ICF - Professions of Faith

Sunday 30th November 2025 - 1st Sunday in Advent

Isaiah 2:1-5; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44; Psalm 122

Psalm 122 v 1 offers itself as an obvious call to worship, expressing the joy of coming together in the presence of God. Yet its juxtaposition with Isaiah 2, injects significant meaning into its use. This creates a vision of arriving in God's Temple, not as an act of escapism from the struggles and divisions of this world, but as an expression of their resolution. Advent is a season when Christian Believers are called to live and act in anticipation of God's final coming, and so this serves as a reminder that our contemporary worship is not intended to isolate us from this world, but a means of engaging with it in the light of God's purpose and Christ's coming.

The vision of the prophet Isaiah is the inspiration behind a sculpture by Yevgeny Vuchetich which now stands outside the United Nations building in New York. Whatever its shortcomings, it is an organisation, which represents a human desire to see the fulfilment of the Old Testament Prophet's vision. In this season of Advent, they echo the vocation of the coming Jesus as Prince of Peace, reminding us that only God can ultimately bring such peace about. But does not mean that we cannot recognise and affirm those who work for peace in the here and now. Advent is a season in which we live and act in anticipation of Christ's final coming, and so a congregation might consider how those who work for peace between nations are a sign of God's purpose.

So there is opportunity to recognise and pray for the work of diplomats, peace envoys, negotiators and all who have the power to pursue peace between the nations of our world. We might also lament the plight of those caught in conflicts as we await God's coming.

The Gospel reading is seen to depict Christ's final coming, but it also speaks of how Christian believers are called to live in the here and now. It echoes contexts that speak of everyday life: sharing food, marriage and being at work in the agricultural context in which it was spoken. Without losing its primary meaning, consideration might be given how we can sometimes unexpectedly encounter the living God at work in our everyday contexts. As a people called to be alert to Christ's coming - this need not be isolated to that final coming, but also be an invitation to seek and be alert to Christ's presence in our work and our leisure pursuits in the present age.