When waiting in the dark for God, there are two companions at our side: hope and despair. One is there to comfort and the other is there to destroy. The story of Jesus’ birth and the season of Advent urge us to have hope when despair is leaning heavily on our spirit, or even threatening our physical life itself.
The story (as told in Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2 in particular) has become so well known to us that we have become immune to the shocking moments that should really rattle us to our core. The good news of the Messiah coming into the world is mostly served with a heavy helping of horror.
Doubt surrounds Elizabeth and Mary’s pregnancies—surely one could not be pregnant at her elderly age and surely the other must have been unfaithful to her betrothed. Then at the height of her unplanned pregnancy, Mary must travel to a different city, discover there are no suitable beds for going into labor, and finally give birth in an animal stable. Meanwhile, Herod, a jealous ruler seeking to destroy any threat to his absolute power, systematically annihilates a generation of children. This terrible danger forces Mary and Joseph to become refugees with their newborn in a foreign land.
Somehow as the narrative keeps getting darker and darker, the main characters repeatedly choose hope over despair. They continue believing that God is working through them in their lives, bringing about a tangible Everlasting Kingdom here and now, as well as tomorrow and in the future to come.
How do they hold on to such abundant hope? Is it the sporadic and fleeting signs, miracles, and angel sightings they experience that gives them hope? Is it a simpler acceptance that God is working through their lives for a bigger purpose?
The Gospel of Luke gives us a big clue as to the likely reason for the hope fueling these leading figures of faith. That clue namely being the Holy Spirit, who comes to live within those who put their trust in God. While Mary is the primary vessel for the Holy Spirit in the gospel story, since she is carrying the Christ Child, Luke’s gospel also makes sure to mention that the Holy Spirit is similarly present within Elizabeth, Zechariah, and Simeon, all of whom go on to notably sing songs of hope in this gospel. Having been filled to the brim with the Spirit of God, these songs overflow out of them. (Luke 1:42-45, 1:46-55, 1:68-79, 2:29-35)
The weeks of Advent lead us to the coming of Jesus, yet to get there with songs of hope in our hearts we must also be filled with the Holy Spirit. We should ask for the Spirit to dwell within us, so we too can find hope for today and whatever is to come, just like the first followers of Jesus—who boldly followed even before his birth.
Relevant Reformation 