I woke early this morning. I’d been up the night before celebrating with friends, and had hoped to sleep in an extra hour or so. But the light got in. The blinds in my room are a good fit—they work hard to keep things dark—but they couldn’t stop day coming. And so I found myself awake, my heart filling with thoughts of what lay ahead.
It’s a commonplace enough experience—you’ll have your own early morning moments. But it speaks of something profound, something the season of Advent prepares us to see. The dark we know—the dark of the world, of injustice, of suffering, of sin, yours and mine—we know this (strangely, we can even get comfortable in it, set our clocks by it). But with the coming of Jesus, “The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it”—the light gets in. Once we know this, we can’t ignore it. We’re awake, our hearts filling with the knowledge of what is ahead.
That’s the experience of Jesus’s followers down through the centuries. Indeed, as I reflect my lead article Throw Those Curtains Wide, the Church is a morning people, a people of Advent. They’re those who understand that, as the Apostle Paul puts it: “the night is nearly over; the day is almost here”. This is why Christians have hope even in the face of great wrong, writes Sonya Lewthwaite, because they know their “experience of joy insists on the provisional nature of injustice, which cannot prevail where God is present.” As Annette McHugh (neé Pereira) puts it in our Field Notes interview, Christians learn to see “moments of light breaking in all over the place”.
We’re delighted to be able to feature this interview with Annette. She has extensive experience of working in and around government. She reflects on wrestling with difficult questions of faith, and on the importance of public and political engagement. Our practice this edition is the Benedictus. The words of Zechariah, this prayer has long been a morning prayer of the Church: “the rising sun will come to us from heaven / to shine on those living in darkness”. May it shape and serve your morning prayers this Advent. Also, for your inspiration, we give you the Venn Advent Playlist for 2024, lovingly curated by Ashleigh and Ryan Lang. They suggest it’s “best experienced by finding a quiet spot at dawn, turning off shuffle, and listening as the sun rises.” To top this edition off, we offer you an excerpt from The Vital Art of Celebration—head to the Venn store to get the full Christmas essay (it makes a great stocking-filler, by the way).
We’re grateful for your support, your prayer, and your interest in the work and mission of Venn. As you head into this Advent, may the Lord draw you more deeply into his life—and may what you find here be deeply encouraging!
Ngā mihi nui,
Dr John Dennison
Editor, Common Ground
