The First Sunday of Advent - Hope

"And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you." - Psalm 39:7

One of my favorite movies - a remote drop if it's on TV - is "Shawshank Redemption". While it's fairly raw in its portrayal of prison life, there is a recurring theme between the main character, Andy Dufresne, and his best friend, "Red": hope. After some time in solitary, Andy returns to the cafeteria table and talks about hope, even after being in the hole for several days. Red discourages Andy from that thought, but at the end of the movie, as Red travels into Mexico to meet up with Andy, he says hopes to see his friend, he hopes the Pacific is a blue as he has been told. He hopes. 

After centuries of oppression, capture, exile, and now occupation by the Romans, the Jews were longing for the hoped Messiah. And while many were seeking a Messiah that would liberate them from the Roman oppression and occupation, a few understood that the liberation would come in a very different form: salvation. 

Mary understood this as she sang her Magnificat in Luke 1:50 - "And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation". Later in Luke 1, Zechariah, no longer a mute which had been caused by his disbelief in God's message, praises God in verses 68-70 - "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old."

Today is the first Sunday of Advent, when we light the first candle, the Candle of Hope. This candle represents the Hope that not only was sung and spoken about by Mary and Zechariah, but the hope that we have of our salvation by the Grace of God, given to us by His Son, Jesus, whose birthday we will soon celebrate. This is the Hope that colors our days with eagerness and anticipation, not for just Christmas Day, but for the days that follow and the days that we will spend with God.

Let us, during this Advent Season, be hopeful, for our todays and our tomorrows.

Soli Deo Gloria