The First Light of Hope
Dr Justine Toh opens our Advent 2025 series with a reflection on the way love breaks through, just as light breaks through the darkness.
LUKE VASSELLA
For our seventh Advent 2025 devotional, Luke Vassella explores John the Baptist’s fiery call to repentance and the redeeming grace that reshapes our hearts when love breaks through.
Fire and Grace in the Wilderness
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
‘I baptise you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Matthew 3:1-12
Today’s reading reminds us we are accountable for how we live our lives. John the Baptist warns the Pharisees (and the rest of us) not to play games with the truth, because God is holy.
I recently took my 14 year old son on a road trip to the United States South West. We spent time in the deserts and canyons, a hostile but beautiful landscape formed by eons of erosion. Late one night we drove through the Valley of the Gods in the Navajo Nation/Southern Utah, passing a huge stone structure that appeared suddenly out of the darkness. It startled me by its commanding presence and in the same way, John is commanding our attention. We’ve got to get our lives, our priorities and relationships right. We’ve got to be honest about ourselves and our society. John spoke of the one to come after him - God’s love breaking through in the birth of Jesus - and the spirit he would bring, that is the Spirit by which we testify.
To follow in the way of Christ is to be a new creation by the gift of His grace, despite our failings, despite our nature, regardless of our effort or ancestry.
The kingdom is near.
The kingdom is here.
Watch Luke explain his song writing process here.
‘Love Breaks Through’ - words & music by Charles Luke Vassella
Who warned you to run from the coming wrath
All your best deeds are just a stained cloth
You say Abraham’s your father right down to your bones
But God can raise his children up out of these stones
You brood of vipers
Who warned you
Who warned you
Who warned you to make straight the crooked ways
Who warned you to carefully number your days
And turn from the violence, the grift and the greed
Who warned you were born from corruptible seed
Grace is the message we carry
Born of the Spirit who is faithful and true
We are the children of the one who’s kingdom has come
And His love has broken through
We testify!
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
We testify!
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
For me and you
Who warned you the kingdom of heaven is near
Who warned you to listen if you’ve got the ears to hear
The Gardener’s in the garden tending the vine
He’s looking for the good fruit, what will He find?
Grace is the message we carry
Born of the Spirit who is faithful and true
We are the children of the one who’s kingdom’s gonna come
And His love has broken through
We testify!
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
We testify!
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
For me and you
Oh you brood of vipers
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Love breaks through
Luke Vassella is a performer and singer/songwriter from Lismore, Widjabul Country. Luke‘s soulful music powerfully weaves joy and pain, local and global, faith and justice together. He always has a new song to tell an old story and regularly performs at weddings, markets and the beautiful Hinterland Chapel.
This devotional is the seventh in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2025 reflecting on the realities of our broken world along with the unshakable hope that love still breaks through. It explores how God’s love disrupts, heals, and transforms - breaking through darkness, despair, and injustice to bring light, joy, and renewal.
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Common Grace is a diverse movement of individuals, churches and communities passionate about Jesus and justice. We have come together as those from different Christian traditions who stand in the continuity of the historic Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as witnessed to in holy scripture. This series highlights the diversity of followers of Jesus across these lands. These voices may not agree with one another (or with you), but they are each an expression of longing for the God whose love we see break through in Jesus.
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