Friday, November 26, 2021

 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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