Advent: The Candle of Hope

And now remain these three:  faith, HOPE, love…

1 Corinthians 13:13

Advent wreaths have their origins in the folk traditions of northern Europe, where in the deep of winter people lit candles on wheel-shaped bundles of evergreen. Both the evergreen and the circular shape symbolized ongoing life. The candlelight gave comfort at this darkest time of the year, as people looked forward to the longer days of spring.

Later, Eastern European Christians adopted this practice. By the sixteenth century, they were making Advent wreaths much as we know them today. An advent wreath traditionally contains four candles-three purple and one rose. The three purple candles in the Advent wreath symbolize hope, peace, and love. These candles are lit on the first, second, and fourth Sundays of Advent. The rose candle, which symbolizes joy, is usually lit on the third Sunday.  A fifth candle of white is placed inside the Advent wreath. This candle is lit on Christmas Eve and symbolizes the birth of Jesus Christ.

CANDLE OF HOPE

Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will hope.  May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”   Romans 15:12-13 

The Apostle Paul states that Hope is… “an anchor to the soul.”  Faith and Hope lie embedded deep within us, securing us through the storms of life.  When you feel helpless (and hopeless) inside, putting your trust in the Jesus of Christmas will give you these four things: 

HOPE for H elp

·         Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.   Hebrews 4:16

HOPE for O pportunity

·         “For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

HOPE for P ower

·         …He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  1 John 4:4

·         My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.  2 Cor. 12:9

HOPE for E ternity

·         For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 

We have this hope that burns within our hearts:

Hope in the coming of the Lord.

We have this faith that Christ alone imparts:

Faith in the promise of His Word.

The Killing Fields

Thou shalt not kill...

Exodus 20:13

My daughter chose accounting/auditing as her career path, and she currently works in Washington, D.C. as a consultant to the Federal Government.  She visits a wide variety of government facilities in her daily activities - one of which is the Navy Yard.  Thankfully, she was not there last Monday when Aaron Alexis began shooting in Building 197.  When all was said and done, he had taken 12 lives, then forfeited his own in a hail of gunfire.  His goal:  to kill as many people as possible.  His motive?  Unknown.

This morning, masked gunmen burst into a shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 39 people and injuring many others.  Their goal:  To kill as many people as possible. Their motive: To force Kenya to withdraw troops from Somalia.  Seemingly endless examples of such tragedies are plastered all over the Internet and the news.

When God delivered to Moses the "rules"  (10 commandments) that should govern human existence, the sixth one in line was You shall not murder.  That heavenly regulation has become earthly law in every civilized nation on earth.  Outside of a war zone (a different topic altogether), no human being has the right to take another human being's life.  I do not have the authority to decide when your life should end, and vice versa. 

More than that - I do not have the right to force you to pay for my pain.  Every person on earth will, at some time in their lives, experience pain, heartache, tragedy, and grief - some far more brutally than others.  Every life is marked with grievances, slights, rudeness, and inequality.  Believing that hurting my neighbor will somehow lessen my misery is an emotional error with devastating consequences.

Jesus said, Come unto me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. God offers comfort and peace in our times of depression, anguish, and pain.  Anger and a weapon (of any kind) only bring further misery and suffering.  

Goodbye...

O Grave, where is thy victory?

O Death, where is thy sting?

1 Corinthians 15:55

 

When you have worked in the same local church for as long as I have (almost 12 years), sooner or later you are going to have to bury someone that you strongly care about.  Such will be my experience on Monday.  One of our congregants died unexpectedly this week - a woman who has been a fixture at the church for years.

She didn't like me much when I first arrived, and if I am honest, I would have to say that the feeling was mutual.  But over the years, time and circumstances forged a strong friendship between us, one that I believe we both valued.  More times than I can count, she came to me with the question, "How can I help?"  She developed a strong affection for one of my high school voice students -  a young man with a wonderful baritone voice.  Almost every time she saw me, she would ask about him, and inquire as to his needs.  When her family revealed her personal wishes for the participants in her memorial service, this young man's name was toward the top of the list.

This precious woman endured tragedy after tragedy that would have felled many others - men or women.  Clinging to her faith, she fought her way through the grief and the tears.  She will long be remembered as the one who arrived on Sunday morning with a smile on her face and an inquiry as to everyone's health.  She was the little lady with the apron pockets full of goodies, surrounded by children as she made her way through the fall bazaar booths.  She loved to laugh and she loved to hug.  She was full of hope, happiness and life and will be greatly missed.

As my vocal student and I searched for the right song to sing in her memory, I came across an old hymn that suddenly seemed to fit just right.  It was the way she lived her life, and the way she met her death.  

Until Then

 

My heart can sing when I pause to remember
A heartache here is but a stepping stone
Along a path that's winding always upward.
This troubled world is not my final home.

But until then, my heart will go on singing.
Until then, with joy I'll carry on.
Until the day my eyes behold that City -
Until the day God calls me home.