PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Dear Parents, Students, Staff & Friends of John Therry
Advent started last Sunday, 28th November and concludes on Christmas Eve, 24th December. This beautiful image is painted by William Holman Hunt and is titled "The Light of the World”. It hangs in Keble College Chapel in Oxford. This was one of the places I visited on my leave earlier this year.
Advent is the season where we wait and watch, to be ready for the Lord. The image is Hunt's interpretation of what this arrival might be like. It depicts Jesus arriving at night – a symbolic showing of His seeking entry at the lowest and darkest times for us.
Jesus' way is lit by a lantern, to a door that is overgrown with plants – the door has not been open for a long time. The healthy plants show us the time of year when harvest is near. Jesus is crowned and robed, a King wandering at night through the darkness to find us. He does not seek fanfare but merely to encounter us – all of us.
The lantern indicates He illuminates the way for those He encounters, and dispels the dark places we have in our lives. He does not leave us in darkness but comes to us in the dark of night.
Finally, a significant detail of the painting is the lack of a door handle, it can only be opened from the inside, by the owner, after the invitation from Christ.
I wish all families a happy and Holy Advent time.
