Monday: Luke 2:22-38
Tuesday: Isaiah 64:1-9
Wednesday: Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
Thursday: 1 Corinthians 1:3-9
Friday: Mark 13:24-37
Saturday: 1 Peter 1:13-21
For many people, the advent or Christmas season is a time where we want to feel light, cheery, and warm. We often include certain beloved movies, books, and songs that evoke pleasant memories and feelings. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis is one of those favorite seasonal tales, a story of four children who find themselves in the world of Narnia where it is “Always winter but never Christmas.” It is hard to imagine living in such a world. But over two thousand years ago, this was exactly what our world was like.
The Jewish people had carried words with them from the prophet Isaiah for hundreds of years that spoke of a coming Messiah who would one day put all things to right again and rule the world with perfect love and justice. They waited with expectant hope while their present reality was very difficult. Similarly, in the Narnia world, we read a poem recited by Mr. Beaver as he tells the children of the deep hope they carry for the return of their king, Aslan the lion:
“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”
Stories are powerful because they speak to the currents deep in our hearts. They echo our desire for the future satisfaction of our deepest longings. The Narnian creatures lived in a harsh reality but this poem lit a fire of hope inside them that could not be extinguished. Our world is not too dissimilar. While we like to focus on Christmas cheer, the advent season is an invitation to recognize the deep brokenness and darkness of our world, to lean into the yearning of our souls – hope for our true Savior, Jesus, the Light of the World.
Our hope isn’t misinformed or misplaced. The longing we have for light, for saving, is in our hearts precisely because there is a Savior. At Advent, we are invited to slow down, to bring our pains and suffering to the Lord, and to dwell with tenacious, expectant hope that just as Jesus entered our world long ago as a baby, one day he will return again as the King of Kings to fully put right everything that has ever gone wrong.
Listen: Anchor by Hillsong Worship, O Come O Come Emmanuel
Ponder:
- Light a candle and sit quietly. Open your heart to the Lord. Bring before him any burdens you’ve been carrying. Allow, Jesus, the Light of the World, to be with you and speak hope into your life.
- In what specific way is God inviting you to hold on to hope in your life?
- How can you be a hope-bearer to those around you this week?