A Day for Hope
Some of you may have heard of Advent and some of you may not have so for all intensive purposes I will briefly explain what it is. It starts four Sundays before Christmas and involves candles...no not Hanukkah, Advent. It is a Christian tradition of marking the Christmas season by take these four weeks leading up to Christmas to remember the real reason for Christmas...the first coming of Jesus and the anticipation that we have of His return. Now I am not about to get into a huge theological lesson or debate, but I am mentioning it because today at our church my husband and I were asked to light the first candle on the Advent wreath as this is the first week of Advent. The candle for this week is the Hope candle. And this has got me thinking.
I have only recently in my life been exposed to the tradition of Advent but I have found it to be a very helpful practice for me this time of year. Life is so busy and holidays...especially ones like Christmas have tendency to make our lives even busier and I often lose focus of why I am even attending all these parties, building so many tasty treats, buying presents and decorating my home. That is why I have found Advent to be such a great thing for me to celebrate as it returns my focus to Christ and His purpose for coming to earth to begin with. It is not about the busyness, or the decorations; however, they can be a wonderful part of the season, but ultimately it is about the Hope that God has given me.
I am not sure if any of you have ever felt hopeless, it is a dreadful feeling. To be hopeless is feeling empty, listless, useless... (just look it up in a thesaurus). It is the feeling that things will never change for the better, it is a terrible feeling that I know I have at times felt, but the truth I remember today is that because of God and His love for me, I am never without hope. He offers so much more to us them we could ever be capable of on our own efforts. He sent us hope through Jesus, we no longer have to walk this difficult world alone but He offers us love, forgiveness and relationship not just a bunch of rules to be obeyed.
As a woman who has just had a baby I am well aware of the feelings that come with the birth of a new life. And in amoungst the plethora of emotions you feel as a new parent there is a feeling of Hope, newness and expectation of what that new little person will one day become and accomplish. This is a similar feeling that this time of year brings us. Celebrating the birth of Christ, something new, something wonderful. So whether you are a hardcore Christmas fanatic, or a disheartened humbug discouraged by the rampant consumerism that is so evident this time of year, take a moment to stop and think about where your Hope comes from and how to can share a little Hope even in our crazy world.
I apologize for the sermon but it is Sunday what else do you expect :) it is just something on my mind.
Today: finding my reason for Hope this season and preparing my heart for Christmas
I have only recently in my life been exposed to the tradition of Advent but I have found it to be a very helpful practice for me this time of year. Life is so busy and holidays...especially ones like Christmas have tendency to make our lives even busier and I often lose focus of why I am even attending all these parties, building so many tasty treats, buying presents and decorating my home. That is why I have found Advent to be such a great thing for me to celebrate as it returns my focus to Christ and His purpose for coming to earth to begin with. It is not about the busyness, or the decorations; however, they can be a wonderful part of the season, but ultimately it is about the Hope that God has given me.
I am not sure if any of you have ever felt hopeless, it is a dreadful feeling. To be hopeless is feeling empty, listless, useless... (just look it up in a thesaurus). It is the feeling that things will never change for the better, it is a terrible feeling that I know I have at times felt, but the truth I remember today is that because of God and His love for me, I am never without hope. He offers so much more to us them we could ever be capable of on our own efforts. He sent us hope through Jesus, we no longer have to walk this difficult world alone but He offers us love, forgiveness and relationship not just a bunch of rules to be obeyed.
As a woman who has just had a baby I am well aware of the feelings that come with the birth of a new life. And in amoungst the plethora of emotions you feel as a new parent there is a feeling of Hope, newness and expectation of what that new little person will one day become and accomplish. This is a similar feeling that this time of year brings us. Celebrating the birth of Christ, something new, something wonderful. So whether you are a hardcore Christmas fanatic, or a disheartened humbug discouraged by the rampant consumerism that is so evident this time of year, take a moment to stop and think about where your Hope comes from and how to can share a little Hope even in our crazy world.
I apologize for the sermon but it is Sunday what else do you expect :) it is just something on my mind.
Today: finding my reason for Hope this season and preparing my heart for Christmas
I don't think I have ever heard Advent explained. I always wondered why they were called Advent calendars. And how they started. I love the idea of it.
ReplyDeleteI know that without Hope, I would be so very very lost. I am so so so thankful that I have Hope in God!