Over the four Sundays of Advent, we light accumulative
candles in our churches. These remind us of various things, as we prepare
ourselves to celebrate Christ’s (second) coming in the light of his first
coming into the world. Looking back the candles remind us of the patriarchs
& matriarchs; the prophets; John the forerunner, or Baptist; and Mary, the
mother of Jesus. Looking forward the candles remind us of the Four Last Things:
death, judgement, heaven, and hell. Looking around us in the present the
candles remind us of hope, peace, joy, and love, and of the call upon us to be
a hopeful, peaceable, joyful, and loving people.
These symbolisms entwine more fully than we might at
first realise. Death might seem antithetical to Hope, but hope is the
conviction that in the end all shall be well, and that entails the knowledge
that whatever is not well with the world will not endure for ever but pass from
the world as an ever-fading memory. Love and Hell might seem a less obvious
pairing than Joy and Heaven, but love comes to us in our hell and harrows its
gates. But there is more, much more, to dwell on in the days ahead.
On this first Sunday of Advent, our theme is hope.
What do you hope for?
Where have you lost hope?
What does it look like to be hopeful?
Lord Jesus, renew my hope in you. Amen.
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