December 2025

Dear Friends,

Very soon we will all be putting up our advent calendars to begin the countdown to Christmas, waiting in anticipation for Christmas Day. In church we light a candle on the Advent wreath on each of the four Sundays of Advent, and a fifth white candle on Christmas Day.

Each candle represents one thing the angels promised ahead of Jesus’ birth. Each Sunday we give thanks for that thing God promises to enact. We also remember the biblical characters who played a part taking us further to the fulfilment of each promise.

The first candle represents the promise of Hope. Hope is essential for good mental health, and Jews and Christians intentionally cultivate a habit of hope, waiting for God to bring about a future better than the past. I’ve said that a necessary part of Advent is waiting. This better future was begun when Jesus was born in a stable and will be fully realised when Jesus returns in glory and we wait for this time.

The second candle represents the promise of Peace. The Angels who foretold Jesus’ birth proclaimed that he would be the Prince of Peace. In Hebrew, the word for peace is Shalom, which is roughly translated as restoring what is broken or a state of being whole or complete. Jesus’ followers are called to live as people of peace and to play a part in bringing about Jesus’ reign of peace in the here and now. At the new creation Jesus will establish universal peace, fully completing the work of peace.

The third candle represents Joy. The angels announced that Jesus’ birth would bring great joy. At Christmas Jesus came to earth in human form. Christians believe that in Jesus, we can be joyful because God is always with us through the Holy Spirit and we can find joy in his presence with us. Even if we face great adversity, we find a sense of joy at having God’s love and care.

The fourth candle represents Love. Jesus was born at Christmas because God loves us and was and is committed to being with us and caring for us. Jesus’ love was intentional. At times, all of us fail to be as nice as we should be. The word used for love in the New Testament is Agape which is an intentional love which reflects the decision to go on loving when love is undeserved. Jesus loved us and thought you and I were worth dying for, so he came to live amongst us born as a baby in a stable.

The fifth white candle represents Jesus as light of the world. This is lit on Christmas Day and is in the center of the wreath.

Happy Christmas to you all and a Blessed 2026!

Larissa