The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid,

the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.

The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together;

and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Isaiah 11: 6-9

This is the time of year when we look at the Old Testament prophecies, which, in part, seem to point to the coming of Christ or to the “end times.” The prophecy from Isaiah 11 was one of the readings last Sunday, the 2nd Sunday in Advent. As I read it I thought, but I am seeing this prophecies fulfilled, albeit it only partially, this week.

In the week that saw the death of Nelson Mandela the whole world seemed to rise up to celebrate this extraordinary man as if he were their own – and in a way, Mandela does belong to the whole world, even though South Africa has first claim on him. Like all truly great men, he rose above those things that separate us by working for justice for all people, including care of those who were oppressed by being oppressors. One of the things said about him was that he had integrity. In his wake he created integrity. His “Rainbow People,” have shown to the world that the wolf can live with the lamb and the leopard lie down with the kid. What we do not see and can never know is the internal struggle, courage and perseverance – and above all ability to stand in the other person’s shoes; that it must have taken to become the person he was.

Great people become icons for the whole world. They give us something to live up to. They give us hope because they make us realise it is possible to become truly “human” human beings. Thus we honour Gandi, Martin Luther King, Mandela and others. Their nationality doesn’t matter; their religion doesn’t matter (even though deep faith made each of these men), the colour of their skin doesn’t matter. What matters is that they see beyond the individual and the insular to the community of humankind.

For me Mandela reflects what it is to be a son of God. We know that South Africa has huge problems and that with the passing of time it could go backwards as well as forwards. But for a moment we have seen and watched lived out the kingdom of God and its values of mercy, forgiveness, justice and freedom for all people. The world has come together this week in joy and thanksgiving for the hope Mandela has given us. This is a real Advent message.

Advent – the beginning of the Church’s year and therefore the time to make resolutions. One of mine is to get back into writing my weekly blog for the Launde Abbey website, which you will know, if you follow it, I have been an abject failure at doing for the last few weeks. Like most people, every now and again I get overtaken by the demands of my diary and certain jobs are put off. This is what has happened to the blog.

It shouldn’t be so – we all know this. None of us should be so over-committed in our work and, of course, very often what we are having to do in that work is not the creative, life-giving things but the dreary, life draining jobs. This is dangerous to us because it affects our sense of well-being, our contact with ourselves, with God and with others.

To the rescue like a knight in white armour, comes the wonderful season of Advent. It demands of us that we slow down, that we give the Spirit time to grow something new deep within us, that we watch and wait. Like a mother who does not feel the baby move within her womb until about 17 to 18 weeks, we may not sense the new life within immediately but if we watch and wait on God, if we give God time, space and attention, he will deliver.

The waiting is not a doing nothing but a conscious allowing of God to grow something in us. The expectant mother knows all the time that something is happening deep inside her. She lives both with a vital sense of the present moment, of all that is happening in her, and with anticipation of what is to come. The present and the future are held in tension. And she watches: watches for the signs of change and new life.

If you are not already preparing for the new life which is at the heart of the Advent season by giving yourself more time to watch and wait, might I suggest you put some of those dreary, life-draining jobs to one side and turn to the one thing necessary, attention to all that God wants to give in the present moment that will lead in due course to new life. Watch for it and wait.