Advent is a season of preparation for Christmas. It is not just about putting up decorations, trees, stars, tinsel and buying pressies. It is more about preparing our hearts for the promise of God, Emmanuel - God with us. Here are four reflections for each week of Advent, which you may want to ponder on each week as we draw closer to Christmas.
Please scroll down for week 2, week 3 and week 4.
WEEK 1 - HOPE
Sunday 30 November to Saturday 6 December
The Light Breaking Through
The first week of Advent invites us to wait in the darkness with the expectation of dawn. The Prophet Isaiah promises, "The people walking in darkness have seen a great light" (Isaiah 9:2). This is not a naive optimism, but a gritty conviction that the night will not win.
Theologian Jürgen Moltmann famously wrote, "Totally without hope one cannot live. To live without hope is to cease to live."
Hope is the fuel of our spiritual survival. We hear this longing in The Beatles’ classic, "Here Comes the Sun." George Harrison wrote the song after a "long, cold, lonely winter," capturing the universal relief of seeing the sun return.
In Advent, we acknowledge the winter of our world, maybe our sorrow or the silence, but we sing with the assurance that the Son is coming. We look toward the manger, knowing that, indeed, "it’s alright."
Let us pray:
Lord of Light, in the deep winter of our lives, we wait for Your dawn. Help us to hold on to hope when the night seems long. Shine Your light into our hearts and remind us that the Son is coming. AMEN
WEEK 2 - PEACE
Sunday 7 December to Saturday 13 December
Peace in the biblical sense — Shalom — is not merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of wholeness. In a chaotic world, we cling to the promise of Philippians 4:7...
"The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
Like good foundations, it is a peace that stands firm even when the world shakes.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer (a German Lutheran pastor, neo-orthodox theologian and anti-Nazi dissident who was a key founding member of the Confessing Church and was martyred for his faith in opposition to the Nazi party) observed,
"God does not give us everything we want, but He does fulfill His promises... leading us by the best and straightest paths to Himself."
This type of supportive, intervening peace is echoed in Simon & Garfunkel’s "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The link below is audio only.
When the lyrics promise, "When times get rough / And friends just can't be found / Like a bridge over troubled water / I will lay me down," we hear an echo of the Incarnation - God becoming human. Christ comes to be the bridge over the chaos, laying down His life to secure our peace.
Let us Pray:
Prince of Peace, calm the storms that rage within us and around us. Be the bridge over our troubled waters and guard our hearts. Grant us the wholeness that only You can provide. AMEN.
Credits:
Created with images by by-studio - "Unscharfe Lichterkette vor Blauem Hintergrund" • Jne Valokuvaus - "Pin on the date. The sixth day of the month is marked with a red thumbtack. Focus point on the red pin." • Tanes - "The sun rising over mountains on a winter day." • stockyes - "One candle flame at night with bokeh on a dark background" • Sensay - "Hope - inscription on the heart, sharing hope concept, green bokeh background" • vetre - "Birth of Jesus. Christmas nativity scene. Manager and star." • alesmunt - "Hand gesture V sign for victory or peace sign over yellow background" • icebergpicture - "建築中の住宅の基礎工事" • dizain - "Hand writing God Never Breaks His Promises with marker, concept background" • MIA Studio - "Christmas nativity scene of born child baby Jesus Christ in the manger with Joseph and Mary.Traditional Christmas Nativity Scene banner background of baby Jesus in the Christmas with Mary and Joseph."