Lets linger on what hope really means for us this Advent Season. I would like to use some ideas from Sybil MacBeths new book, The Season of the Nativity: Confessions and Practices of an Advent, Christmas and Epiphany Extremist. Jesus was born into a time of political and social darkness. His people were in servitude to the Romans . . . They were waiting and watching and hoping for freedom from oppression. Jesus entered that world to bring hope - a different kind of hope than they were expecting. All we have to do is look around to see that there is still political and social darkness. People are oppressed, hungry and violated. Violence, greed and hatred thrive. On the surface, it looks like Jesus coming didnt really make things right. There are still many things left undone. The world is still in Advent mode, waiting for the time when all will be well. When we are tempted to look at the darkness in the world and slip into feelings of discouragement, our challenge is to trust that God is involved with us now. God sends each of us instant-by-instant invitations to partner with Him to transform the world. If we continue to look for an expected outcome, we will miss the most important part of our journey of faith. When we hope for God to finish the work begun in Jesus, we are not just wishing our lives away until the better days come. We actively wait by rolling up our sleeves and answering Jesus call to follow Him - minute-by-minute.
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 23:10:42 +0000
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