Gospel Reading: 1. John 4: 7-13 

Dear Community of Christians,

We are now in the midst of the 12 Holy Nights, a time that lies ‘between the years’. The outer life, the busy world has not yet picked up speed again. This offers the chance to take more care of our inner world and to turn our thoughts inwards.

And then we can find an incredibly rich world as it is laid out in each of us. In the gold ground of our soul lies the treasure of our infinite capacity for love.

In Christmas lies the original source of all love, when the pure soul of the Christ Child of the Luke Gospel, is ready to be born on earth. The power of the love of the Child Jesus is based on complete selflessness. This selfless openness and love made the inner space as a then-future vessel of the solar powers of Christ.

This power of selfless love is the first thing with which we are received with on earth when the mother envelops us with her love, and gives us warmth, security and full attention.

Now it is up to us to pass on love in the broadest sense to every human being. That is certainly a very difficult task, especially to include also the one who does evil.

Gospel Reading: ​John 21: 15–25 

Dear Community of Christians,

In the presentation of the child Jesus in the temple we meet two people: Hanna the very old widow and Simeon the most pious person in the land. When Hanna saw the child, she recognized the appearance of his heavenly splendor and even foresees the salvation for the world will come from this child.

And also, Simeon, saw the clear purity and the divine appearance of this child.

Why we are told in detail about the encounter of these two people with this child? With this encounter we can unmistakably recognizes that an old world, without strength for the future, meets the new impulse that will renew the world.

In the individual and in the view of humanity as a whole, growing old is inevitable. Because we have used up our physical strength, never can our physical childhood and youth powers retrieve.

And yet today we can experience many rejuvenation forces in the old grown humanity. This child has prepared a vessel for the rejuvenating powers of Christ to enter into the earthly physical world.

​Whoever can fully absorb the powers of Christ becomes, like this child, a vessel for the renewing powers of a humanity that has grown old. Only by absorbing the all-pervading, rejuvenating Christ forces can humanity, prevent that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ from having been made in vain.   

Gospel Reading: John 21: 15–25 

Dear Community of Christians,

John the Gospel writer mentions clearly, his testimony is the truth. At a time when the world is struggling for truth, no Christian will deny the truth of the Gospel of John. And so, his important last words in the Gospel are of all the other things that Jesus Christ did, that would be written down in books one after another, the world cannot take in those books.

A mysterious word. 

But when we are deeply imbued with the truth that Christ is present in all human hearts since the resurrection, the word loses its mysteriousness. 

Today we can look back over 2000 years on a large scale and recognize the unbelievably great works that have been accomplished by people in word and writing. Here is just one representative of the many who, with and through Christ in their hearts, have handed over their works to the world of live for the earth.

In the time of the cruelest racial persecution in USA, Martin Luther King called out to the people:

"Love must guide our actions. Throughout the centuries, the words of Jesus should echo in our hearts today. Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who insult and persecute you. If we fail to do this, our protest will end up like a meaningless drama on the world stage of history and the memory of it will be wrapped in the ugly garment of shame”. 

Those words are written in the live sphere of the earth.

And so, for the future every single person can take part in writing, through the deeds, in word and action, the books that will fill the world through and with Jesus Christ.

Gospel Reading: Luke 2: 1-20

Dear Community of Christians,

if we live in a family or a community language creates the bridge to the other human being. Most of the time, this bridge is built from our everyday language. At the same time language also builds up our personality which has its basis in our spiritual-human constitution. This means the words that make up our language are also a bridge to our higher being. This Higher being is influenced by all our cultural life, prayer and meditation.

What happens when language loses its spiritual quality? Does this affect the ethical and moral content of our character? Has man then lost the access, the bridge to the spiritual world?

​When in our Epistle the Creator’s healing word is spoken, draws near, the spiritual world tries to find an opening to the human soul. Is this the attempt of the spiritual world to prevent Christ's language, Christ's word from being lost in the maelstrom of the modern world? This is also connected with the hope of all hierarchies that there will be families and communities in the future who will preserve and keep the Word of Christ alive, kindling the language of the spiritual world in their innermost being.

Gospel Reading: Matthew 1: 1–25

Dear Community of Christians,

Let us imagine an angel appears in our midst at this very hour.

We would be shaken to the core.

We would experience total confusion.

Yet which message would the angel want to tell us? Are we prepared to hear it?

