Advent Reflection Week One (Hope)
Jeremiah 33:14-16
“The day will come, says the LORD, when I will do for Israel and Judah all the good things I have promised them.
“In those days and at that time
I will raise up a righteous descendant from King David’s line.
He will do what is just and right throughout the land.
In that day Judah will be saved,
and Jerusalem will live in safety.
And this will be its name:
‘The LORD Is Our Righteousness.’
Jeremiah 33:14-16 NLT
Sometimes I think we live in an age now of unprecedented corruption, deception, and chaos. We are constantly having to choose between “lesser of two evils” leaders and we long for someone we can really trust. But none of this is “new.” As Christians journey through the church calendar each year, we always end up again in early December, reminding ourselves that the hunger and thirst for righteousness has been felt deep within for centuries and millennia.
We are blessed to have the first coming of the Messiah, to know the personal name of God’s royal savior, “Jesus.” But the work is not finished. Jesus is continuing to work out God’s will of spreading justice and righteousness throughout the land.
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the nature of time. We live so much of our lives waiting. Waiting for a meeting. Waiting in line. Waiting to get somewhere. Waiting on test results. And it can feel like waiting is doing nothing, but there are different kinds of waiting. There is wasteful waiting, where we are just not paying attention (like when you forget to take something out of the oven). And there is also active waiting, like a husband being extra attentive to his wife during her last days of pregnancy, excited about the baby coming. Or excitedly waiting at the airport to pick up your beloved college kid for the holidays.
Even, and especially, two thousand years after Christ ascended into heaven, we wait in the hope of righteousness, believing that God still has a great plan for this world that will all make sense in his timing. Speaking of which, I want to share one of my new favorite songs (below). It is comforting to me to know that I am not in charge. We leave the timing of redemption and renewal in the capable hands of God. There is faith in that kind of relinquishment. Holy waiting is not nothing. It is confidence in the goodness of God, especially knowing the gift of the Messiah that has already been given.
Great Expectations
Here is a wonderful set of videos from Seminary Now that were filmed a few years back. I was glad to contribute on the theme of hope for week 1.
Thank you for these reflections. I recently read Henri Nouwen's piece about waiting in the Plough collection of essays for Advent, and your piece brought me right back to it (it's my favorite essay in the book up to this point).
I have a question that stems from what might be embarrassing ignorance. As someone who moved from being an active Catholic (where church traditions directed everything) to an Evangelical church (where church traditions barely registered, to the point that I never heard Advent mentioned), I'm curious: how did so many Evangelical churches come to embrace Advent, even adopting traditional elements like weekly themes (as you do here with hope for week 1)? I realize the answer might be long and complex, so I'd be grateful if you could point me toward some helpful sources to explore on my own. Thanks for helping set Advent in motion with this piece.