Advent Hope Part One

 

Yesterday in worship we lit the candle of “hope” to begin the season of Advent. 

 

To light one single candle called “hope” can feel foolish or might just be the most fitting metaphor of the world as we know it right now.  One single candle doesn’t seem like much.  Afterall, one strong breeze or rush of wind could extinguish that candle in a blink of an eye.  So, too, with hope.  One hurried or hateful word can sometimes cause our hope to crumble.  We can be in a state of contentment, then one phone call that a family member is in the hospital can cast us into chaos.  We might cling to hope that way we would with sand or water, but in tight fists small grains of sands or droplets of water find ways to escape despite our best energy.

 

Sometimes with hope, the more we cling or control, the more elusive this state of being can be.

 

Perhaps hope is not about what we do, but about what God offers to us. 

 

I love the following wisdom from author/poet Jan Richardson ~

 

"The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before ... What is possible is to not see it, to miss it, to turn just as it brushes past you. And you begin to grasp what it was you missed, like Moses in the cleft of the rock, watching God’s [back] fade in the distance. So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running. For rushing. For worrying. For pushing. For now, stay. Wait. Something is on the horizon."

 

Today, I invite you to light one candle in your home and say the word, “Hope”.

 

What leaps within you?

What stirs within you?

 

Try your best to tell your rational, reasonable brain, “Would you kindly be quiet whilst I listen to hope for just awhile?” Our brain loves to point out all the flaws and fumbles when we try to hope.  Our brain loves to remind us of what happened last time we hoped, and things came crashing, crumbling down; never mind that one moment when you hoped, and life took a new direction and dimension in an amazing way.  I sometimes call my brain, “Mr. Bossypants,” because it seemingly always wants to offer all kinds of evidence and objections – while on the surface these might seem helpful – underneath our “rational” minds are trying to cover the fear of failure or making a mistake.  But I believe your heartfelt, honest response to those two questions above are vital for Advent this year.  So thank your brain for its input, but tell him/her/it that for now ~ you and the candle are going to sit silently in hope – in anticipation – to ponder for the sake of God who moves at a slow, savory pace.

 

May your Advent pondering of hope today usher you into an encounter and experience of the Eternal Hope that is always with us softly singing.

 

Prayer: God let the seeds of hope guide me this Advent; let me water hope through my words; tend to hope through my actions; and trust in You that the world is changing within me and around me by Your hope that has no end.  Amen.