Hope

When I was growing up, my church would celebrate Advent by having families stand on the stage and read a short script before lighting that week's candle. One year, our family was asked to light the pink candle. My younger brother, who was born tongue tied, still had a speech impediment; and we still reenact the moment of lighting the candle by saying "Today we wight the pink candew of joy." Even this past Friday, my father quoted this over dinner as my now 25 year old brother gave his obligatory chuckle. The story is one of many that I have of growing up celebrating Advent; and since growing up, there have been many years where I did not celebrate Advent, and I always missed it.

Today, we celebrate the first Sunday of Advent, a day that is remembered by Christians around the world as a day of Hope that Christ will return. As we wait for his return, this hope drives us to do the mission of the Gospel. It keeps us vigilant and helps us remain in the light. With it, we look forward to a time where war will end and peace will endure. Without it, we have no promise worth living for.

Advent is a time of waiting. We wait for Christ's second coming, but there was a time of Advent where the world waited for his first coming. This time began after the first sin but before Adam and Eve left the garden. With the first sin came the need for salvation, but hope wasn't seen until the curse of the serpent in Genesis 3, "He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heal." Sin and death would be beaten, but at a cost; and the world began to hope for the one who could pay that cost.

Hope is seen again in Genesis 8. The world was going to be destroyed by water, but a remnant would be saved, and the line from Adam to Jesus would remain. Abraham first saw hope in Genesis 12 when God promised to take this childless man and turn him into a mighty nation, and he would be reminded of the hope of this promise time and time again. He shared in hope with his son, Isaac, in Genesis 22 when the LORD rewarded Abraham's faithful act of obedience and provided a ram for the sacrifice. Jacob had many opportunities to see hope as he grew, and despite the many times he took it upon himself to gain prosperity, he would eventually see hope for the promise as a man wrestling with God in Genesis 32. Judah would see hope in Genesis 49, as his father blessed him, and the scepter would never leave his hand.

Many more would see hope in the days of Moses as throughout the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, God would preserve his stiff necked people through grace and mercy, while also administering justice and showing his holiness. Hope was seen by Rahab, the prostitute who saved the spies in Jericho; and by Ruth through Boaz, her kinsman redeemer. Hope was seen by Jesse, whose youngest son, a lowly shepherd, was anointed to be king.

Hope was seen by David who slew the giant; and by his son, Solomon, who asked for wisdom. While many of his decedents would turn from the LORD, God still kept his promise and hope remained through a handful of faithful kings. Hope was seen by Jehoshaphat who repented from his wickedness. Hope was seen by Joash who followed the wise council of the priest Jehoida. Hope was seen by Uzziah whose death was mourned by the prophet Isaiah. Hope was seen by Hezekiah who restored temple worship. Hope was seen by Josiah who loved the LORD with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his might.

Hope remained despite wickedness, despite exile, despite the darkening of the temple. Hope remained as a young girl gave birth in a stable, for there was no room in the inn. Hope was realized by a handful of shepherds and by a caravan of wealthy astronomers. Hope was realized by Simeon and Anna at Jesus' dedication at the temple. Hope was realized by the multitudes, by the faithful followers, by the twelve, and by the inner circle.

Hope for the first Advent reached its end when our LORD was bruised for our iniquities and crushed for our sins. For three days, hope seemed lost, but it was realized anew as Christ conquered death and rose from the grave. The first Advent was over; and after Christ ascended into the clouds, the angels brought the news of a new Advent. Christ would return, and with him paradise.

It is important to understand the first Advent, from its inception to its culmination, for with it we see God's faithfulness to fulfill his promises, despite our incredible shortcomings. We have ultimate hope that his new promise to return will come to pass. It is also important to understand that hope is not a naive belief that something we wish for will happen in the face of the immeasurable odds. Instead, hope is the anticipation of the arrival of that which has already come to pass.

From October 1st 2006 to August 11th the following year, I learned a great deal about hope. On October 1st, Renee said "Yes" when I asked her to be my wife, and on August 11th she said "I do." For the ten months in between I lived with the knowledge of what was to come. The oh so fickle word "girlfriend" gave way to the much more secure "fiancé", but we both longed for that word to change to "wife". The closer we got to the 11th, the greater this hope grew; and as I watched her walk down the isle, I experienced the culmination of hope in a way I had never experienced before. Several times since then I have experienced hope's culmination as we unpacked the last box in a new home, and twice I have experienced it in a hospital delivery room; but nothing compares to seeing Renee for the first time in her wedding dress.

