Waiting in Hope - 1st Sunday of Advent, 2023

Today is the first Sunday of Advent— the first season of the liturgical calendar. Advent is the four Sunday season of the Christian year that leads us to Christmas and the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the Christ.

Advent is the season of waiting—living in the midst of what is as we wait for what will be but is not yet.

Most of us do not like waiting. Waiting means someone or something else is in control, dictating what is. In addition, we are incapable—dare I say powerless—to change what is. Waiting feels like we are stuck in what is—think: “I’m stuck in traffic.”

The Advent season teaches us that waiting is an inescapable part of life and of the spiritual journey, in particular. In addition, the season reminds us of hope. Hope is the forward look of faith. It is faith looking beyond what is to catch of glimpse of what will be.

The traditional theme of the first Sunday of Advent is hope. Hope is grounded in the faithfulness of God. It is the fruit of the steadfast, faithful love of God that never gives up on or abandons us. It is the logical conclusion of a love that never stops loving, of a love that will not stop working until it has transformed what is into what will be.

The season of Advent is based upon the experience of the ancient Hebrew people who, in the face of foreign domination and in the midst of exile, longed for a king, anointed with the Spirit, who would free them from their enemies and restore their nation. In the midst of what was, they looked through the eyes of faith to what they believed would be because of God steadfast, faithful love. The Advent season draws on the Hebrew scriptures, pointing us again to their vision of what will be but is not yet as expressed by their prophets.

For the prophet Isaiah, hope was a vision of a world at peace—what scholars have referred to as the peaceable kingdom. At least five different times, the prophet clearly stated his vision—Isaiah 2:2-4; Isaiah 9:2-6; Isaiah 10:33-11:9; Isaiah 61:1-11; Isaiah 65:17-25. His description in Isaiah 10:33-11:9 was of a world .  .  .

·       Shaped by the knowledge of and love of God. “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the seas” (Isaiah 11:9).

·       Permeated with peace—peace that extends even into the animal kingdom. “The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together. They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain” (Isaiah 11:6, 9).

·       Built upon the ways of God: righteousness, equity, truth, faithfulness, justice (Isaiah 11:4-5).

·       Under the leadership of a Spirit-empowered king who knows, delights in, and is guided by the ways of God (Isaiah 11:1-5).

·       Shaped by the work of the Spirit. “The spirit of the LORD shall rest on him” (Isaiah 11:2). “The spirit of the LORD God is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me” (Isaiah 61:1).

His vision was of a God-shaped world—a world shaped by the character of God, that followed the ways of God.

Jesus referred to this God-shaped world as the kingdom of God. It was the central theme of his ministry. His thinking—and consequently how he lived—was shaped by the character of God and the ways of God. He taught his disciples the ways of the kingdom (Mark 8:34; 9:33-37; 10:41-45) and urged them to give themselves to living the ways of the kingdom. “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

In his letter to the churches of Rome, the apostle Paul spoke of hope in more personal terms. “We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God” (Romans 8:2). The phrase “the glory of God” refers to the character of God. Paul understood the end result of God’s transforming work in our lives—what he called salvation—was the engraining of God’s character in the depths of our being. He understood that, before the Spirit is through working in our lives, we will be transformed into the likeness of Christ. We will live the ways of God. Being like Christ, possessing the character of God in the depths of our being, sharing the glory of God is our hope.

Paul’s understanding of our hope plays into Isaiah’s vision. A God-shaped life contributes to the creation of a God-shaped world. As we are conformed to the likeness of Christ, we live the ways of God—what the prophet identified as righteousness, equity, truth, faithfulness, and justice. We live out of a servant spirit, using power to serve. We relate to others out of grace and forgiveness. We view and value, accept and embrace every person as a beloved child of God. We live the ways that lead to peace (Luke 19:41-42). We live as peacemakers in the world (Matthew 5:9). As we live the ways of God, we help create the God-shaped world the prophet Isaiah saw through the eyes of faith.

The season of Advent reminds us of our hope in Christ. Our hope transforms our waiting—how we live in what is. Our hope lifts our eyes beyond what is to see, through the eyes of faith, what will be. Our hope points us back to the God who, out of his steadfast faithful love, is working to bring into reality what will be. As the Advent season leads us to the Christmas season, it reminds us how far God’s love will go to bring our hope into reality.

And so, another Advent journey begins.