First Sunday of Advent (HOPE)

Advent on the Christian calendar has been a time that we might describe as a season of waiting, a time that helps to build in us an awareness of what God has done in the past, what God is doing in our lives today, and what God has in store for us in the future.

It is also a time of anticipation, and when we sit in anticipation, we might also feel like we are sitting in tension. We might feel tension in our everyday lives for all manner of reasons, maybe because of the busyness of the season, maybe because of all the presents we might have to buy, maybe because we are reminded of the lives, people or things that we no longer have.

But even still, even if we sit in the worldly tensions of life, for Christians, this should still be an exciting time of year for us. Because for us, there is no amount of loss, pain, or suffering, that should overwhelm the true hope that is ours in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. In Him is true hope, a supreme hope that can never be overcome, and it is this theme of hope that is at the heart of what we will consider in this first Sunday of Advent.

This Sunday we will light the first candle of Hope, also known as the ‘Prophet’s Candle,’ and our reading from Isaiah this week is therefore quite appropriate, because Isaiah is quoted in the gospel of Mark, who speaks of the one who will prepare the way (John the Baptist), and who is he preparing the way for? For our LORD, Jesus Christ, our beacon of hope. We will explore this idea of hope from a few verses in Isaiah 40, but let me encourage you to take time to read the whole chapter if you are able.

May God bless you as you come to scripture and as you embark on this journey of anticipation and spiritual preparation.

Josh