{"id":7342,"date":"2025-12-19T13:34:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/?p=7342"},"modified":"2025-12-19T13:34:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T13:34:26","slug":"advent-sunday-30-12-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/2025\/12\/advent-sunday-30-12-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"ADVENT SUNDAY 30 12 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

ADVENT SUNDAY 30 12 2025<\/strong><\/p>\n

FIRST READING: Isaiah 11.1-10<\/strong><\/p>\n

NEW TESTAMENT READING:<\/strong> Romans 13.11-end<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOSPEL \u00a0<\/strong>Matthew 24.36\u201344<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Today is a very special Sunday, four Sundays before Advent we begin the season of Advent. The word \u201cAdvent\u201d is derived from the Latin word\u00a0adventus<\/em>, meaning \u201ccoming,\u201d which is a translation of the Greek word\u00a0parousia<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The one who testifies to these things says, \u2018Surely I am coming soon.\u2019 Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!\u2019 (Revln 22.20), This is the last prayer of the Bible and it became the first prayer of the church.<\/p>\n

Why are we anticipating the second coming of Jesus Christ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018They said, \u2018Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.\u2019\u2019 (Acts 1.11)<\/p>\n

On the ascension day when Jesus was taken up to heaven the angels announced, \u2018They said, \u2018Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up towards heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.\u2019\u2019 (Acts 1.11). Besides the during his ministry, Jesus himself at several times announced about his return. The church stands on this foundation that Jesus is going to come again to judge the world.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How will it be on that day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jesus gave some idea how it will be when he is going to come again, \u2018and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
\nThen they will see \u201cthe Son of Man coming in clouds\u201d with great power and glory\u2019.
\n(Mark 13.25,26). Our Lord Jesus also said, \u2018Then they will see \u201cthe Son of Man coming in clouds\u201d with great power and glory.\u00a0 Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven\u2019. (Mark 13.26,27).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

St. Paul while writing to the churches about the second coming explained the scene, \u2018For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel\u2019s call and with the sound of God\u2019s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.\u00a0Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord for ever\u2019 (1 Thessalonians 4.16,17).<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

When is this going to happen?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lord Jesus also said the timing of his return, no one knows, even he does not know. It will be moment defined by God the father. \u2018But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.\u2019 (Mark 13.32).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Why has this not happened yet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter addresses people in the church who were dismissive of the belief in the second coming of Jesus and therefore he wrote, \u2018\u2018First of all you must understand this, that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and indulging their own lusts and saying, \u2018Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since our ancestors died,\u00a0all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation!\u2019\u2019\u2019 (2 Peter 3.3,4). Peter in his epistle clarifies that,<\/p>\n

\u2018The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you,\u00a0not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.\u2019 (2 Peter 3.9).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What will happen to those who are redeemed by Jesus Christ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There are two glorious promises in the New Testament about the state of the redeemed people of God. St. Paul writes, \u2018When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory\u2019. (Colossians 3.4).<\/p>\n

John tells us in his epistles that when Jesus is revealed the faithful will be like him. \u2018Beloved, we are God\u2019s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he\u00a0is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is.\u2019 (1 John 3.2).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So what should we do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

As people who believe in Jesus we are called to keep alert the way we are living.<\/p>\n

\u2018Beware, keep alert;\u00a0for you do not know when the time will come.\u2019 (Mark 13.33).<\/p>\n

Jesus our Lord invites his disciples to be ready and be awaiting to meet him when he comes again, \u2019You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.\u2019 Luke 12.40<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ADVENT SUNDAY 30 12 2025 FIRST READING: Isaiah 11.1-10 NEW TESTAMENT READING: Romans 13.11-end GOSPEL \u00a0Matthew 24.36\u201344 \u00a0 Today is a very special Sunday, four Sundays before Advent we begin the season of Advent. The word \u201cAdvent\u201d is derived from the Latin word\u00a0adventus, meaning \u201ccoming,\u201d which is a translation of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7342","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7343,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7342\/revisions\/7343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/social.stedwardnewaddington.org.uk\/wp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}