Today is the first day of advent: a time of waiting and expectation, preparing for, and reflecting on, the coming of Jesus. In this season, while physically preparing for Christmas, with trees, lights, carols, family traditions and delicious foods, we also prepare our hearts, contemplating the hope, peace, joy and love that Christ is.
In the 12thCentury, Bernard of Clairvaux emphasized Christ’s coming in three ways: in Bethlehem as a baby in the manger, in the second coming at the end of the age and in His presence in our lives every day.
HOPE.
Hope is more than wishful thinking. It is not simply a feeling. It goes beyond mere optimism. Hope is confident expectation. In the New Testament there was a confident expectation that the Old Testament prophecies of a Messiah would be fulfilled through the birth of a Saviour.
As believers, we have a confident expectation that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus. We confidently expect that this child who was born in Bethlemen will come again to reconcile this world. We confidently expect the gift of eternal life.
How can we hold on to this hope in a world filled with disease, death, despair, division and injustice?
It seems inevitable to lose hope. However, without hope, life loses its meaning and purpose. We must cling to hope. Jay Y. Kim describes hope as follows: “It doesn’t ignore fear, anxiety, and doubt; it confronts them. It holds steady, clinging to peace in the midst of chaos. Through life’s many treacherous storms … hope is buoyed by something greater that has happened and something greater that is going to happen again.” (from: Hope: An Expectant Leap)
Hope requires a trust placed in a loving and merciful God who is the same yesterday, today and forever, who knows the beginning from the end and who keeps His promises. Hope in the one who has come and who will come again. Hope in the one who is present in our lives, whose Spirit dwells within us.
St. Augustine prayed the following: “How much you have loved us, kind Father! If your Word had not become flesh and had not dwelt among us, we would have had to believe that there was no connection between God and humanity and we would have been in despair.”
Our hope is in God alone.
"But the Lord watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine. We put our hope in the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone." (Psalm 33:18-22)
Cling to hope.
O Come Emmanuel.
