ADVENT – The Thrill of Hope

Today, Sunday, November 27th we enter the short – four-week season of Advent.

How weary is the world today? How weary we are as we face these final weeks of a long, brutal, and sometimes confusing year.

Weary of prejudice, misogyny, xenophobia and “mass shooting” headlines.

Weary of sexual violence, sexual harassment.

Weary of inflation, election deniers, white supremacists, and conspiracy theorists.

Weary of Supreme Court decisions, of political name calling, of out of whack political pundits.

Weary of the rage that occupies every square inch of the Internet.

Weary of childish political “leaders” who relish offense: using power to bully, to berate and to belittle people.

Weary of a post-truth, alternative facts, fake news world where no one knows who or what to trust.

And then there’s the weariness of everyday life.

Weary of mounting bills, mounting debt, mounting inboxes, mounting anxiety about all manner of things.

Weary of the ghosts of technology and “connectivity” that we can never escape: the ominous “dings” of texts and push notifications.

Weary of the woes of aging bodies, troubled minds, restless souls—the fallenness of all things.

Weary of family and friends who disappoint, the heroes who fall, the leaders who sacrifice principles for power to knock down the weak and the marginalized.

Weary of the to-dos that never seems to end and the rest that never lasts long enough.

Oh, my friends, how weary we are.

But into all this comes Christ: the once and future Advent of the Savior who walks beside and guides us through every tension and to right everything that is wrong.

Once a babe in swaddling clothes; now a crowned King on a white horse.

Fire in his eyes, yet gentleness of spirit: the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

The shock, the aching joy...

Of justice at last.

Of light overcoming the darkness.

Of all things made new.

For this thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

May your Advent be filled with new and wonderous things that transform your world! Fr. Bill+