus the Light of the World comes to bring Hope, Peace, Joy and Love represented by the four candles of the Advent wreath, and the last candle we light at Christmas is Love which represents the coming of the Christ child to show us the way. Come Journey with Jesus this Advent and Christmas, become the Light fashioned after the Christ Child and bring Light to others as you journey to follow Christ and to accept God’s call. The call, like Jesus, to bring Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, to all you encounter on your journey. Wishing you and your loved ones a Holy and Blessed Christmas, Shine Bright Susan. ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’ s coming to you in this kingdom. It’ s been ready for you since the world’ s foundation. And here’ s why: “I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in pris- on and you came to me.” “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’ m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:31-39 The Message)