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Good morning.

If the leaning tower of Pisa didn’t lean, the chances are I would never have heard of it.

Built on land that was too soft to support its weight, it looked ok for the first five years, when it was only 2 storeys high. The builders only spotted the glitch as it got taller. I’m sure that was an awkward moment.

Fourteen 14 years ago today the tower re-opened after an 11-year, 27 million dollar project to stop it falling – one of many attempts over the last 800 years.

This massive feat of engineering means that it now leans at just 3.99 degrees –  and apparently that’s about 1 and a half degrees less than it used to.  But it still leans – and so it’s still famous.

Today, like every other day, we will see evidence that our world isn’t perfect. Mistakes will be made. Plans will come a cropper. Crimes will be committed. Harsh words will be spoken. Despite all our intelligence, the human world is still riddled with imperfection. 

But as with the leaning tower of Pisa, costly work has been done to help us. Central to the Christian Gospel is that Christ gave His life to save us from our own failures. And trust in Him brings acceptance, forgiveness and hope. We will still see evidence of our imperfection, but one day all things will be made new.

Lord, help us to be honest about our brokenness – instead of pretending it isn’t there. In this Advent season, help us to look expectantly to you, trusting that you are the perfect definition of goodness and love.  Please give us a strong awareness of your holy presence in our world, so that we may find the hope we need for today.

Amen