Advent Hope

Here we are again, at the start of the liturgical year, and the beginning of the season of Advent. I’m struck in reflecting on my blog, how often I write about Advent — more than any other liturgical season! I suppose that is in part because it arrives in winter for me, here in North America, and the ever darkening days and cold weather leads me both to introspection and to searching for hope.

Hope is hard to find in the midst of a world on fire with war, with climate catastrophe, with polarization, with democracy failing. And yet… and yet Advent reminds me that there is light even in the midst of the cold and dark.

One of my former students, a lawyer and peace activist, writes about finding hope in this way:

“To me, the hope lies in the surprise. God subverted the faithful’s expectations. Rather than an earthly king draped in dazzling robes and adorned with jewels, a little brown baby was born to an unwed mother and a poor father, tired and scared immigrants on a long journey, seeking a place to rest.”

May you each find hope in surprise this season, and may you light a candle to remind you of the light that shines forth in the dark.