Where were you when? Every generation has its own “where were you when” moment. Where were you when Neil Armstrong stepped onto the moon? Where were you when you heard that JFK or Martin Luther King Jr had been shot? Where were you when news of Columbine reached you? Where were you on the morning of September 11? We remember these moments because they anchor us in time. They remind us how fragile the world can feel.
Moments like these are seismic. They shake the ground beneath us and remind us how quickly life can change. They interrupt the familiar patterns of our days and mark us forever. And as we know too well, many of the moments that shape us are not beautiful or life-giving. They are unexpected and tragic, and they introduce a new sense of uncertainty into our world.
We have heard phrases like, this is the new normal, and what is the point. And when life feels unstable, we often grasp for explanations, any explanations. We have felt the pull of conspiracy theories, and we have watched ourselves go further down the rabbit holes than we ever thought we would. At first, it feels like curiosity, something to distract the mind for a moment, but then, before long, we can explain the entire thing to someone else. We become the ones spreading it.
What a year it has been. We know the list. We have all lived it. Political assassination attempts, economic recession, mass unemployment, political division, cultural upheaval, racial reckoning, record wildfires, government shutdowns, airport confusion, mighty hurricanes, and devastating floods. It feels endless.
The past few years have brought us a new phrase that has made its way into our vocabulary the phrase doom scrolling. Say it, and everyone knows exactly what it means. It is that endless scroll through the headlines on your phone, moving from one dark story to the next. We have all done it. And if we are honest, we have all had to learn to put the phone down, especially before bed, because it can pull the soul into despair if we let it. This is the soil where hopelessness grows unless something stronger is planted. Can you feel the weight, can you feel it?
When the World Feels Unstable, Hope in Christ Holds Us
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This has become our tendency. Without even realizing it, we have spoken more about the hopelessness of our world than the hope that is ours in Christ. It is not intentional, but it has become the expectation rather than the exception. Yet hope is real, and it is the hope of Jesus returning that brings Advent into our view this morning.
I am not trying to bring us down. I am trying to name the reality we have all been living in. And if there has ever been a year when we need Christmas, this is it. If there has ever been a year when we need the hope of Christmas, this is it. If ever there was a time in our lives to rediscover the hope that is found in Jesus Christ and the hope of His return, this is that time. The world is constantly shifting and unstable, and this is the power and draw for our souls to celebrate Advent.
So what is Advent? Many have never heard the word or wondered why a church would talk about Advent Sunday after Sunday. Why do we light candles? Why do we take these weeks to focus on something older than our traditions? When we are discussing Advent, we aren’t talking about candles and calendars. We are talking about Hope. Advent is a season of hope. Advent is all about hope.
Advent Points to the Hope in Jesus Christ
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The word Advent means coming or arrival. It is a season built around expectation, waiting, anticipation, and longing. Advent is not just an early Christmas conversation or church thing. It is a sacred space that links the past, the present, and the future. It invites us to stand with the people of old who longed for the Messiah. It invites us to celebrate His birth. And it calls us to stay alert and awake for His second coming.
Advent looks back in celebration at the hope fulfilled in the arrival of Jesus, and at the same time, it looks forward in eager and confident anticipation to the day when He will return for His people. Advent teaches us how to wait. And we all know that waiting is not our strongest attribute. It is an active waiting, an assured waiting, a hopeful waiting.
Yet if we are honest, our Christmases have often become frantic and overloaded. Stores push Christmas decor and merchandise before we even reach November. Our schedules stack up with events and demands. The season that is meant to be peaceful quickly becomes stressful.
Advent pushes all of that aside. Advent prepares the heart. It invites us into a story far greater than our own, the story of God’s redeeming love for the world. Advent does not ask us to pretend that we have no pain or to cover up the hardships of the past year. It invites us to meet God in them. It calls us to dig deeper into the truth that He sent His Son to be Immanuel, God With Us. Advent is a season of preparation. It is a time to align ourselves with the presence of God, rather than the pressure of the present.
So wherever you are in your anxiety and uncertainty, wherever you are in your spiritual journey, I invite you into this season of Advent. I believe that in the craziness and confusion of this year, God has handed us a gift. He has invited us to rediscover Christmas.
For the next four weeks, we will explore the attributes of Christmas revealed in the birth of Jesus and in this season: hope, peace, joy, and love. Then on the evening of December 21, we will gather for a candlelight and communion service, and I hope you will plan to be there. Today, we begin by rediscovering the hope of Christmas, even while we stand in the middle of uncertainty.
How Long?
Luke 2:25-26; 36-37
Hope Grows in the Waiting
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God’s Deepest Work is Done in Spaces We Call Delays
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Hope Sees Beyond
Luke 2:27-35
Hope Sees What Our Eyes Cannot
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For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.
Romans 8:24-26, NIV
Hope Does Not Deny Reality, It Looks Beyond
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God is with Us
Luke 2:38
God is not Distant, Our Hope is We See His Presence in Our Dark Hours
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“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” (Isaiah 43:1-2)
“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
Hope Inspires Us To Carry On
Romans 5:1-5
Hope in God Doesn’t Disappoint; Instead, it is Developed into Our Character
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One Step in Hope Carries Us Further Than a Lifetime of Despair Ever Could
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What is your next step of hope today? What is the next step of hope in this Advent season? What is the step you have convinced yourself is too hard to take, the one that keeps you from living fully with Jesus, from walking in hope, from living free from the burdens that weigh you down?
Advent is Not A Season of Waiting; It Is a Season of Preparing
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As humans, we want to know what tomorrow holds. We want to see the end of the story. We want to skip ahead to the resolution. But life does not work that way. It is not a privilege we have been given. Yet in Christ, we have been given the end of the ultimate story. In Him, we know that true life transcends the pain and brokenness of this present world.
In this Advent season, we can anchor our hearts in hope. We can find hope in the arrival of Jesus. We can find hope in God’s faithfulness to fulfill His long-awaited promise of the Messiah. We can find hope in His Spirit, who works in and around us, strengthening us, guiding us, and giving us the courage to take the next step even before we see the whole path. One step at a time, we move forward, carried by His presence.
I invite you to take a step toward hope today. Hope is dawning. Christ is coming. He is returning again. Let us welcome Him into our hearts and lives each day of this season of expectation.
Simeon and Anna were more than sparks of hope in Israel. They were torches of hope. They lived with expectancy. They believed God would fulfill His promise. They waited for the Messiah, and they were ready. These two elders had experienced hardship and loss, seen suffering and injustice, and yet they remained faithfully devoted to God. Anna had been a widow for decades, a position of low status in her culture. Simeon had waited his entire life for the promise of the Messiah. And still, when the day came, neither was surprised nor uncertain about the identity of this child.
Almost everyone else in the Christmas story needed convincing. Angels startled them. Heavenly announcements overwhelmed them. Simeon and Anna were different. They were ready. They were tuned in. They were watching, listening, expecting. Their hope prepared them. Their hope made them capable of recognizing the fulfillment of God’s promise when it finally arrived.
This is the invitation for you today. Take the next step of hope. Be attentive. Be ready. Watch, listen, and expect the work of God in your life. Advent is not merely a season of waiting; it is a season of preparing. And hope is what prepares us.
