Thought for the Week from the Rev David Jones

The statement by the Bank of England that things are going to get worse before they get better brought new jitters this week.

With youth unemployment at an all time high and the prospect of strike action by public sector workers looming perhaps we can’t be blamed in hoping for some good news in these cold November days.

There again it’s not as bad as it may seem. The tremendous response to the ‘Children in need, the record numbers at the Llanelli Remembrance service and then at the ‘Festival of light’. Despite all the bad news, there’s much that we can celebrate as a community which gives us hope.

That, of course, is the central theme of Advent. It was to a dark and lost world that the message of God’s love was revealed.

That’s why Jesus is called the ‘light’ of the world and this Christmas again we are reminded of God entering the world in loneliness and poverty as Mary and Joseph’s need for someone to care was ignored again and again. As a last resort a busy innkeeper’s conscience was stirred and the Saviour of the World was born in the squalor of a stable shed.

If times are tough then this is the message we need to hear. God is not remote and far removed from our sufferings and sorrows. The financial world may be in turmoil, there are wars raging and we all have our own anxieties and concerns. Look for the gems of hope that we see all around us and more than anything else know that God understands and cares even when we feel the world is passing us by. After all that’s the Advent message – Immanuel – God is with us!

Rev. David Jones

Click here to find out more about The Rev. David Jones.