Is All Hope Lost? An Advent Reflection

“I just can’t wait for this year to be over” or “I’m decorating early because I need something happy this year”. Have you also said something along these lines? I have been caught in conversations saying good riddance to 2020. I am looking forward to a new year in hopes that 2021 will bring back some sense of normalcy in the world. While this year has brought hardships and uncertainties, it has also brought a lot of good things to my life which I am very grateful for. We just spent last month being thankful and yet as the year is drawing to a close, I know many of us are hoping for something better next year. Perhaps no more Covid, no more masks and social distancing. Schools back in session and seeing grandparents. Jobs to come back. These are real issues. Real things that need to change and I am not trying to downplay their significance. Loved ones have died, jobs have been lost and families are struggling to keep food on the table. If there has ever been a time to reflect on where we are putting our hope, this has been the year. I have been tempted many times to think “2021 will be different.” “Once the vaccine comes out, everything will be normal. We just need to wait for the vaccine.” Perhaps that is true. Maybe the vaccine will make a huge difference in 2021, I absolutely pray it does. But what if 2021 is harder than 2020 was? What if the vaccine takes longer or something else that is tragic is waiting just around the corner? What will happen to your hope and your confidence? Will they be shaken or destroyed?

            I have been thinking a lot about this as the Advent season has begun. To tell you the truth, I had never practiced or even heard of Advent until we joined a non-denominational church in Chicago, but I have grown to love the rhythm that it sets for my heart each year. If you are unfamiliar, Advent follows the church’s liturgical calendar marking a season of waiting and expectation for Jesus’ birth at Christmas. The Israelites waited expectantly for the promised Messiah for years. They read the prophecies and yearned for the Messiah to come and establish his kingdom on earth. Today, in the traditional Advent practice you may read scriptures each day that walk through the story of earth’s creation, fall, and the promised Messiah to come. But now we also live in expectation of a second Advent. We wait patiently and expectantly for what is promised yet again when Christ will return and establish his eternal kingdom on earth. We eagerly wait with joyful expectation for God’s final judgment and for a time where believers will spend eternity in his presence, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Rev. 21:4). Imagine a time when you are literally in the very presence of your Creator who loves you and there is no more pain or sadness. No more sin or death or destruction. This is the good news. The good news that death isn’t the end. That the earth as it is now is not our home. That Jesus, the Messiah was born of a virgin and lived a perfect life, yet he bore all of our sin and shame and took our punishment for us so that we could have everlasting life in Heaven with him. 

            I have been reflecting on the promises of God and something stood out to me differently this time. It is the promise that God is with us. He is omnipresent meaning his presence is everywhere. We cannot escape or hide from God. Why is this good news? Look at the overall narrative of the Bible. In Genesis we see that the Spirit is hovering over the waters (Genesis 1:2), then God created Adam and Eve and walked in the garden with them (Genesis 3:8). Yet because they chose to rebel against God, sin entered the world and caused distance between humans and God. Yet the Lord continued to appear and intervene in the history of mankind all throughout the Old Testament and even made his dwelling place in the temple. God still wanted to be nearer to his people. The Christmas story is about the Son of God coming down to earth and taking on flesh to live among his people. He came to rescue us and restore the world. And yet God still wanted to be closer. We see in Acts that when you believe, the Spirit of God comes and dwells inside of you. Do you see what good news this is? In every other religion, god is distant, and the people are constantly striving and straining to get close to him. Yet Yahweh, the true God does not stand at a distance, but comes down to earth, lays down his life for his children, and then sends his Spirit to come and dwell in their hearts forever changing them. We are sealed by his Spirit meaning that NOTHING – no power can take away your salvation. There is no more striving and straining. As believers, we are promised an inheritance and if God has promised it, it is as good as done. This is the hope that we have. The truest hope that there is. We have no idea what tomorrow will bring. What will happen during the next presidency or what will happen with Covid. But we are promised that we will not go through it alone. 

            So, if you are feeling alone, sad, or hopeless this season, remember that we have a living hope. I saw a quote yesterday from Sam Allberry that captured this so well, “Come all ye faithless, joyless and defeated! Christmas is for the weary, for the messed-up, and for the broken. If your life isn’t Instagrammable, Christmas is for you.” Yes and amen. If you feel worn down and defeated, there is good news for you. The God of the universe stepped down from Heaven to be close to you. He offered his life as payment for your sin, paying the ultimate price to bring you salvation and everlasting life with him. When the enemy tries to tell you that you are alone or that God has forgotten you, it simply is not true. The Christmas story and Advent reminds us of that good news. We patiently wait together and say again, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel”.