Isaiah
9:1-7
“I
hope it rains!” “I hope it doesn’t rain….”
“I hope we have pizza tonight!” “I hope we don’t have pizza again….”
Hope.
The word has been cheapened, weakened, made into nothing more than a suggestion
of a passing fancy, a trivial wish. Hope in Scripture is such tame thing. Hope
in Scripture has vigor and power and moves us forward.
In
today’s reading, we hear the words that Isaiah speaks to the people of Israel.
The words reveal the reality of their lives—they walk in darkness. The words
reveal their earnest need and desire—peace. And then the words reveal all will
change with the coming of the One—“unto you a child is born.”
This
One would bring light to their darkness…a darkness that grows out of centuries
of unrest and tumult. The Egyptians, the Assyrians, and others had made the land
their battlefield. Dreams had been dashed, families had been shattered—and the people
groped about in the resulting darkness. But light was coming, breaking in to
shine into their lives.
This
One would bring peace into their war-torn lives. The boots of war and the blood-stained
clothes would all be fuel for the fire…and war would be no more. No longer
would families have to hide their sons to save them from war. No longer would
the harvest be crushed under the boots of invading or passing armies. Peace was
coming, a lasting peace.
This
One would be “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of
Peace.” He would not be a one-and-done story like David. Rather, his reign
would last forever.
These
words instilled hope—true, biblical hope—in the lives of the hearers. In Isaiah
40:31, we hear these word: Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength….
In other translations, we hear: “They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.”
Which is it? Both. The Hebrew word we translate as “hope” refers to “expectant
waiting”—looking forward to something that will happen. In the New Testament,
the confidence of God’s goodness and the certainty of God’s continued action in
our lives and in the world are added to the Old Testament understanding.
Hope
for us is this: An expectant waiting that grows out of our confidence in the goodness
of God and God’s continued work in our lives. As Christians, we must be a
people of hope. As one writer remarked, a Christian without hope is no
Christian at all.
During
this Advent season, may we hear the words of Isaiah in our own situations. We,
too, walk in darkness at times and earnestly yearn for the light of God to
shine into our darkness. Our darkness is revealed in anxieties, fears, and
uncertainties…depression, doubt, lack of direction. We long for light in our
darkness. We, too, know the pain of battles in our lives, and we long for the
peace that only God can bring. We battle and war in the work-place, in the home,
in our communities, with our families…we battle with ourselves, struggling to
win over destructive habits and divisive attitudes. We long for God to bring
peace to all our situations.
The
One who was born 2,000 years ago brings light and peace to us. May we begin
this Advent season filled with true hope—an expectant waiting for our good God
to act in our lives, in our world. May God’s light and peace come to you during
this Advent season as we move closer to the manger in Bethlehem…and may God rule
in your life forever and ever. Amen.
Sunday, November 30, 2025
Advent: Stories of Hope
Watch/Listen: HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment