Raise your head

Have you ever had a deep sense of foreboding? A feeling that something bad is about to happen.

As we look around at the state of our world, many people are feeling this sense of foreboding. The cost of living crisis,  climate-related natural disasters, political upheavals in every nation; all these signs might naturally cause feelings of confusion, distress, and fear of what is to come.

But in our Gospel passage today Jesus points us to a different emotion - one of hope.

He tells us to respond to the signs we see around us, not with fear and foreboding, but by standing up and raising our heads.

As we look to Jesus - the promised Son of Man - we are reminded that He is our redeemer and Saviour. The one whose life, death and resurrection has elevated us to become Children of God and joint-heirs of God's kingdom.

At Advent we are reminded to make room for Jesus to rule in every area of our lives.

So as we face challenging financial times we can still be empowered to be generous, to be kind to neighbours and foreigners in a divided world, we can stand up for justice for those who are vilified and neglected by society.

With Jesus living through us, we can become living signs of hope so that those who are feeling fear and foreboding about the future, might see us and the way we live our lives, and be drawn to the hope we have.

When we look to what is coming upon the earth, we don't have to fear, because we are looking to the coming of Christ and God's kingdom of peace, joy and love.