ADVENT MEANS ‘HOPE’…
‘Advent’ is the period before the arrival of a significant person or a significant event. It is meant to create a sense of ‘anticipation’. Something significant is about to happen!
I love the Advent season. I love the build up to Christmas and the sense of hope, excitement, and expectation that is created. I love getting ready for the season; the decorating of the tree and house, the baking, the cooking, wrapping of gifts. I become like a little child once again!
This Sunday, the first Sunday of Advent, we traditionally light the first candle of Advent. This is the candle of ‘Hope’.
Tradition dictates that it is a purple candle. It reminds us of the darkness of the world we live in because of the prevalence of sin, but it also symbolizes the hope that lies in God, something to anticipate and look froward to.
Hope is not wishful thinking according to the Bible. It is a sure confidence anchored in the character, nature, and promise of God. When Paul speaks of hope, he speaks of something that is guaranteed, sure, something to anticipate!
Imagine a world with no hope. Imagine the darkness where evil prevails, a world of fear and despair. For many years this was the world we lived in, but hope was birthed in God. In Genesis He spoke to to the serpent who had brought darkness into the world with the promise of One who would come, “…He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel.” (Genesis 3:115) God promised.
To the prophet Isaiah, struggling in a world lost in despair and writhing in darkness, sin, and seeming hopelessness, God promised, “Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold the virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel (God WITH us).” (Isaiah 7:14).
Again God promised, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7).
This is the language of promise, deliverance, of hope. This is the language the world needs today. This is the language we need to speak!
Yesterday I attended a funeral of a young couple tragically murdered in their home leaving behind two young children. I had officiated at their wedding, walked them through church membership, and celebrated with them at the birth of their children. This murder seemed senseless, painful, and a very real indicator of the state of our world, a world not all that different from the one Isaiah had lived in. What does one say to the parents of this couple to comfort them. You speak the language of Isaiah, the language of God – Hope. Point them to Jesus. Remind them that this is not the end of the story. Their comfort and strength is found in a hope anchored in God.
May your Advent season be full of hope as you minister to the people God brings to you. Not a wishful, vain thinking of ‘how nice things could be’, but a hope that is anchored in a merciful, gracious, loving, and ever-present God. May it inspire you, May it compel you forward. May it be the language you speak and the light that you fill others’ lives with.
“Now may the God of Hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe, so that you may overflow with Hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
