In observance of the Advent season, Rev. Dr. Charles Yoost has written four messages based on the four candles of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Read the first message in this series…
“The days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.” (Jeremiah 33:14)
Most of the time, I am the eternal optimist. I try to look on the bright side of things. I try to see the good in people, to give folks the benefit of the doubt. Yet, sometimes it’s hard to be optimistic. People disappoint us. Natural calamities continue to be reported around the globe. Television news is filled with stories of greed, corruption, violence and hate.
Yet, the first candle of the Advent wreath is the candle of hope. Hope is not the same thing as optimism. One of our preachers at Lakeside last summer quoted Desmond Tutu, “I’m not an optimist, I’m a prisoner of hope.” Tutu was referring to Zechariah 9:12 where the prophet says, “Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope, and I will restore back double what you lost.”
Being a prisoner of hope means we can’t get away from it. We’re anchored to it. We live in confident and eager expectation of God’s goodness. A prisoner of hope is bound and woven in faith over fear, even in the face of challenges and adversity.
As believers, we are called to be a hopeful people, trusting that God will prevail over all the forces of evil that beset us from day to day. We are called to identify signs of hope, and I believe that these signs are all around us: beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the innocence and laughter of children, folks who open their hearts and reach out to us expecting nothing in return, and the list goes on.
When we live in hope, the circle of our concern widens, our passion for justice expands, and we catch a vision for God’s redeeming work to extend to the whole human family.
As we look forward to the celebration of the birth of Jesus, let us light the first Advent candle: the candle of hope. And as we gaze upon its soft brightness, may we remember that there is not enough darkness in the whole world to put out the light of one small candle.
– Rev. Dr. Charles Yoost, Senior Director of Religious Life & Pastoral Care
