Monday, December 14, 2015

Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent, Cycle B - December 9, 2015

Wednesday of the 2nd Week of Advent
December 9, 2015                  8:30am

 

There is one sentence in today’s first reading that really gets my attention.
The Lord, through the Prophet Isaiah, says:
“They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”
“They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”
I just love that sentence.
It speaks of Advent – which I see as a season of hope.
It touches a very deep need within each of us – a need for hope.

I do not pretend to have a full idea of what hope is, but I have a few insights into this virtue.
Hope gives us a vision of what can be.
It gives us a vision of what we can and should work for.
Hope gives us a sense that tomorrow and the future is possible.
It keeps us going when things feel heavy.
Hope gives us light – that’s why we have the Advent candles.
It gives us light when we feel surrounded by darkness.
Hope is not necessarily about concrete changes in the future.
It is about trust that we are in good hands right now, in the present.
Hope is not the expectation that things will necessarily get better.
It is the trust that God will keep his promises and remain Emmanuel – a name which means “God is with us.”

I think what I have said is something about what hope is.
I also believe that it is this kind of hope that does for us what the Lord says in Isaiah.
“They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength…”

It gives us strength.