Love Actually?

It is one of the deepest questions people ask.

In a world marked by poverty and inequality, war and violence, loneliness and suffering, environmental crisis and political division, we can easily find ourselves wondering: Is love really at the heart of things? Does God truly love this world? And if so, where can we see it?

The Christian faith answers with a resounding “Yes!“, but it also tells us something more challenging: God’s love is not simply a warm feeling or a comforting idea. God’s love is active, demanding, disruptive and transformative. It reaches towards people and places that others overlook, challenges injustice and exclusion, and works tirelessly to bring healing and hope.

In this Advent and Christmas series, Love Actually?, we will explore some of the passages that Christians have traditionally understood as revealing the true nature of God’s love.

We begin with Jesus’ picture of the final judgement, where we discover that God’s love is revealed in the way we treat one another, especially those who are most vulnerable. We then turn to the prophet Isaiah, whose visions of God’s future show a God who refuses to accept suffering, despair and injustice as the final word. Finally, on the last Sunday of Advent, we hear Mary’s song of praise, celebrating a love that does not remain distant from the world’s pain but enters into it, overturning expectations and bringing new possibilities to birth.

Advent is a season of waiting. But it is not passive waiting. It is a season in which we learn to recognise God’s love at work in the world, to discover what love requires of us, and to prepare ourselves to welcome the One who is Love made flesh.

So as we journey towards Christmas, we ask together: Love actually? Is God’s love real? Does it make any difference? And can it still change the world?

As we listen to the Scriptures, we discover the surprising, challenging and hope-filled answer.