Advent Reflections - December 3: Hope

Hope 

“Therefore the Lord himself
will give you a sign:
The virgin will conceive and
give birth to a son,
and will call him Immanuel.”

Isaiah 7:14 

Reflection

It's cold this morning. As I sat on my patio, enjoying my first cup of coffee, the chill cut through me, almost as a physical entity that invaded my spirit. I gazed upon the dark clouds that billowed above, seemingly like a warm blanket that descended and cloaked me with comfort and warmth, and the chill suddenly dissipated. Peace and tranquility overwhelmed me, as I meditated on the beauty of the changing of the season. I felt the presence of the divine, and felt a union with nature and humanity. I experienced the revelation that I am not alone. God dwells within me.        

"Immanuel, God with us." To read and meditate on these words is to know the quintessential truth of Advent. To believe in a God that is not far off and aloof but literally within us all, is to rest in the fact that we are never alone. In the fulfillment of the words of Isaiah the Prophet, God conceived a son from a young woman in little obscure town in ancient Palestine. Christ would be born into the world through the vessel of a human being, just as each and every one of us. God is truly with us, within us and the Christ nature now resides in us all. And yet, why is it then that we often feel alone during the holidays?

It's no secret that the Christmas holidays are not always an easy time for many of us. It’s common for feelings of loneliness, depression and isolation to increase during this time of year, causing many of us to feel anything but “joyful and triumphant”. When family gatherings, parties and festivities increase, unfortunately so do painful emotions. Even while surrounded by people we love the most, the stressful pace of the holidays can make any of us feel disconnected, alone and unbalanced.  

    

These are the times that we must reach for and cling to the inner most truth of Advent: Through the birth of Christ, his divine nature lives and dwells with all of us today. The sign was given over 2000 years ago, we have seen it come to pass, and we rejoice in the reality of knowing that it is divinely true. Immanuel!  God with us! 

    

Prayer

God of all creation, may our hope lie in the truth that we are never alone. Let us rest and find hope in the knowledge that you are with us. You dwell within us. You have been. You are. You forever will be.

 

Amen. Shalom. Shanti. Haribol.