Advent, as we know, is a season nurtured by the reality of hope. What we read in today's words from Isaiah and Matthew a call for each of us to cultivate the presence of hope in our lives. This is so critically important in our lives today especially here in the national capital city. The reprehensible bickering that often reflects disregard for people in need which we hear from those who have been elected to serve the people of this nation as well as the serious financial realities that have impacted so many could easily lead people to despair. Has there ever been a time in this country when there has been such a need for hope?
Our challenge today is not to abandon hope. We must see hope as a strategy that will give each of us the strength to endure the imprisonment that many believe to be their new home. Weakness, selfishness, greed, anger: have we not heard and seen enough of these debilitating forces bringing damage to our communities and even our nation? Many people who view the scene, especially at the biggest holiday season of all, can be heard saying "Hope is no strategy worth pursuing." Look at the pioneers, athletes, and other idols and leaders: they tell us that a "get it done" strategy is more important than hope. Of course we cannot simply do nothing: that is laziness and the way of a coward.
When a Christian encourages hope, there is more than naivete on the scales. An honest Christian would be the first to acknowledge that we are surrounded by moments when many lives have caved in, when health concerns seem to multiply daily, when government leaders cannot collaborate to lead, when the grand dreams of retirement, helping the children through college, living a better life have evaporated, these are truly painful times for too many people. At the same time the Christian should be the first to point us in a direction that many seem to forget: point us inward. We should challenge one another not to forget hope. What is hope? Have you ever seen an incubator with a three pound child struggling for life: parents standing watch, seeing in every breath a promise of hope, hoping for physical victory? For us hope is the incubator of a strong faith! Likewise, we should never forget that hope is the fuel that gives strength to the soul. When all that we can do in any difficult is simple: wait until the dawn. And, as surely as the sun will come up in the East tomorrow morning, so, too, will hope to help us endure every painful moment. Again, in these difficult moments, it is simply hoping in God himself for solutions when there is no workable strategy.
For us today, already at the Second Sunday of Advent, we have the opportunity to listen to the words of two men whose lives were hope-filled histories for all believers. Isaiah and John the Baptist did not hesitate to tell the people to look within, to turn to their Creator. They would not have to wait much longer. Hope itself would soon be born. A Chinese Square, a street in Birmingham, Alabama,
a bridge over a Polish river: these were venues where Christianity itself stood strong: a genuine model of hope, one of the most rewarding virtues.
Today in so many churches around the world men and women kneel in silence, often times in tears, their hearts reaching out to God because they do believe that Jesus Christ is HOPE itself. These men and women stand as model for us: hope is a strategy that will never lose because we can always look upwards in our churches and see hope made real -- Jesus Christ hangs on a cross to provide reconciliation and forgiveness.
Today in so many churches around the world men and women kneel in silence, often times in tears, their hearts reaching out to God because they do believe that Jesus Christ is HOPE itself. These men and women stand as model for us: hope is a strategy that will never lose because we can always look upwards in our churches and see hope made real -- Jesus Christ hangs on a cross to provide reconciliation and forgiveness.
Never let the candle of hope die in your heart!
