Hope of the Season

Advent is a time of preparation...John the Baptist's task was to prepare the way of Jesus, the Savior. In Matthew 3:1-12 (take time to read it now), we remember what that truly means: to repent, for the kingdom of God has drawn near."

So, we turn our hearts back to God, again, in light of Christ's coming into this world. And we hope that our repentance, in fact, means something. We hope that leaning back into God's love and grace offers us a life of meaning, more so than what we turn from.

Vinita Hampton Wright of Loyola Press shares this word about Advent:


"A driving dynamic of Advent is hope. If we had nothing to hope for,
there would be no point to this season. The original hope was for a
child to be born who would bring justice and peace to the world and
who would heal the rift between humanity and God. But that larger
hope is filled with smaller ones—daily hopes that can shape us as people.

"Some hopes will shape our relationships. The Christ Child grew to be a
man who embodied forgiveness and generosity. A life of hope sees
the good in others, is patient with their shortcomings, and tenaciously
envisions them at their best.

"Some hopes will shape our work. The promised Messiah proclaimed
God’s realm of justice and mercy. No matter what jobs we do or work
positions we hold, as hopeful people we maintain fairness and integrity
as short-term and long-term goals. We make our work matter for the
common good.

"Some hopes will shape our character. Jesus exemplified hope that cultivates
true freedom. A hopeful person cannot continue in anxiety, grasping,
need for control, and habitual anger.

"How is hope visible in your life?"

We carry a hope that is full of life, one that impacts how we live, how we handle things in our life, and how we relate to others. It is a visible thing that we carry around through our interactions and our work.

Personally, I hope that the fact I am trying to return back to God in some way has a meaningful impact on how I carry myself. I want my repentance to mean something worthwhile, because it's HARD. It is hard to give up the superfluous meaning of Christmas that we learn from our culture. It is hard to give up the pressure that comes with the season. For some of you, it may be hard to be without loved ones who have passed away during this time. Returning to God is costly; you give your hope in one thing and turn it back to God. And it is worthwhile.

One of the themes of Matthew 3:1-12 is wilderness. John the Baptist is preaching in the wilderness, and he dresses and eats like a wild man. But verses 5 and 6 give us license to think that the harshest wilderness is within us. This gospel tells us that people went out to John to confess their sins. This is something that we all deal with...we sin, we see sin, and we want it out of our life. And this sermon he is preaching does not tell of what God did in the past, but what God is doing now. Us modern readers tend to place scriptures' "now" in "the past," but God's activity never stops. God keeps doing the same things (albeit in different ways). Nor is this sermon about what God is going to do some day. The Kingdom of God is at hand. 

And it is God that is at work. John the Baptist's sermon points beyond himself and to God. It is God that turns us around. It is God that hopes with us. It is God who transforms us. It is God who changes things.

Our hope is in God, who is with us, even when we try to save ourselves. Thanks be to God.

Prayer*:

Merciful God, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to heed their words and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

*From the United Methodist Book of Worship, 250.

In Christ,