We’re in Advent, the great front porch of the Christian year, a movement into the bright hallway of God’s purposes fulfilled in Jesus. It’s a joyous time, when the longing of God’s people who waited for a Saviour becomes our longing too, as we wait for the return of the Lord, the resurrection of the dead, and the restoration of all things. And it’s a time when we’re made sensitive to what can sometimes seem hard to come by: to the reality of Christian hope—its strange, joyful confidence. It is the time in the year when we sit ourselves down beside Simeon, who waited in the Temple courts day after day to see what God had promised—the coming of the Saviour. Indeed, this is as good a season as any to learn what it is to wait for the Lord.
It’s Simeon and the prophetess Anna whom Michelle Young invites us to keep company with in this edition’s lead article. In “With Those Who Waited: An Advent Journey”, Michelle draws us into Scripture to consider these two witnesses to God’s salvation in Jesus. By their lives they remind us what it is to wait for God. Drawn from Venn’s 2025 Advent celebrations, this Advent journey, curated with the help of Donald Goodhall, features word, Scripture, music and song. John Dennison picks up the theme in his reflection “What it Means to Wait”, a thought-provoking meditation on why we might “wait on the Lord”—and how this is different from waiting for, say, a bus, or a bucket-list.
We’re delighted to feature original art in this edition. Colourist painter Michelle Christofferson has created “Untitled, No.1” from The Freedom Series, a stunningly alive diptych arising from a meditation on the story of the Prodigal Son. Mark Edgecombe is back with a poem from the pre-Christmas kitchen: “On Childcare” serves up a blend of gentle humour and grit. Finally, we’re grateful to be able to feature our Field Notes interview with Max Masters. This is a beautiful, candid reflection on God’s mercy, patience, and profound action in our lives to give us life in abundance.
As many of you will know, some of what you read in Common Ground can be savoured and enjoyed in print. These books and devotionals also make great gifts. We’re offering a pre-Christmas discount of 15% on all our resources. Just head to the Venn store to explore our offerings there.
May the Lord awaken you to new hope as you wait on him this Advent! And may God guard, keep, and refresh you and your households this Christmas and summer.
Ngā mihi nui,
Dr John Dennison,
Editor, Common Ground.
