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.   

Advent Reflections - December 2: Hope

Hope

"Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,

   “Clear the way through the wilderness
      for the Lord!
   Make a straight highway through the wasteland
      for our God!”

Isaiah 40:3

Reflection

As I settle into the flow of this morning, the rain is gently falling from the heavens and a cool breeze is flowing through my patio door, filling my soul with peace and hope. There is something about the rain that calms the spirit, as it cleanses the earth and the mind. I feel a sense of hope. Hope that the coming year will bring much needed change and encouragement for my self and our country and the earth. I feel hope.  

It's no secret that 2020 has been a difficult and challenging year for all of us. As we begin the Christmas season, many of us feel the bitter chill of isolation, loneliness and depression. Our emotions lay scattered, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that seem to have no connection. A few sections fall into place, but hope can seem to be that one segment of the puzzle that has no connection to the whole. 

 Each year I reflect on how the Christmas marketing onslaught seems begins earlier and earlier. Practically from the moment that the last Trick or Treater beckons at our doorsteps, we are inundated with an instantaneous assault of advertising and commercialism that can cause the person of strongest resolve to submit to the temptation of over consumption. Before we know it, we realize that our journey to Christmas has become a hectic blur through a wilderness of activity, shopping, spending and stress that leaves us exhausted and unfulfilled. If we're honest, many of us find ourselves longing for the Christmas season to quickly just pass us by. We may cling to hope, but in reality, we may realize that we've obtained very little. That's simple the reality of the times that we live in today. I feel overwhelming blessed that for this moment, I feel hope. And for the present moment, I feel grateful.       

Despite the struggles that we've faced in 2020, both individually and collectively, let us take a few moments in silence and meditation this morning. What are some of the things that you hope for today? This Christmas? This year? Close you eyes, take a few deep breaths and contemplate what hope means to you. In the quiet of this moment, as the rest of the world may seem to be rushing towards Christmas at full speed, let us commit ourselves to just slow down. Despite the pressure of things that we feel need to be accomplished and the places that we may need to be, let us allow ourselves to slow our pace in life. Let us find a fresh grounding of our spirits and obtain balance. 

Advent is a journey, but not all journeys require expediency. Hope may seem illusive, but hope often takes a great amount of time to come to fruition. But there also times when hope immediately and mysteriously out of nowhere. In the recess of our souls, let us imagine ourselves moving into the slow lane of seasonal traffic. See the road ahead of you. It’s clear, straight and illuminated with the universal light. The voice of the divine calls to us, far beyond all distractions saying, "Make a straight highway through the wasteland..."

Prayer

Most divine God of hope, in the stillness of this moment, grant peace to us in our minds, bodies and spirits. Let us feel the pace of life slow down, despite the rush of the Christmas Season. As we focus on you and you alone, enable us to keep the hope of our Christ nature alive in our hearts, and let it shine forth in infinite light for all to see. We all need illumination for the journeys that we face. Allow that light to shine for all to see, offering much needed hope for ourselves and the world around us.       

Peace. Shalom. Shanti. Hope.

Advent Reflections - December 1: Hope

Hope 

“The days are coming, ”declares the LORD, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” 

Jeremiah 23:5

Reflection 

We all long for political leaders that will govern with wisdom, peace, strive for justice and lead with freedom at the forefront of their political policies. Sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn’t. Some of us witness freedom while others suffer the pain of injustice and oppression. Some live in peace, while others face the agony of death on a daily basis. 

Many of our hopes and dreams rest on the decisions that our leaders implement. And those decisions are more than often not for our highest good. The people of ancient Israel hoped for many of the same things that we do. They had hope in the promise that God would one day send a savior into the world that would “reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land.” They longed for a leader that would grant freedom for their people that would last for all eternity. With the birth of Jesus, their hope finally came to fruition. But he was something different, and not quite what they expected. They expected a political, military and religious leader that would physically reign, physically save their nation and literally build a great Kingdom of God’s chosen people.

The people of Israel lived in fear for quite a while. Violence was a daily reality that they had been conditioned to live with. They prayed and expected a leader that would lead with a sword and defeat their enemies with military might. Sound familiar? But God had a different plan. Jesus came to reign within the spiritual realms, spiritually save and inaugurate a spiritual Kingdom that would overshadow all that we know on earth.

The Kingdom of God is very different than the earthly kingdoms that govern planet earth. Within the kingdom of God, there is no reason for fear. In God's kingdom there is no reason to arm ourselves with weapons of defense. There is no need to kill. Through the Christ nature within us all, and living as citizens of his kingdom, we are set apart to live differently. We follow a spiritual king that transcends the governments of earth and satisfies all hopes and dreams more than any earthly leader could ever accomplish. Through the kingdom of God, we begin to comprehend what God longs for all of us to have, and through our Christ nature, we see it inaugurated. We see the divine dwelling within us all.    

           

Prayer 

God, as we join together in celebration of Advent, we give you praise and thanks because you are our king; our divine guidance that leads us to our highest good. We thank you because all of our dreams, hopes and desires are in you, and in you alone. Despite the violence, death and instability that we have witnessed in our world this year, enable us to remember that through your divine presence, and through your kingdom, all is calm and all is bright.

Amen    

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.  

Advent Reflections - December 1

Hope

“The scepter will not depart from Judah,
nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants,
until the coming of the one to whom it belongs,
the one whom all nations will honor.”
 
 Genesis 49:10 


Reflection

Journey. Life is full of journeys. Some require great distance and endurance, while others are quite short in duration; ending before we've realized that they've begun. Some journeys are meant to be taken alone; proceeding in isolation. And some are meant to be shared with others; in communal precession; in the company of other sojourners.

Today we begin a journey together. A journey based on beginnings, but also a journey manifested in hope fulfilled. As we read these ancient words from the book of Genesis, we see that from the very beginning of time, God was breathing the eternal seeds of hope into the world. This truth came to fruition in the story of Christmas, transcends time and encourages us today, thousands of years later. 

As we light the first candle of Advent, we are reminded that within our Christ nature, that resides in all humanity, hope stands as one of the true essentials of faith.

Unfortunately, hope is not always easy to cling to. The world is unstable and uncertain in 2024. The future is uncertain. We dwell in a world faced with a chaotic and failing political system, racial injustice, global terrorism, environmental destruction, national disunity or threats of world war. We seem to be consumed within a culture that is influenced by anything that inspires hope. When troubles and discouragements seem to multiply each day, it becomes easy to lose our way and draw inward, isolating ourselves from the world and each other. Hope can seem to be pointless and unrealistic. Some may say that hope is just an idealistic utopian fantasy in the world in which we live.  

 

But the season of Advent is about hope. Hope in a God that joined humanity and lived among us. Walked the same paths and breathed the same air. Lived with the pain, fears and discouragements of life. And that same God dwells within us today. In the sometimes overwhelming reality of existence, and in the most minuscule and seemingly insignificant details of our daily lives. 

Advent is about the same hope that the people of Israel had over 2000 years ago. A hope in a God that “all nations will honor”, bringing peace, justice, universal harmony and unity to the world.

 As we begin this journey of Advent together, let us focus our minds and spirits on this hope filled truth: the Divine came into the world to live among us. And despite the chaos and turmoil that surround us today, his nature chooses to remain within us all. 
Emmanuel, God with us....  

Prayer

God of the universe and all that exists, as we begin this journey of Advent together, let our hearts be renewed with hope; the same hope that the world has had since the beginning of time, and the same hope that we have today. In the silence of this moment, calm our hearts and minds. Enable us to hold onto hope during this Advent Season, trusting in the Spirit that dwells among us all. 

Amen