Advent Reflections - November 30

Hope

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah,
    though you are small among the clans of Judah,
out of you will come for me
    one who will be ruler over Israel,
those origins are from of old, from ancient times.”         Micah 5:2

Reflection

It's difficult to have patience in the fast food, microwavable, hyper-technological culture in which we life. Instant self-gratification has become a cultural norm for most of us. It's an unfortunate pre-conditioned attribute that we've allowed ourselves to agree with for most of our lives. There are not many aspects of life in which we welcome waiting. I suppose that's one of the negative side effects of instantaneous gratification. And perhaps that's why many of us wander through the landscape of life, seeming to have so little hope. Because the most essential aspect of having hope is also welcoming and embracing patience. Patience involves waiting, and waiting takes time. We wait. We hope. We wait longer. We lose patience. We wait even longer. We lose hope.  

We hope for a lot of things in the course of life's journey. We hope for our families to be healthy; physically, emotionally and spiritually. We hope for our children to grow up and find contentment, peace and personal fulfillment. We hope for that new job and wait for a positive response. We hope for political, social and economic change in an unstable world. We hope for financial security. We hope for the tumor to disappear and wait for a miracle. We hope for peace and wait for an end to war, violence and injustice. We hope. We wait. We hope for the things that we desire most. Hope is a passion that runs deep within all of us, manifests itself in inner-peace and carries us forward in times of trial. But hope is also a spiritual discipline, and discipline reveals the duality of our human nature.  

Despite the origins of hope, things don’t always happen according to when we would like them to. Sometimes the things that we hope for take more time than we're comfortable with. We hope. We wait. And we wait even longer. Sometimes the passage of time means that our hope dwindles. And sometimes it seems that hope is completely lost.  

Long ago, the people of Israel had hope. They hoped for a savior, long ago promised them through the prophets. For hundreds of years the Israelite people held on to the hope of a coming ruler that would emerge from the small and obscure town of Bethlehem, and remove injustice and oppression. Generation after generation recited the words of Micah 5:2 among families and communities and anticipated it's fulfillment. A long time would pass as they waited and God seemed to remain silent. Hope must have dwindled as each year passed. Hope. Time. Waiting. Patience. Silence. Hope.

In the classic film, The Shawshank Redemption, you may recall the letter that Andy wrote to encourage his friend Red. Still incardinated and losing hope, Red once warned Andy that "Hope is a dangerous thing, my friend. It can kill a man.". Andy, finally realizing the vital truth of hope, pens the words, "But remember, Red. Hope is a good thing. Maybe even the best of things. And good things never die."       

  As you spend this quiet time in communion with the divine source of all hope, allow the spirit to flow through you and let hope be renewed. Whatever you hope for in life, no matter what you long for, or how long you’ve waited, let it begin anew today. Let patience be refreshed and discouragement diminish. Let the the spiritual truths of Advent be a powerful reminder that the God, who dwells within all humanity, keeps his promises and we indeed have reason for hope. Hope is a good thing.   

Prayer

Most gracious source of hope, in you we live. In you we have faith. In you we have patience, and in you we hope. Renew our hope this day and enable us to rest in the hope that was fulfilled through Jesus Christ and his divine nature dwelling within us all this day; the divine coming into the world.

Amen. Shalom. Namaste. Haribol.