The Advent message of hope is that, though we grow weary, we will be renewed beyond our wildest dreams. Advent hope enables us to look to the future expectantly in order to receive joy and energy to take on today.
Read MoreGod invites us to bring whatever we have: our emotional baggage, our cynicism, our loneliness. The good news is that nothing is wasted, and each one of us will eat and be filled.
Read MoreThis guide touches on some history of Advent and central themes throughout this season.
Read MoreThe hopeful message of Advent is that Jesus comes into our world to proclaim good news to us in our material, emotional, and spiritual longings. And that good news is the same today as it was 2000 years ago:
God sees you. God knows you. God accepts you as you are. This is the hope of Emmanuel: “God with us.”
Read MoreMany live their lives like they are playing a zero-sum game: if a colleague gets paid more, that means we have less opportunity for advancement. If we don’t take more than we need, someone else will, and we will be left wanting. Others have experienced lack and know what it’s like to watch others take more than they need while they themselves, hungry for food and for justice, struggle to find their next meal.
Both experiences are vastly different, but at the source of both is a common felt experience: we long to have enough.
Read More