Blog
Bill Stevens—Hope: A Reflection of the First Sunday of Advent
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- Category: Blog
- Published: Sunday, 28 November 2021 09:00
Is hope perhaps the least understood and over simplified reflection of the Advent Season?
When you ask Wikipedia, how does it describe hope? the answer is “...hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large.” Hmmm...
How many times have we hoped for those “positive outcomes” but without faith? As a result, we’ve surrendered our hope and succumbed to a state of unfulfilled longing?
We’re not alone! For hundreds of years the people of Israel had hoped for a word from God but He had been silent. You see? It’s complicated!
Isaiah actually told them what was coming but lacking faith, they lost hope and sunk into a multi-generational, directionless, despair. And then something miraculous happened.
With no more warning (than a few wonderous signs!), hope was coming to earth in the form most likely to embody it, that of a newborn baby. Look at a baby and you will see, not just the hope of a parent but of a generation, because every newborn carries with them the seed of potential.
Similarly, in the weeks leading up to Christmas we won’t see a baby, we’ll see a mother filled with expectation and hope for her child’s potential. For she has been told that her child is the son of God and like every hope we harbor, she has great expectation for positive outcomes.
And that, brings us to Advent and the reason that we begin with Hope.
It’s an opportunity, to enter this season immersing ourselves in a hope like Mary’s, filling ourselves with anticipation, preparing with faith to celebrate the miraculous birth!
But, let us be forewarned that our much hoped-for miracle may come disguised as a baby in a lowly manger.
Then, let’s continue to hope that we experience the fulfilment of God’s promise in this season and throughout our lifetimes, sharing it with all the nations so that we may be part of the most positive outcome in history.
