Advent Day 1 - Hope

A Thrill of Hope, The weary world rejoices  
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn  
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!  

The trees have a new lean to them.  Many of the resolute oaks have vanished from yards and parks.  The shade of their vaulted canopies no longer punctuates the ground with dancing shadows. Misplaced sandbars remain as mementos of a day we would rather forget.  Empty water totes stand as a reminder of the fragility of well-crafted lives.  We are weary, our world is weary, driven to our knees by weariness or desperation we cry out how long oh Lord will the water be off? How long oh Lord until I have some answers? How long oh Lord until I can breathe normally again, without the weight of the world on my chest?  

Through eyes blurred by weariness it can be hard to perceive where Joy, Peace, Love, and Hope are showing up in our lives.  I cling to the words of the Poet Mary Oliver in Don’t Hesitate:
 
If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy,  
don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty  
of lives and whole towns destroyed or about  
to be. We are not wise, and not very often  
kind. And much can never be redeemed.  
Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this  
is its way of fighting back, that sometimes  
something happens better than all the riches  
or power in the world. It could be anything,  
but very likely you notice it in the instant  
when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the  
case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid  
of its plenty. Joy is not made to be a crumb.  

Life still has possibility left.  There is still hope breaking through every second of every day.  The hope of seeing our favorite local spot reopening, the hope of seeing children playing together outside, laughing in the face of weariness.  When we see glimmers of hope this Advent season, it is my prayer that we might give into it, that we would be thrilled at the reality of Christ’s birth.  As we build the manger piece by piece, trusting that God will be present, and indeed already is present even if we have not yet perceived of it, may we make space for Christ to be born again in the manger of our hearts, may we be open to the transformative power of hope.

Out of the weary world comes the ringing of hope, even the rocks cry out with rejoicing for unto us a child will be born, he will shake the foundations of our world, and rebuild our hope, rebuild our very lives with his ceaseless love. If you suddenly find yourself hopeful for the future, give into that hope, cling to it with all your might, that our hope might grow into peace, love and joy this advent season.