There is H.O.P.E.

Today is the Second Sunday of Advent. In the Christian world, followers of Jesus use this four weeks before Christmas to prepare their hearts to celebrate the birth of the Christ Child.

I have been thinking about the state of our world and how the Christmas story speaks to it.

One word keeps coming to my mind: hope.

Here is a simple acrostic to help me convey my thoughts about hope this year.

H – Healing. Our world desperately needs healing: physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, relationally and spiritually. This past year has seen the distance between people grow exponentially. It is heartbreaking. Our growing dis-ease appears to be becoming chronic and systemic. When a human body begins to experience the failure of various organs we say it is in system shutdown. Unless interventions are drastic and pointed, the physical body will shut down and die. I fear that unless we experience some pointed interventions our society will shut down and die. Christian HOPE is built on the Good News of the Christ-child who came as a healer: physically, emotionally, mentally, socially, relationally and spiritually

O – Opportunity. While the current state of affairs looks bleak and catastrophic, it is also a time for opportunity. Just as a blade of grass finds the courage to grow through the crack in the concrete, so small acts of kindness spring up in faith to shine a light in the darkness. The birth of the Christ-child was a sign in the darkness. Christian HOPE is built on The Good News of the Christ-Christ who provided opportunity by invitation – Come to me all you who are wearied and burdened by life.

P – Potential. Some people see the current state of affairs in very dire, dark terms. This is not unlike the viewpoint of those who lived in the times when Jesus was born. In the first century, citizens of Palestine did not see much potential for their lives. They were under the thumb of autocratic, narcissistic rulers. Where was any potential for a change to come from? Hope was declared by Jesus’ mother, Mary, in her song often called the Magnifcat which proclaims that what is on the top will slide to the bottom and what is on the bottom will be elevated to the top. In Jesus, there is the potential of hope for those who find themselves on the outside of society.

E – Experience. Some Bible scholars and preachers are very skeptical of experience. They believe that propositional truth or statements are all that is needed to defend the Christian faith. Yet, clearly, when the Gospels record the ministry of Jesus, they talk about his actions such as healing various illnesses and filling boats with fish. If you saw your boat overflowing with fish you would be have an experience of abundance and blessing. When hope is fulfilled, we experience the joy of hope. Experience the joy of fulfilled hope this season of Advent.