I do not find it a coincidence that Ephesians 5 uses the marriage metaphor to compare Christ's relationship with the church to that of a man and his wife. As Christians, we have said "Yes", but we have not yet said "I do." Christ has bought the church. We have salvation by faith through grace. We have complete forgiveness of our sins. Nothing can change any of that, for it is finished. Our hope now rests in the promise that Christ will return for his bride, and hope fuels the process of sanctification that every Christian is still going through. During this time of Advent it is extremely important for us to remain vigilant in the hope of Christ's return. In Matthew 24:36-44 it says:

36 But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.
37 For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
38 For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark,
39 and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.
40 Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left.
41 Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left.
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.
43 But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into.
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

In this passage, we learn that there will be no warning when Christ comes again. There is no "Save the Date". Instead, we must be vigilant not to let our guards down as we wait for Christ's return. Hope drives us to be vigilant. It drives us stay awake. My oldest daughter, Zuzu, demonstrates vigilance when she knows her grandmother is coming to visit. Renee and I have to be very careful when we tell Zuzu that Gaggie is on her way, because there have been a few times that Gaggie got caught in traffic, arriving well after Zuzu's normal bed time. When this happens, Zuzu will stay awake, because she does not want to miss even one second of time with her grandmother. Like my little girl, we must be vigilant, ever waiting, so that we won't miss any precious time with our LORD. The longer we wait, the easier it becomes to lose hope; but when we begin to lose hope, we must remind ourselves that we serve a God who has faithfully kept his promises in the past and will continue to faithfully keep his promises. If we lose hope, we will fall asleep, as the disciples fell asleep in the garden at the time Jesus needed them the most. We will cease to do the work of the kingdom. We will allow ourselves to fall into temptation and darkness.

Romans 13:11-14 commands us to make war with darkness:

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.
12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

We cannot remain vigilant in the darkness, and we cannot hope to walk in the light without first putting on the armor of light. This armor, later described as "the Lord Jesus Christ" is done through prayer and the study of the Scriptures; learning who Christ is and striving to be like him. We must be proactive to fight sin and continue down the path of sanctification. It is impossible to be both hopeful and passive. Instead, hope is a stimulant, just like the coffee that gets us through finals week; and it fuels us in our fight against the darkness. And as we fight, we hope for a day of peace, when our weapons of war will be transformed into tools for work, as described in Isaiah 2:1-5:

1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it,
3 and many peoples shall come, and say: "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths." For out of Zion shall go the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.
5 O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

During this time of peace we so hope for, there will be no more darkness. As the hymn "On Jordan's Stormy Banks" says "All o'er those wide extended plains shines one eternal day, where God the king forever reigns and scatters night away." Part of the LORD's reign will be to scatter the night away, and this involves the judgement of the wicked. There will be no more war for all who oppose God will be judged.

Psalm 122 speaks to this judgement and the peace to follow:

1 I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD!"
2 Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem-built as a city that is bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, as was decreed for Israel, to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5 There thrones for judgment were set, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! "May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your walls and security within your towers!"
8 For my brothers and companions' sake I will say, "Peace be within you!"
9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

Our time of vigilance will lead to a time of rest. Our time of war will lead to a time of peace. Our time of hope will lead to eternal fulfillment as we fellowship with Christ Jesus face to face. Today, as we remember this hope, we remain vigilant for Christ's return, and we wear the armor of light to make war with darkness. Tomorrow, our hope will culminate as Christ will judge the wicked and transform our instruments of war into instruments of peace.

It is said that this time of year breeds depression as people chase after the things of this world. We can never have enough, and people are always demanding more. I saw a picture in the newspaper on Friday of a child asleep in a shopping cart at 4 AM, all so his mother could capitalize on the Black Friday deals. The commercialization of Christmas has taken away more than the true meaning of Christmas, it has taken away all of Christmas. For many, year after year of chasing after things has led to severe discontentment; and this discontentment has taken away hope for satisfaction, for satisfaction can only be found in Jesus.

Today, if you are lacking hope in this season, I pray that you are able to find it in Christ. He has come to give us hope for a new life free of sin and death. We hope for the day that we no longer need to hope; but until then, we pray "O come, O come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel."