It’s the first week of Advent, and I want to invite you to join me for the next month on an Advent Journey. I’m calling it Portraits of a King, and up first is the picture of hope, because honestly, Jesus is the only hope that helps.

This contemplative journey isn’t about just preparing the heart for holiday, it’s about readying the soul as we wait expectantly for His return. Frankly, I think we need this, and maybe this year more than ever.

Nothing like a year’s worth of bad news cycles to dwindle the hope stores in the soul. It’s been rough and sometimes hopelessness rolls in like a thick dense fog. Can you relate? 

Asaph the psalmist writes,

“Please listen, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph’s descendants like a flock. O God enthroned above the cherubim, display your radiant glory to Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your mighty power. Come rescue us!”

Psalm 80:1-2

I’m not gonna lie, many of my prayers of late have sounded very much like that. 

Lord, come rescue us! 

What a time this is.

In the quiet still of the house, my thoughts rumble loud, spilling all over the place. I slowly climb the rounded front stairs on my way to grab another load of laundry. There’s nothing special or sexy about house chores, but I find unexpected rest in the process. It affords some of the best uninterrupted thinking time. And as I reach the top all I can think about is this crazy year and how bizarre it feels trying to celebrate when people all over the world are dying.

Indeed, what a time this is. Yet, is it any different than the environment to which Christ was born? 

It strikes me how dark that season was and as I sort the laundry all I hear is the voice of my mother paraphrasing King Solomon, “There is nothing new under the sun…” 

Nothing new under the sun.

The hardness of this pandemic Christmas has a whole host of yuck spilling all over the place, but the darkness of it all isn’t new. I’ve long struggled with the commercial side of Christmas. There is a gross ickiness about the way we, as a culture, elevate the idols of tradition all the while blissfully compartmentalizing our faith. Is this really what Christmas, is all about? 

The melancholy of my soul is so palpable I can taste it. It’s bitter-sweet, this freedom to celebrate Christ’s birth, all the while navigating the pagan rituals of winter solstice. There is a fine balance required as we walk this line, because everything should point to Jesus. Everything should be an act of worship in response to Jesus, the only hope that helps in this broken dark place. 

But how does that work? How do we keep from being sucked into all the stuff?

Jesus was born into a world filled with darkness and gloom, bringing light and life. 

When things are bad the temptation to give way to despair is great, but there is also a huge part of the human heart that wants to hope. You know what I mean, right? Even in those darkest moments, there is always a voice that doesn’t want to accept the inevitable. I really believe that is the Spirit of God drawing us back toward the light

Jesus is the only hope that helps when the darkness closes in. He not only contradicts despair, he outright obliterates it with a brilliant light extinguishing the darkness. He swallows it up calling out every doubt and fear reminding guilt and shame to fall back to. There is no place for hopelessness in the kingdom of God because Christ has already won. He has defeated the power of sin and death, which is why hope gets to call the shots.

Everything about Jesus emanates hope. When we fix our eyes and hearts on Him, there is a whole new realm of possibility. For in Christ, all things are possible! He came, He saved, and He conquered. This is the reality by which we, the sons and daughters of God, live. 

For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him, you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead.

Colossians 2:12

My mind is going again, but even as I descend the stairs my heart feels strength from this truth. This season may well feel dark and hard, but I can trust the mighty power of God! This is what we must keep upfront as we navigate the practices of Christmas.

Can I be completely honest? 

As an adult, I have always struggled with the holidays, but my inner angst is also complicated with grief. My Father passed away on New Year’s Day, and if that isn’t hard enough, his birthday is Christmas day. This year we will mark seven years and because of this Pandemic, my mother, my brother, and I will be forced to do it alone. There is a lot of raw emotion and sometimes I have no words, just heaviness. The temptation to just skip it all is real thing, but hope calls my name inviting me to lean in and trust.

The truth of the matter is, I do not own the monopoly on sadness at this time of year. Grief is not my burden alone, she is a companion we all walk with in some way or another. I mean, don’t we all long for healing and hope? 

This entire year is littered with death and people are numb. Heck, I feel numb, but do you want to know what hope looks in this situation? It starts with the sensation of pins and needles. Yeah, not really what you were expecting, right? Here’s the thing, hope doesn’t always feel cozy and sweet, sometimes it’s uncomfortable. In the dark, when we cannot see, the sensation of pins and needles is a sign of revival and awakening. 

We’ve all come through a horrific time facing unimaginable issues of loss, so is it any wonder that we long for healing and hope? All the stuff of Christmas can suck life dry and swallow all the hope if we don’t intentionally make the choice to press in and follow Jesus. 

Jesus is the only hope that can help because He alone brings light into the darkness. He sees the pain, and even more, he feels it. He embodies shalom, a wholeness that overcomes. His perfect grace overrides the brokenness bringing light and life, reviving the soul. This healing comes by way of hope.

Hope inspires peace and when we fix our gaze on that, we experience life. And not just a shell of a life, but abundant life. The kind that is found only in Christ. 

I’ve long since given up trying to prepare my heart for Christmas. The music, the trimmings, and the traditions can feel like heavy baggage to carry through this season, but only if it just about Christmas. For me, this advent journey is a lifeline helping me to prepare my heart for Christ. I long for the intimacy of His presence especially when things feel rough and raw. It may feel easier to retreat and isolate, but I’ve learned along the way that easier doesn’t mean better. Pushing through the hard with Jesus always leads to the good stuff.

It always feels the darkest right before the dawn, but Jesus floods the atmosphere with light and life. He is the only hope that can help and that is definitely something I can give myself to in the midst of this Pandemic Christmas. Leaning in and meeting over the scriptures with Jesus fills my soul with hope and assurance, because there are reminders at every turn, that I don’t have to do it alone.

Now you have every spiritual gift you need as you eagerly wait for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be free from all blame on the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns. God will do this, for he is faithful to do what he says, and he has invited you into partnership with his Son, Jesus Christ our LORD.

1 Corinthians 1:7-9

No matter how dark it is, we have been armed with spiritual gifts and a promise. We can be confident that God will do what He says He will do because He is ALWAYS faithful. Jesus, the only hope that can help, empowers us with the tools we need to remain vigilant, and we do that by partnering with him. 

Hope isn’t about holding onto blind optimism. Heck, it’s not even about holding on, it’s about allowing ourselves to be held. Jesus the only hope that can help doesn’t just offer a sentiment, He offers himself. He IS hope, and He is the only one who can help heal the holes of grief, loss, and despair. 

[Deep sigh]

I leave you with this old advent hymn. Read it through and remember the testimony of the LORD. You and I? we are part of the story, connected by our humanity and need. 

Lo how a Rose e’re blooming 

Lo how a Rose e’er blooming
From tender stem hath sprung
Of Jesse’s lineage coming
As seers of old have sung
It came a blossom bright
Amid the cold of winter
When half-spent was the night

Isaiah ’twas foretold it
The Rose I have in mind
With Mary we behold it
The Virgin Mother kind
To show God’s love aright
She bore to us a Saviour
When half-spent was the night

O Flower whose fragrance tender
With sweetness fills the air
Dispel in glorious splendor
The darkness everywhere
True man yet very God
From sin and death now save us
And share our every load

Public Domain | By Harriet Krauth Spaeth & Theodore Baker

 

Did you catch that last line? 

Jesus the only hope that can help rescues us from sin and death and shares our every load. He leads us through the dark into the light, restoring the broken places of the heart and healing the grieving soul. Lean in, and behold Jesus, our glorious hope even now during this Pandemic Christmas.

Thanks for joining me today. I hope you will come back and join me next week for the Portrait of Peace. In the meantime, I’d love to hear some of your thoughts on choosing hope in the midst of pandemic Christmas. And if you liked what you read today, check out my weekly devotional called, The Grace Notes!