Advent, Week 1: Dusting Off The Hope Diamond

Today's readings: Ps 102, 148, Amos 5:1-17, Jude 1-16, Matt 22:1-14

The first week of Advent is traditionally the week of Hope. That being the case, today’s scriptures may leave us thinking: “… Really?” The psalmist is so distraught he is feasting on ashes and slaking his thirst with tears. Amos addresses the many injustices experienced by the poor and the nearly invisible status of the hungry. Jude warns the recipients of his epistle they are surrounded by false teachers and Christians who pervert the Gospel to serve their own appetites. And Jesus’ parable about a wedding banquet? The guests not only don’t show up, but they murder the bearers of the invitations. And the poor guy pulled in off the street is tossed into the outer darkness for not wearing the right outfit. These readings seem to offer little if anything to inspire us.

Suffering. Injustice. Hunger. Bad religion. The collapse of civil society. Sound familiar? If these and other problems still dog us two thousand years after the messiah showed up, what cause is their for hope?

Plenty, it turns out. These things are addressed in the scriptures because God weeps and rages with us that the world is so broken. We can have hope because God doesn’t want us to remain in this brokenness. Our own dissatisfaction with the present world, mirrored in these scriptures, tells us God is bursting through in our own hearts and hopes for a better tomorrow. Who doesn’t appreciate a good inspirational story? Hearing how someone has transformed her life by refusing to let go of hope connects with us on a deep level because the God at our center promises the same for all of us. Jesus is not the savior of the never-been-broken, but of those needing resurrection. Jesus comes back for the one lost sheep.

Hope is a precious resource, but like diamonds it may require a lot of time, pressure and digging to emerge. Unlike diamonds, it can be found by anyone. When we dust off hope and polish it up, it shines not just for our own enjoyment but as a light to the world.

Comfort: Even buried hope can be recovered.

Challenge: Pick an inspirational movie to watch and discuss with family and/or friends.

Prayer: God of Hope, may others find hope in my example.

Evening reading: Ps 130, 16

Discussion Question:When and how has hope carried you through difficult times? Please comment.