Advent 1: Hope
The tradition of lighting the candles on an advent wreath throughout the Christmas season can sometimes get lost in the hustle and bustle. It becomes a task that we check off at church each week instead of focusing on the true meaning of what the season is about, Jesus Christ, our Savior. The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means a coming, approach, or arrival. When we have guests come to our home, we anticipate their arrival. We prepare our homes to feel welcome by turning on the lights, lighting a candle, maybe even dusting the furniture and sweeping the floors. As we anticipate the arrival of our King on Christmas morning, we also prepare. We prepare our hearts and minds by focusing on His attributes as we light a candle for each Sunday leading up to Christmas Day. Each Sunday another candle is lit which means our advent wreath gets brighter and brighter. The hope, peace, joy, and love that Jesus brings us also makes our lives brighter. So, as we prepare for this Christmas, I would like for us to truly focus on these attributes of Jesus that He so freely gifted us through His birth, death, and resurrection.
The first advent week focuses on the hope that Jesus’ birth brought to the world. We find the sign of hope before Jesus was even born into this earth. In Luke 1, the angel Gabriel went to Mary to announce that she would give birth to the King of the World. The angel says, “You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” Mary very much knew the stories of King David and knew all about the many sons of Jacob and how their tribes changed the history of her people. Amongst all her feelings of fear and bewilderment, she found hope in the fact that someone was coming to save her people. God was sending a Savior to them. She did not know how this would be done, but God was speaking to her and giving her hope in what was coming.
While Jesus was here on earth and lived out His ministry, He gave hope to thousands of people through His teachings and miracles. Take for instance the leper who Jesus healed. The Bible does not say how long this man had leprosy. I can take a wild guess and say that if this man was so desperate that he sought Jesus out and asked for healing, he probably lived with this disease quite a while. When a person contracted leprosy, they were considered unclean and were sent away from their family and friends to live in a community with other lepers until their bodies healed itself of the disease or they died. Who knows how long it had been since this man had seen his family or had felt the touch of another person. He was all alone in the world. He could not get any work, he did not feel love from anyone, and he had no idea how long he would live this way. More than likely, the man was hopeless. When the man heard of the miracles Jesus was performing, he had to seek Him out. He simply asked Jesus in Matthew 8, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” He did not ask Jesus a question, he already knew that Jesus could perform this miracle. Jesus had already brought this man hope before He even performed the miracle of healing. But Jesus did the unthinkable, He touched the leper with His bare hand. This disease was highly contagious, but Jesus was not afraid of contracting the disease. Jesus was not concerned with Himself, He thought only of the man who sought Him out because He was his only hope. Jesus said to the man, “Be clean!” and the man was immediately cleansed of leprosy. Imagine the hope that this man was filled with after this miraculous healing. He had hope that not only will he live to see his family and friends, but the Messiah was amongst them. He now had eternal hope because he was drawn to faith in Jesus Christ.
We separate the holidays that celebrate the birth of Jesus at Christmas from the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter, but you can’t have one without the other. The birth of Jesus brought our hope into the world. Without Jesus’ birth, we would not have Jesus’ resurrection. The resurrection of Jesus brought our hope of eternal life and the hope for the day of His return. When He left His throne for a time being, He fulfilled our hope of life with Him as His Spirit dwells with us while we here on earth and the hope that one day we will live in perfect eternity with Him. In Luke 21, Jesus speaks of His return. He says, “At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” As we look at the world we live in and become fearful of what else is to come, we can be filled with hope because we are getting closer to the return of our Messiah. Instead of being fearful, we can live confidently in the hope that Jesus brings us in His return to bring justice and restoration to His people.
As you enter into this Christmas season, what is keeping you from being hopeful? What makes you feel hopeless?
Focus on the hope that Jesus freely gifted you with and brings you every day of your life. Our hope lies in Him; His birth, death, resurrection, and His future return.
“For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Digging Deeper:
What does advent mean to you in this very moment? Is a distant thought or does it permeate your heart, home, and actions this Christmas season?
How can you be hopeful in Jesus this Christmas?
How can you spread the hope of Jesus to others?