Advent's Hope

This is the last week of Advent.

Traditionally, this season is one of contemplation.

Yearning.

Anticipation.

Ever growing excitement.

The spiritual equivalent of a young child sitting in a darkened living room, captivated by brilliant Christmas tree lights reflected off dozens of shiny ornaments. If Advent were a fragrance, its name would be anticipation. 

This year, I've come to hover around the story of Mary (Jesus' Mom).

It's a very familiar scene as Luke records it. (Luke 1:26-45)

The angel Gabriel visits Mary.

Gabriel tells her she's going to have a child. God's son.

Then a few days after this happens, Mary decides to go visit her (much) older cousin, Elizabeth, who was already six months pregnant with a baby who would grow up to be John the Baptist.

Elizabeth sees Mary coming and the baby jumps in her womb "for joy."

I've tended to skip over the rest of Elizabeth's response and cued in on Mary's response (traditionally called The Magnificat.)

But not this Advent.

This time,  I was stopped dead in my tracks by the tail end of Elizabeth's greeting to Mary, which is this:

"You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."

Wow. Such a bold declaration!

If there were ever a time when we needed hope, this is it!

Trump's tweets. Mueller investigation into Russian meddling. Korean crisis. Global Warming. DACA held in limbo. A new tax bill signed into law that hardly anyone understands (including the people who voted for it).

The list goes on and it's seemingly endless.

Are you old enough to remember the old Wendy's commercial, with the spunky elderly woman who had the audacity to ask, "Where's the beef?" 

Maybe it was a simpler time. Or maybe it was the practicality of it - if you didn't like Burger King, chances are a McDonald's was bound to be across the street, flanked by a Taco Bell or Kentucky Fried Chicken at the next intersection. Whatever the fast food folks promised you, if they failed, it was no big deal. An alternative was always within walking distance.

But things aren't so simple anymore.

How do you handle an administration in Washington like the current one that can't seem to get through a day without lying about it? (It's not that I dislike republicans - it's that I can't handle consistent lying as a way to govern effectively.)

It's enough to make a person very unsettled. As in, who can you rely on these days?

Which brings us back to the main point.

Right in the middle of her own pregnancy, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and gets an incredible boost.

"Blessed are you because you believed what the Lord has said he would do."

There's a lot a person could say about that one sentence.

. Trust reaps dividends
. But it's important to know who you're trusting
. God honors his promises
. But you've got to know the promises to actively hope in them.

If you believe in God. And if you believe that God can't lie. Then you can safely put your hope in God. And by extension, God's son.

"Blessed are you
because you have believed
what the Lord has said he would do."

As we head into the final days of Advent, that is absolutely good news!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Photo Credit: top - Santa Fe Presbyterian Church
middle - praiseworld