Story by Susan Oxley of Seattle, Washington USA
And Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news; I’m dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!
Based on the Advent Devotion for Families and Households available at https://account-media.s3.amazonaws.com/26072/uploaded/h/0e18630581_1729692500_hope-is-near-advent-2024-23102024.pdf
Open: Light a candle or ring a chime.
Ask: Take a few minutes and ask yourself, “When did I feel hope today or yesterday?”
Listen: Despair is everywhere. Political divisions, economic instability, global conflicts, personal relationships, and creation itself are fractured. Most of us feel helpless and hopeless. We see our old familiar world passing away. We have no control or ability to change it.
But hope must not die! God calls us to activate radical hope—the kind that looks clearly at reality and still holds on to the vision of what can yet be. We need the kind of hope that adapts to changing circumstances without letting go of the values and enduring principles of God’s peaceable kingdom. It is hope that waits for God’s future but continues to work out the details of daily existence in a manner consistent with that future.
Having already endured and adapted to unexpected problems, a young couple anticipated with joy the arrival of their firstborn. They envisioned a normal birth amid loving family and friends. They looked forward to the familiar rituals and community celebrations of joy. But political realities destroyed the vision. They were forced to journey to a distant city with no accommodations, no comfort, no guarantees. Babies are not supposed to sleep in mangers. But when nothing else is available, creative hope finds a way. Strangers from sheep-studded hills celebrated the birth and told of heavenly messengers who announced it. Hope lived on. The Messiah had come.
The Son of Man was born into a broken world where nothing seemed right. We live in a similarly broken world. But hope lived then, and lives on today. Wait in hope for God’s creative solution, God’s new creation to dawn. But be active and creative in your waiting. Seek life-affirming adaptations that foster peace, joy, loving relationships, and hope.
Breathe
The season of advent reminds us that even as we wait for the birth of Christ in our lives and world, God is always with us. Right here, right now– wherever we are and with the ones we love. Take a deep breath and breathe in the presence of God.
Respond
How can you bring hope to others today?
Song Prayer
Choose a song to sing or invite others to sing with you (making up their own melody) whatever prayer phrase they want to contribute. They can be silly or serious.
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.