There is good news for the city of Zion.
Shout it as loud as you can from the highest mountain.
Don’t be afraid to shout to the towns of Judah,
‘Your God is here!”
Look! The powerful LORD God is coming
to rule with his mighty arm.
The LORD cares for his nation,
Just as shepherds care for their flocks.
He carries the lambs in his arms,
While gently leading the mother sheep.
Isaiah 40:9-10a, 11.

Reflect on the word GENTLE for a few moments.

“Your God is here!”

Who would believe such a headline?

Perhaps journalists would have to be assigned to writing a small column for an inside page; or spin-specialists would have to generate stories that make it controversial and sensational. Unsourced leaks would be used to make the news marketable to an over-informed age who would find it hard to consider it as credible news.

What sources do we look for to validate such a headline? Would we accept the words of the writer of Isaiah who depicts God carrying a lamb and gently leading a mother sheep?

No trumpets. No cataclysmic occurrences. No cosmic revelations, earthquakes, tidal waves or tsunamis.

A mother sheep. A baby lamb. And our God.

Dare we believe such a headline?

Help me God not to be afraid to shout the good news: “You are here!”

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© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera

For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.

When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.

The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.

A time of Advent reflection

Our LORD and Ruler, your name is wonderful everywhere on earth!

I often think of the heavens your hands have made,
And of the moon and stars you put in place.
Then I ask, “Why do you care about us humans?
Why are you concerned for us weaklings?”
Psalm 8: 1, 3-4

Reflect on the word ME for a moment.

Each morning as I get ready for the day I look into my mirror and see myself – and wonder. What did I look like the moment I was born? Did my mother smile to see me or were there other emotions?

I’ve heard words such as: “God loves you”, “God cares for you” through my growing years.

Really??

Reflected in the mirror I see times when I looked obnoxious, hurtful, manipulative, stubborn and the words go on. At other times I see a caring, happy, compassionate and sometimes sorrowful face. Who am I? Which of these faces is the real me?

The phone rings. Someone wants to connect with me. I move away from the mirror and pick up the phone. I wonder which “ME” is connecting with the caller.

Outside my window a king parrot looks at me for seed. The first spring daffodils sway in the wind. The rhythms of the day never change. It tells me that the rhythms of my life do not change and that all the “faces” in my mirror blend to make ME.

Thank you for making me who I am and loving me warts and all, God.

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© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera

For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.

When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.

The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.

Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are one of the smallest towns in the nation of Judah.
But the LORD will choose one of your people to rule the nation
Someone whose family goes back to ancient times.
Like a shepherd taking care of his sheep,
This ruler will lead and care for his people
By the power and the glorious name of the LORD his God.
His people will live securely, and the whole earth will know his true greatness,
Because he will bring peace.
Micah 5: 2, 4-5a

Reflect on the word PARTNERSHIP for a few moments.

Across the world people march for peace, pray for peace, campaign for peace.
We invite warring parties to round-table conferences for peace.
World leaders jet across continents in missions for peace.

There is a yearning for peace among the people of the world.

But can there ever be peace, if justice is not established? Can there ever be justice without equality and freedom? Can there ever be peace unless we become partners with God in making peace happen?

Being a partner for peace confronts us with the cost of risk. It challenges us to be active participants in the struggle for justice, in the restoration of dignity and truth. It is a powerful force for reconciliation and renewal.

God’s peace can be achieved when we recognize our call to work in partnership with God, to heal creation.

As I prepare for the celebration of the birth of the Prince of Peace, may I walk in the security of God’s promise for peace.

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© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera

For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.

When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.

The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.

This king won’t judge by appearances or listen to rumors.
The poor and the needy will be treated with fairness and with justice.
His word will be law everywhere in the land,
And criminals will be put to death.
Honesty and fairness will be his royal robes.
Isaiah 11: 3b – 5

Reflect on the word PEACE for a few moments.

The teacher looked across the classroom of bent heads. She moved between the rows as the children painted their understanding of PEACE. She saw many landscapes in colors of gentle blues, greens and yellows. She wondered about the gentle images she saw. Landscapes devoid of humanity. She reflected on the images of destruction that filled TV screens every day. Did young people believe that there would be peace if there were no human beings?

She wondered if she should begin to guide her students into putting people into the beautiful landscapes. Show them the need for people to be instruments for peace. That it takes people to demonstrate that peace is more than an absence of war and violence.

She paused. She smiled as she acknowledged that perhaps she needed to start with herself.

Lord All-Powerful, I don’t always make the connection between power and peace. Make me a builder of peace that the whole of creation may become a Temple of Peace to you.

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© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera

For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.

When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.

The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.

The LORD said: I made a wonderful promise to Israel and Judah, and the days are coming when I will keep it. I promise that the time will come when I will appoint a king from the family of David, a king who will be honest and rule with justice. In those days Judah will be safe; Jerusalem will have peace and will be named “The LORD Gives Justice.”
Jeremiah 33: 14-16

Reflect on the word JUSTICE for a few moments.

Every three years we prepare to elect leaders for our nation who we hope will be honest and govern with justice. I hear leaders speak of our being a just society. They claim that right values form the basis of who we are. Yet our leaders form policies that create injustice in the name of peace and justice.

Shouldn’t we find ways for spending our dollars in the pursuit of justice? While we deplore and condemn violence and injustice in other lands and societies, shouldn’t we deplore and condemn injustice in our own land and commit ourselves to working for peace with justice in our country?

Working for justice is not easy. It requires us to:

• Listen and not dismiss voices calling for justice.
• Respect genuine differences and see them as strengths.
• Bring healing to the memory of scars.

“The LORD Gives Justice”. Can we believe the words of the prophet Jeremiah in this 21st century?

Lord of Unbroken Promises, give me the wisdom to discern how to make the world safe for our children.

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© Ranjini Wickramaratne-Rebera

For a number of years, our dear friend Ranjini Rebera wrote Biblical reflections for the use of Gungahlin Uniting Church and others, usually for Advent and Lent. We were privileged to receive these, as Ranjini had a working history of writing and teaching on a global stage. Each time she completed the considerable work on one of these studies for us she would announce firmly, ‘That’s it. That is the last one I’m writing. No more. End of story!’ But as Advent or Lent came around again she would start hinting that she’d had an idea for a reflection – and she would write another one.

When she completed a Reflection for Lent 2021, we were not to know that this really was the last one. Ranjini died on 13 October 2021. We miss her intellect, her leadership, her vivid personality, her artistic gifts, her deep faith and her pastoral heart. We have lost some colour from our world.

The Gungahlin Uniting Church Worship Team, where Ranjini served for several years, offers Ranjini’s study material, first produced in 2015, as we give thanks for her life shared among us.