​With certainty, the angel brings the message that the Christ power approaches the earth again with the overflowing of light and love. It is the Grace of the open Cosmos of the Holy Night. Even when we don’t see or hear the angel’s message, it surrounds the earth. Whatever we experience; love, compassion, fervency, is the Angels’ message and mystery during this Holy Night. That is what can accompany us through the year.

If you come to the Christian Community in Ireland you might discover we put up a very different kind of tree with symbols, roses and candles. In this video, which we created last year, Monica Hannaford gave an introduction to the anthroposophical Christmas tree and its symbols. Enjoy!

​Gospel Reading: Luke 21: 25-36

Dear Community of Christians,

Has it become real in these last 2 years that we understand the Apocalypse words much more concretely?

As the Gospel says: "And human beings will lose their heads for fear and expectation of what is breaking in upon the whole earth.”

Fear and anxiety have paralyzed the whole world. On the surface, it was the fear of getting sick by contracting a virus. But behind this fear of illness lies the ultimate fear of death. This fear is a primal one, living more or less intensely in every human soul. It is important to admit this. This begins a crucial process of self-discovery.

​Perhaps in the course of acquiring self-knowledge we discover that we have no clear idea what happens after we die. With our everyday selves we have a completely buried awareness of it. We have actually lost the knowledge that this world of death, and that which exists beyond it, is a realm to which we human beings belong to whole on earth. When we have lost of our trust, our clear consciousness of the spiritual world. Our thoughts are bound to the material which brings about a second crucifixion of the Christ in the spiritual world. Advent is a time for reflection. We could fill it with questions about the knowledge of man and his place in the cosmos, questions for Anthroposophy, a living being from which answers might come.

A deep certainty can arise through this process of reflection that the world of the spirit, the world into which we enter with death, is filled with light, love and life-giving power. Thus prepared, we will be strengthened to "escape all that lies ahead without harm and be able to stand before the revealing Son of Man".

 Gospel Reading: 1. Thessalonians 5: 1-11 and 23-24

Dear Community of Christians,

The letters by Paul the Apostle are Christian testimonies from the first human being fully imbued with the power of Christ. His soul-awakening words are imbued with the deep knowledge that with the Christ mystery, the spiritual sun power has entered into the earth. From now on, this sun power can shine as an individual sun in every single human heart. But it can only happen if we go through our life truly awake, and not asleep.

With the lofty, spiritual goal that Paul puts before the eyes of the Thessalonians, one has to ask how can it ever be achieved by us materialistically inclined people.

​Different personalities in many different cultures of the recent past have shown us that it is possible.

What distinguishes them is a pronounced self-discipline, their willingness to walk a path of practice, and to wrest this path from an often-difficult destiny. Through Rudolf Steiner’s words we can say of such a path of practice that “ideas become ideals and out of this activity lifeforces will be created”.

Then it becomes possible to do the good for the sake of the good. Such extraordinary people have wrested their steeled willpower from their weakness; they did not spend their lives sleeping and or dreaming. In contrast to being attracted by the evil in the world, it can be a help to look up to such outstanding personalities who have walked their lives fully awake with consciousness.

Gospel Reading: Luke 1: 26-38

Dear Community of Christians,

The appearance of Angels is not something to be taken for granted, then, or today. But nevertheless, they are a clear reality. Not taking the angelic vision and its message seriously has consequences, even if they bring good news. Zacharias had doubts and had to experience the consequences by falling mute.

In our time Angelic messages are much more subtle and therefore not so easily perceived. And yet the Angels are active every day, without ceasing. They are by our side and without their activity we could not accomplish anything on earth. Sometimes they appear almost in physical form, especially when they have protected us from great danger. 

I think, even when many people don’t want to believe in angels, and though they have angelic encounters, because of materialistic thinking they fear they fall into illusion. Still, deep in their soul is a subtle awareness that there are forces which keep them alive and which protect them in many ways. 

We can try to reframe the term ‘angel’ into the broader thought of ‘spiritual forces’. Our world is going through a dark, dark time. But without the feeling that there are spiritual forces working in the human soul, on the threshold of consciousness, and beyond purely materialistic thinking, our life would be not livable.

​We must actively cultivate a feeling for these angelic spiritual beings, working in us and between us. This relationship and working together forms the basis for the world’s future evolution.