Today is the 3rd of December, and it is the first Sunday of Advent.
This week, we celebrate Hope as we prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming.
"As we prepare our house for the coming Christmas season, we would also prepare our hearts for the returning Christ. You came once for your people, O Lord, and you will come for us again."
- "A Liturgy to Mark the Start of the Christmas Season"
from Every Moment Holy, Volume I
Sometimes I wonder how is it possible for time to move so fast and yet here we are in December celebrating Advent. For some of us, this year might have been one filled with joy and blessings, and for others, perhaps it has been one of challenges, pain, and struggle. We have all as humanity seen the pain of those suffering through war, uncertainly, loss of loved ones, sickness, broken relationships and death.
We live in a broken world, and we are a broken people. But we have Hope. We have Hope in our Heavenly Father, so today, this Sunday in Advent, we can choose to set aside our anxious feelings, worries, and struggles and surrender ourselves to Him. We can choose to “be still.”
Psalm 85:7-8
Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation.
I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants…
Luke 2:10
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
We have been promised in God’s word that He will bring us peace, and He is our Hope.
Advent is the season of waiting, eager and anxious expectation, desire, and hope-filled longing. Let us invite Christ to come into our lives, our beautiful but broken lives and fill it with His light ( John 8:12), because He is the light of the world.
So amidst the busyness of this season, lights, ornaments, tinsel, and sumptuous feasting, let us remind ourselves of the Hope we have in Him.