THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT: HOPE
Can
you see her? A young girl standing under
her favorite tree. She is staring off
into the distance and thinking, “I hope Joseph will be kind to me. I have seen some arranged marriages where the
man and woman are unhappy. I want to be
happy. I hope we can love each other. It would be hard to go through life without
love.”
The
young girl looked around. Her thoughts
continued, “My life will soon change. I
will no longer be a child. I will be
responsible for our household. I hope he
likes my cooking. I hope … I hope … I hope
…”
Although
quite young by today’s standards, this young girl — Mary —was prepared to take
a step that would change her life. She
knew she would walk out the door of her father’s house and step into Joseph’s
house. Mary’s life was about to change
and she was filled with hope.
HOPE
Hope
is described as a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to
happen. Hope is based on a feeling of
trust that there will be a positive outcome.
Professor
of Psychology, Barbara Fredriskson, wrote the article Why Choose Hope? The article
states fear and hope are opposites. Fear closes us down and our actions become
rigid and predictable. Hope literally opens us up, removes the
blinders of fear and despair, and allows us to see the big picture.
According
to Professor Fredriskson, with hope we become creative, unleashing our dreams
for the future. This is because deep within the core of hope
is the belief that things can change. No matter how awful or uncertain they are at
the moment, things can turn out for the better.
HOPE
This
young girl was making plans and had hope for her future, but Mary’s life was
about to change in a way she had never expected.
Jeremiah’s
letter gave hope to the exiles and Mary would soon find out that God had a plan
for her. A plan that would, for a period
of time, cause her to flee into a foreign country.
For I know the plans I have for you, plans
to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11
THE
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT: PEACE
Joseph
and Mary’s lives were about to change. How
could they find peace when so much was going to be asked of them?
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