What do we hope for?
Scripture: Jeremiah 33:14-16 (New Revised Standard Version)
"The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. And this is the name by which it will be called: “The Lord is our righteousness.”’
Today, on this first Sunday of Advent, we sit in the glow of the candle of hope. In a world that is filled with so much violence and hatred it can be difficult to lean into hope. Honestly, it can feel as if hopelessness is trying to consume us. In the face of this despair, it is not mere wishful thinking that will help. No, hope is an act of faith that requires our whole selves. Recently, when I have slipped into that state of hopelessness, I have taken great comfort in the scriptures. Stories that remind us that humans time and time again have slipped into hopelessness and God has continued to find them and offer them hope.
In the book of Jeremiah, there is a rich historical context that provides context for the above verses. The Israelites have found themselves exiled to a foreign land, Babylon, after a failed rebellion and the punishment was not simply exile. The temple that had had been destroyed and the Davidic king stripped from the throne. These blows, I can imagine, left God’s people reeling and wondering if God had abandoned them. Then comes a message of hope; hope that God is not finished yet, that God will fulfill the promises God has made, and those days are surely coming. God’s people were invited into a new hope and trust that God could restore, renew, and continue to fulfill the promises God had made.
I have learned, however, that hope in God is not believing that God will give me everything I want, precisely how I want and imagine it. God does fulfill God’s promises but they often do not look the way that we think they will. Such as God in-breaking into the world as a wee babe.
When this world wants us to slip into hopelessness, I pray we have the courage to hope in the God who is faithful and who is far craftier than we could ever imagine. May we be willing to join in with God in re-imagining how this world can be, leaning into the unknowns trusting that “the days are surely coming” when God will fulfill God’s promises.
May hope and peace be with you all this week.
All My Love,
Margaret
