First Sunday of Advent
28 November 2021
Readings
5 Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire. 6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
– Isaiah 9:5-6 (NIVUK)
but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
– Isaiah 40:31 (BPT)
For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
– Jeremiah 29:11 (BPT)
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
– Romans 5:5 (BPT)
For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’
– Romans 15:13 (BPT)
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
– 1 Coríntios 13:13 (BPT)
Reflection
Biblical hope is the confident expectation of what God has promised and its strength is in His faithfulness.
What has God promised, and therefore, what are we hoping for? In the Old Testament, Israel was hoping for their Messiah, the king who would restore their nation, bring justice, and rule in righteousness. But instead of receiving their Messiah, God’s people were given silence, for 400 years.
From the last words of Malachi until the angel Gabriel spoke to Zechariah, God seemed to simply stop speaking. And His people had to wait. They had to keep hoping that God hadn’t left them, hadn’t forgotten about them and hadn’t changed his mind about them. It was hard to keep hoping. Some became tired of waiting and turned to other things or to nothing at all. Others lost their hope in the Messiah but became obsessed with their rules and regulations and they turned their faith into a ritual. But there were others who waited, who never lost their confident expectation that one day God would speak again, and so they waited. Men like Simeon and women like Ana waited patiently until they were very old, never losing their hope that they would see the Messiah. Couples like Zechariah and Elizabeth served and prayed faithfully hoping that they too would hear God speak again. Young people like Mary and Joseph still had hope that God loved them and would rescue them.
God had planted hope in the hearts of those who loved him and trusted him, and one day, he planted the seed of Hope in Mary’s womb, the Hope that would not only save Israel but would save the whole world. And Hope was to have a name, Jesus.
Isn’t it incredible that the first people to know that Hope had come were men sitting in the darkness watching their sheep? Brought to total alertness as the shepherds saw a bright light and angels singing and worshipping God. All the years of waiting in silence were over!
Isn’t it amazing that wise men from a far-off country saw a bright light in the sky and followed it as hope stirred in their hearts? And that’s what hope does, it pierces the darkness with its light. Jews and Gentiles, moved by light and by the miraculous, so that they could have an encounter with Hope.
Hope,Jesus, started life as we all do, as a little baby, but as he grew, lives were changed, miracles were performed, people were fed, wrongs were made right, those imprisoned in their sin and shame, in their illness and psychosis were freed. Hope was here and was fulfilling the promises of God.
Our hope today remains fixed on Jesus and on the promises that he will come again, not as baby, but as our redeemer, the One who will make all things new, who will restore us to God, and who will wipe every tear from our eye as we see Him face to face.
On this first Sunday of Advent, we light the candle of hope to remind us of our longing that Jesus will come into the world, bringing justice and peace, comfort and healing.
– Connie Main Duarte
Each Sunday of Advent and at Christmas we will reflect about Jesus first coming and what that means to us:
Hope – Peace – Love – Joy – Jesus
These reflections are available in Portuguese and in English.