Hopefully Engaged

Advent began today – and we very nearly missed it. Only the adamant insistence of our teenage daughter convinced us to change our worship plans for the morning, to the benefit of us all. When our children were younger we regularly observed Advent. It formed a significant part of our Christmas preparation. But as the years have passed and the children grown older we have not done so well keeping this focus in our home. Although a bit surprised, I was also very pleased when my daughter insisted that celebrating Advent was important to her. She reminds us that Advent carries a special significance for those who follow Jesus Christ. Christmas is important, but let's not rush too quickly to that day. We need to stop and remember along the way.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel

and ransom captive Israel

As I listened to the words of this classic hymn during worship this morning my mind pondered the powerful message of Advent and Christmas. I've heard this message time and again from my childhood, but I cannot hear it too often. I cannot be reminded too frequently of the significance of the Christ-event. I don't get caught up so much in the images of babies lying in mangers (who, amazingly and unlike most human children, apparently doesn't cry). I no longer picture it as some perfect, silent, holy night. I think the actual event was far more humble and earthy than that – and probably a lot more human. Let's not overspiritualize the actual birth scene.

Yet, no matter how we choose to imagine that scene in Bethlehem, we must not forget that this birth marked the beginning of a radical new episode in human history. In the person of Jesus, God entered the world. God took on the sorrows, struggles, grief and pain of the human condition. We often speak of Jesus as the measure of God's love for the world, but Jesus is equally the measure of God's hope for this world – and he remains that hope in a world that continues to suffer in so many ways.

Jesus offers hope to all who suffer under injustice, oppression and inequality. He offers hope to the hungry, recovery of sight for the blind, freedom for the enslaved. He proclaims the year of the Lord's favor, in which all people are affirmed for the dignity that God instilled in them at their creation, without regard to gender, ethnicity, or any other defining characteristic. At Christmas we celebrate each year again the beginning of this radical transformation by which this world is being remade into the kingdom of our God.

In this Advent season though, we remember that this transformation remains incomplete. Yes, Jesus won the victory of death and evil on the cross and in his resurrection, an event we shall celebrate with equal joy in a few months. But here on this planet that victory remains incomplete. The world continues to suffer. Inequality, enslavement, marginalization, patriarchal power structures and a host of other ills continues to plague us as humans, both individually and socially. Christ has set us free, but we do not yet live fully in that freedom. At Advent it seems particularly appropriate to cry out as did the Israelites of old for God to come and ransom the creation, to set free once again the people of this world who still live in darkness.

Do we acquiesce to easily to the continued influence of evil in this world? Do we see injustice, inequality, oppression and other evils around us and just regard it as “the way things are”? Have we so narrowly focused on Jesus as the one who brings individual salvation that we forget the bigger picture? I fear that this may be the case. I have been challenged a lot this year to consider how I live and how I can change my attitudes and actions to more actively engage in bringing God's kingdom on this earth. I don't want my faith to be primarily a message of gloom, nor one of individual escape, but one of hope and joy and love. As a disciple of Jesus I want to radiate the hope that he brings to the world. Yes, we are not there yet. In that sense we are still in the season of Advent. But at the same time the One has arrived who can bring hope to the world and he invites us to join him in spreading this message. Let us not give in to despair or escapism. None of us can transform the entire world, but each of us can make concrete and specific choices in our own lives that will can bring hope to others. We can choose to stand against oppression, injustice, inequality and the status quo that perpetuates these things. Or we can live in our little bubble, oblivious to the darkness that persists in this world, and wait for the day we get to “go home.”

I choose to live for hope and as we finish this year and move into the new one, I want to continue to learn how I can support the dignity of all of God's children through my actions, my words and my attitudes. I'll continue to right about my journey here, but I would love to hear what my readers are doing and want to do in the coming year to bring the message of hope to a world in darkness.

I'm joining with Caris Adel and others today to reflect on Hope during this first week of Advent. See what others have written by following these great links and add your own to the list!